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pageFOCUS 11 Technique • Friday, September 16, 2005 • 11 WILL YOU GET SPANX? THEATRE PRODUCES BIG BANG Tech helped a footless pantyhose founder Wannabe producers schmooze and FOCUS turn personal savings into multi-million- bamboozle their way into staging the most Page 14 Page 17 Technique • Friday, September 16, 2005 dollar business. expensive Broadway musical ever. VentureLab bridges gap between research and commercialization Technology business incubator celebrates fourth successful year of helping Tech faculty and students By Zen Mehra things . One is a management team ‘product’ from a ‘company’, which If you’re a brilliant researcher, that’s faculty don’t understand the business Contributing Writer consisting of experienced entrepre- is what investors like to see.” not a very good use of your time.” side of things.” neurs, and the other the initial fund- Technological skills do not nec- VentureLab helps hire manage- “VentureLab helps bridge that The pathway from laboratory in- ing needed to start the company,” ment or trained professionals to gap. You can now talk to investors in novation to the commercial market Fleming said. run day-to-day operations at these a language they understand.” at Tech has been paved smoother Over the years, VentureLab “We at VentureLab companies. On the route to his second start- by an ambitious venture called has developed a wide network of Dr. Madhavan Swaminathan, up, Swaminathan continues to be as- VentureLab, which celebrates its investors and entrepreneurs who get look to marry the a Professor in the Department of sociated closely with VentureLab. fourth birthday this week. involved in the start-up companies innovation and Electrical and Computer Engineer- Orthonics, Inc., an Atlanta It offers a variety of services to they help. ing (ECE), worked with VentureLab start-up company developing new faculty and students that help them “The experienced entrepreneurs knowledge inside while floating his company, Jacket biomaterials for spinal disc repair commercialize their research. come from our network. Almost a professor’s head Micro Devices (JMD). and regeneration is yet another “We at VentureLab look to marry everybody here has done something JMD specializes in radio-fre- VentureLab graduate. the innovation and knowledge that like this before, so they know a lot of with an experienced quency passive components. lives inside a professor’s head with entrepreneurs. Those in turn know entrepreneur and “The nice thing about Tech is others, and the Six Degrees of Kevin some money.” that you have access to something “[VentureLab] made Bacon takes over,” Fleming said. like VentureLab. As faculty mem- “You can now talk Upcoming ventures are funded bers, we are very good at developing it possible for us either through the Georgia Research Stephen Fleming technologies, and have some idea to set up without to investors in Alliance (GRA) which grants money Chief Commercialization about the business side,” Swami- a language they to small companies in their formative Officer, VentureLab nathan said. having to raise stages or through market institutions “But ultimately we need help money first just to understand.” that provide seed funding. to figure out how to present this “We are the channel through essarily translate into managerial technology to potential investors, pay the CEO.” Madhavan which a company can apply for that expertise. and how to develop a business plan Swaminathan money,” Fleming said. “While there are exceptions, in- around it. That’s where VentureLab Barbara Boyan ECE Professor “We know a lot of investors like novators often find that being a Chief comes in.” Professor, BME venture capital investors, angel in- Scientist or Chief Technology Officer “Ultimately, one of the Ven- vestors, high net-worth individuals is a better role as compared to being tureLab Fellows became our CEO. an experienced entrepreneur and and other private firms.” the CEO,” Fleming said. It has been very useful to us.” Its technology is based on re- some money,” said Stephen Fleming, “Rather than going in cold, we “The CEO often has to deal with “If you are in a university en- search from the laboratory of Dr. Chief Commercialization Officer of prepare these companies and intro- issues like negotiating the lease of a vironment, most investors are not Barbara Boyan, the Price Gilbert, Jr. VentureLab. duce them to such people.” building, ensure taxes are filed on interested in talking to you since Chair in Tissue Engineering at the “Nine times out of ten, the Profes- “We help them put together a time and that the company complies they either don’t know much about sor is missing one or two important business plan that differentiates a with equal opportunity guidelines. your technology, or feel that most See Venture, page 14 Recruiters arrive in droves to be impressed by students “[Tech] has great students and I ity of the students that I’m seeing, come here very year to take students. especially the underclassmen that I hire mostly electrical engineers but are looking for internships,” said Kimeth Williams, the director of Recruitment and Career Develop- ment at L’oreal. “[The students] “I thought I would wait and were too well come and recruit interns in the spring but I’ve seeing so many great dressed. Come on, students that I plan on trying to get we’re here in hats a schedule for October to recruit for internships,” Williams said. and shorts. They There were lighter moments to the [need to] relax a serious, job-focused atmosphere. “We get a lot of people who are little more!” interested in financial analyst posi- tions and [when] they find out we’re Kiran Achyutuni more of a sales, relational company, Manager, Amazon conversation quickly turns and they run away,” said Dallas Nevins, a campus recruiter from Northwestern I also hire for the other engineering organizations. We’ve had good expe- riences here,” said Dr. John H. Day, “Some of these Chief of the Electrical Engineering Division at NASA. students are so Some recruiters seem to be well qualified filling more positions than they By James Holder / STUDENT PUBLICATIONS anticipated. [that] they amaze Thidarat Tosukhowong, a Ph.D. student (right) is interviewed by a BOC representative (left) at the Fall Ca- “It’s been very interesting as me. Some of the reer Fair held at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, which was attended by a wide variety of companies. we’ve had some very good students,” By Swathy Prithivi with some of in line with that aid Joanne Berman, the Human experiences they’ve Focus Editor the resumes, and sentiment. Resources Manager for JDSU, a had have just been [am hoping] that “It was fun talking “ S o m e o f company providing systems and Career fair recently rolled into the folks that are these students services in the fiber optic and tele- outstanding.” town and captured more than just in the company to the students here are so well quali- communications field. student interest. who are actually and trying to inspire fied [that] they “The funny thing is that we may Claire Boland The recruiters, who attended this hiring will be amaze me. Some found a few people for our European HR Lead, Monsanto year’s fair, held on September 13 and able to interview the next generation of the experiences sites and we have some very good 14, 2005 at the Alexander Memorial them,” said Ja- of explorers.” they’ve had have multicultural [applicants]. We’ve Coliseum, were all eyes and ears on ved Siddiqi, a been just out- got an office in France that I may Mutual Financial Network. Tech students and their innumerous senior software standing,” said actually send some resumes to,” “A lot of people kept losing their achievements and accolades. engineer at Lex- Dr. John Day Claire Boland, Berman said. name tags and it wouldn’t stick well “About the people that I’m inter- mark. Electrical Engineering Hu m a n R e - “This is my first time recruiting to fabric but it would stick to other viewing here, I’m finding some real Most recruit- Division, NASA sources Lead at at a career fair at Georgia Tech. good talent. I’m pretty impressed ers seemed to be Monsanto. I am so impressed with the qual- See Careers, page 12 12 • Friday, September 16, 2005 • Technique FOCUS and didn’t stop for a couple of min- ing for students, which is really kind The work put in by staff to here at Tech to keep coming back from page 11 utes about what he’s done and what of neat. I haven’t seen so many blue make this event a success was well year after year. Careers he wants to do. It would [be ok] if it suits in a long time.” received. “I have two [Tech] students work- things,” said Mark Saxon a Research was an interview, but he came on aw- “There’s been a lot more activity “There’s a lot better food [this ing for me and my experience with Associate at Battelle. fully strong. So maybe some people than spring and foot traffic here. year],” Nevins said. them has been so wonderful that “So for one guy, it fell off and hit are over zealous,” he said. We’ve gotten a lot more qualified “I really love working with Career I’ve been an advocate of hiring more one of our [promotional] buttons and The recruiters were also surprised leads,” said Mary Stuart Iverson, a Services here and the committee did [Tech] students because they bring in he was trying to peel it off while he by the vast student turnout. campus Recruiter at Northwestern a fantastic job,” Williams said. a lot of fresh ideas and talent to the was trying to talk to me.” “I was amazed at the number of Mutual Financial Network.

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