Lessons from INL
There are two things that I learned from my trip to INL:
1 - Gamma rays can be used to produce positronic annihilation which creates micro-structural changes in materials which can be both good and bad.
Really I just wanted to use positronic annihilation (best potential band name ever) in a sentence.
2 - INL can teach the Treasure Valley a lot about creating technology clusters.
INL has a very unique licensing arrangement for it’s technology. INL highly encourages the licensing company to relocate to Eastern Idaho. They even go as far as to offer financial incentives. I met several companies that had relocated a significant portion if not all of their operations to Eastern Idaho. The only exception I saw was Positron Systems (which is responsible for the before mentioned annihilation). They have their test facilities out by INL but their corporate headquarters is in Boise.
Imagine with me for a moment what this valley could look like if HP and Micron had similar deals.
I know that HP has some extra space where they could essentially use one of their buildings as an incubator for licensing businesses. They would be able to help small companies that develop their IP and if they are successful, acquire them. SalesForce.com is doing something very similar.
Micron is a world leader in patents, but what are they doing with them? This would give them a financial plan other than sit around and wait to sue someone.
It’s good for the licensing company because they have some shared resources and access to great IP. Of course the question then becomes why would either of these companies care about growth in the valley? If I had to answer our good friend Leo Geis, I wouldn’t be able to come up with a convincing argument. Corporate Governance, Social Responsibility and other feel good ideas fall short when you lay them out on a spreadsheet.
I personally believe that a vibrant, thriving, entrepreneurial tech community is a good thing for the surrounding larger companies. I don’t have any supporting facts around this, maybe Krissa or Norris do, but I think that being around that energy has to be invigorating to larger companies.
Tac - I think of Will Baumol’s work that looks at small/new and larger/older firms as part of an ecosystem where each has a role -entrepreneurs feed innovations to the larger firms, etc. (grossly oversimplifying ) where in some cases IP flows the other way.
In healthy climates, the energy has to flow both ways - maybe different kinds of energy (and tangible resources) - but there tends to be this sense of, well, community. I don’t think we see that here yet.
INL is trying to make its licensees feel like part of the family (though Tom Harrison might wince at my terminology - LOL - sorry, Tom!)
Look at Intel - as much as they bitched about everyone running off & starting businesses*, Intel supported them -as advisors, even as customer, etc. In turn, all this ‘churning’ made Intel a hot place to work, thus attracting entrepreneurial employees.
It is hard to engineer a cluster - they grow best organically. However, what we CAN do is identify those already growing & help them. That requires all the major institutions to be unselfish. To nurture the clusters is usually not in their own vested interest.
Will B makes a great case that the healthy ecosystem makes so much sense economically that it will thrive on its own. To get there requires that we:
a) build a bottom-up roadmap of the clusters already nascent - and ID what they need, key bottlenecks, etc. (Even as simple as filling a gap in the supply chain -as Jeff Jones always reminds us)
b) given that roadmap, you get all the players around the table and align the resources to move them forward. (We saw a first try at this with the INL-TechConnect-IOST ibdustry forums.)
c) Alignment - who gets to do what - depends on distinctive competence (most players don’t do what they’re best at, but where they add the most value - that also means they don’t remotely do what they prefer to do.)
Sounds like a political nightmare, eh? LOL. BUT, states/cities/regions that did this… have reaped huge benefits just about 100% of the time.
Tac - here’s the model that works. We’ve even had a little success already with a partial effort (thank you, INL & ITC!) Here’s to Boise -and the state? - trying to intentionally nurture their infant clusters!
With apologies to Bluto.. Who’s with me???
* of course, Intel itself was started by refugees, LOL
p.s. I know.. decaf.
Here’s the other piece:
After you read Baumol’s recent work, read “Rembrandts in the Attic”!
Others know more about what’s in Micron’s vast portfolio; I keep hearing that there may be little to share - but we’ll never know until independent eyes take a look. The world is full of big firms who thought their portfolio was of little interest until they shared it (see “Rembrandts”).
There is a GREAT model out there - let others poke around & see what they might license and run with. If a firm like Micron or HP wants to keep close control, then.. let them.
The best way for them to do that is to support the process of vetting their ideas.
INL allowed Idaho college students to assess the commercialization potential of some inventions (the now-dormant TRAILS program) - it will be sad to have TechLaunch this year without them.
Even if TRAILS resurrects as I hope, why not a parallel model of creating a system where we train citizens (not just biz students?) in the basics of tech development with IP from Micron/HP/? as their projects?** (Call Tim Stearns at Fresno State if you don’t believe this can work!)
June brought me to two different big-time entrepreneurship conferences here in Europe - cities & states are starting to do this all over. Some places have high school (!) students doing this.. successfully.
Why not Boise? Why not Idaho?
I have the curriculum in hand for doing this - and I know the experts who will gladly, GLADLY help us. And you know the talent we already have - the Rick Ritters, Tom Harrisons & Hank Artises.
Cue Bluto.
** Heck, why not IP generated by Idaho citizens in a renewed Project Enterprise? (Ask Ritter)
I wouldn’t limit it to larger companies - its good for the economy as a whole, period.
Competition for workforce gives employees options. They could choose who they worked for (large or small). They would feel a greater sense of value and appreciation.
Wanna see how it’s really “supposed” to work (at INL)? Go to http://www.techventures.org
One problem here is that Battelle thinks they’re running a college faculty, when in reality—it’s an “enterprise”—not a business, but not a college faculty.
Besides that, the SNL-LANL-TVC trifecta has totally meshed an entire state govt, operating at nearly all levels–education-taxes-municipal governance-tourism-film production-et al
into a technology incubation juggernaut, just now coming into their own.
They’re seeing spin-offs from spin-offs, i.e. Eclipse Aviation (2500+ orders), the new Albuq Studios ( $74 M, largest, most hi-tech sound stage between London & SkyWalker Ranch, etc, etc.)
Blog all you want tech-heads, it’ll never count until you get power in the Idaho statehouse.
Aw, Bill… Shuck, we still love ya… But you do have a point. The New Mexico model is a great one - there are no shortage of great examples globally.
How do we proceed, absent ‘juice’ in the legislature?
Stay tuned….. (heh, heh)
You don’t. The exodus of corp HQs from Idaho is evidence the ‘big money’ has formed an opinion on the state’s commitment to the peripheral ‘investments’ necessary for growth & development.
Those investments are not happening; even the DOE is very concerned over the INL’s difficulty in attracting/retaining ‘the best & the brightest’; INL is fighting state poverty & control doctrine.
Most forward momentum is draining away; the ‘center’ is hollowing out fast.
Bill, we banter about this often enough… but, since the federal witness protection program won’t let me leave… what DO you see as feasible… even small steps? We’re only doomed if we let it happen.
In the end, Pollyanna… WON!
(heck, even Don Quixote won half his fights…)
Optimistically yours,
Sancho P
(p.s. should you & I resurrect the Bull Moose Party & run for the legislature?)