Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star

Other articles by Michelli Murphy:

Rehab device helps stroke patientsRobot security guards strut their stuffLocal manufacturing company thrivesUA working to help grow economy in Tucson areaLocal company thrivesSky-high luxury made in TucsonVocational school to pay $325K in suitTucson College to pay $325,000 over alleged deceptive practices Homes being sought for mini-golf statues Tucson firm seeks approval for new drug to avert skin cancer

Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor

Just like racing turtles, startup companies don't always make it to the finish, said Dave Dunlap, founder of the language-learning software provider Coccinella Development Inc.

"Little businesses are like a bunch of turtles racing to the beach. If you're weak you'll probably die, and even if you're strong, it's hard to make it," he said.

Dunlap's "turtle" made it, thanks in large part to the Arizona Center for Innovation, or AzCI, a high-tech-business incubator at the University of Arizona's Science and Technology Park.

Launched in 2003, AzCI has graduated five full-time clients and has worked with several student companies from UA's Eller College of Management.

Center clients "graduate" after moving through a structured business-development program, which usually takes two to three years to complete.

AzCI's graduation rates are lower than expected, but a new curriculum and new direction are expected to pick things up, said Bruce Wright, associate vice president for the UA Office of Economic Development.

"We probably would have expected more companies (to have graduated) at this point," he said, "but the advisory board is very pleased with where we are right now."

Right now, AzCI has four clients-in-residence, five affiliate clients and a new curriculum that is going to accelerate the rate companies move through the incubator, Wright said.

Director Marie Wesselhoft, who replaced Jim Fountain in February 2006, implemented the Commercial Reality: Mentored Launch and Commercial Reality: StartUp programs.

Program participants receive shared office space, commercialization workshops and individual mentoring with the hope of becoming a client-in-residence.

The AzCI focuses on accepting companies involved in six technological areas: advanced composite materials, aerospace, biotechnology, environmental technology, information technology and optics.

The focus also extends to developing UA research, Wesselhoft said.

"At the end of the day, everything is connected" to the university, she said, citing companies that have been a direct result of UA research programs.

Full-time client Medipacs LLC made the UA connection with the addition of chemistry professor Dominic McGrath.

The company is developing a disposable infusion pump for drug and fluid delivery and has been at the center since June 2004, said Mark Banister, Medipacs founder.

Being associated with the center "validates your company and helps get you in the door," Banister said, citing how his company won three research grants totaling $458,000.

Medipacs will be ready to move on from AzCI in the next six to eight months, he said, and expects to provide about 80 local jobs over the next five years.

Providing jobs is one of the main reasons AzCI was created, Wesselhoft said.

"Commercializing technology is all about creating an improved economic development situation. We want to create new businesses that stay here," she said.

The incubator cannot boost businesses without help from the community, Wright said.

"We have to find funding from community support. We don't have a source of revenue coming in from equity or royalties," he said.

This year, AzCI is running on a $250,000 budget, not including the value of the space donated by the UA Science and Tech Park.

The money comes from public and private sources, with $50,000 coming directly from the Technology and Research Initiative Fund, which is funded by part of a half-cent sales tax for education, said Molly Gilbert, public relations director for the UA Office of Economic Development.

Another $50,000 comes from the Campus Research Corp., a non-profit organization created to assist the UA with the Science and Tech Park's improvement and operation.

Wells Fargo Bank and Chase Bank also donated $25,000 each this year, Gilbert said.

Clients also provide funding, with residents paying at least $750 a month, and affiliates paying either $350 or $600 a month, depending on their program.

The center's progress falls in line with the national statistics, said Linda Knopp, communications manager for the National Business Incubator Association.

Graduating five companies in almost five years "sounds about right," Knopp said. "It takes about four to five years just to get your first set of companies in and get them established, especially when you're dealing with companies that produce medical devices and biotechnology."

On average, businesses spend two to three years in an incubator, with technical companies taking anywhere from four to six years to graduate, she said.

Eighty-seven percent of companies that go through an incubator remain in business after graduation, according to an NBIA report.