Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) have joined forces to expand educational and professional networking opportunities for coastal Georgia’s inventor community. Their first joint effort will be a series of workshops to help independent inventors gain information that will help them improve their product development and business efforts, while connecting them with resources in marketing, financing, manufacturing/prototyping and licensing – four of the key building blocks for commercialization.
“TAG is pleased to be adding the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute as our fourteenth affiliate partner,” said Tino Mantella, president of TAG. “Support of inventors and their inventions can lead to new business and more jobs in Georgia. This is a natural extension of the work we do in economic development and another way to support business strength in Georgia.”
The workshops – which last from noon until 4 p.m. – are $25 ($20 for TAG members) and include lunch. Participants will be able to network with fellow inventors, gain access to a wealth of industry knowledge and hear from experts on the following topics:
*Licensing for Inventors, Matthew C. Henderson, HunterMaclean, and Robert E. Schwerzel, Technology Guidance Services, LLC, Location: The Creative Coast, 131 Hutchinson Island Road, Fourth Floor, Oct. 17
Henderson is an associate in the Savannah offices of HunterMaclean and practices in the business litigation area. He has successfully represented physicians’ practice groups, subcontractors, contractors, developers, financial institutions, national and international companies in cases involving contract and intellectual property disputes. Henderson was recently named a Rising Star in the Georgia Super Lawyers - Rising Stars Edition of Atlanta Magazine. Dr. Schwerzel is an inventor, research scientist, teacher and management consultant who brings more than 30 years of experience in research and development, and is currently president of his consulting firm, Technology Guidance Services, LLC. He has 11 U.S. patents issued and for the past five years, has focused on helping client companies become more profitable by helping them improve the speed and effectiveness of their product development efforts so they can bring successful new products to market.
*Fundamentals of Marketing, Jim DeBetta, Slingshot Productions, LLC, Location: HERTY Advanced Materials Development Center, 110 Brampton Road, Nov. 7
DeBetta has helped hundreds of inventors and startups learn how to get their products developed and sold to major retailers. He recently merged his firm with the renowned Slingshot Product Development Group which employs a team of nearly 40 engineers, designers and marketing experts who help individual inventors and Fortune 500 firms alike. DeBetta is a patron of the United Inventors Association, the Inventors Association of Georgia and the Rocky Mountain Inventors Association. He has written articles for numerous industry publications and is a staff writer for Inventor's Digest.
*Financing Your Invention, Lynn Vos, University of Georgia-Savannah Small Business Center, and Raymond Wenig, Ariel Savannah Angel Partners, LLC, Location: The Creative Coast, 131 Hutchinson Island Road, Fourth Floor, Nov. 13
Vos has more than 14 years experience working with small businesses in Georgia. In addition to providing assistance to small business owners and potential business owners through the Small Business Development Center Network, she has a strong background in accounting. Wenig is the administrative and operational officer of a regional angel capital group in the low country, serving coastal South Carolina and coastal Georgia. The group, Ariel Savannah Angel Partners, LLC, consists of 70 accredited investors and has invested more than $2 million in small startup companies.
*Prototyping/Manufacturing Your Ideas, Joel Wittkamp, Joel Wittkamp Design and Savannah College of Art and Design, and Dr. Donald McLemore, HERTY Advanced Materials Development Center, Location: The Creative Coast, 131 Hutchinson Island Road, Fourth Floor, Nov. 21
Wittkamp, owner and CEO of Joel Wittkamp Design, brings more than 30 years of product development and design experience, having worked on products that have grossed over $50 billion in sales. He has worked on more than 200 patented products, including those for IBM, Rubbermaid and Dow Chemical. Since 2003, he has also served as a professor in the School of Industrial Design at Savannah College of Art and Design. Dr. McLemore spent 21 years with the Dow Chemical Company and was later named director of Technology and Business Development for Dow Venture. After leaving Dow in 1997, McLemore went on to work with Raychem and later Microtek Medical (formerly Isolyser Co.) where he achieved the positions of director of technology and business development and executive vice resident, respectively. In recent years, Dr. McLemore has formed a private consulting business and accepted an appointment to work with Georgia Tech to lead an initiative in developing a nationally-recognized center of excellence in polymer science and engineering.
In 2007, Georgia Tech launched the first statewide comprehensive survey of independent inventors through a pilot program sponsored by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. More than 300 inventors responded to the survey, and Georgia Tech researchers have used that feedback to create these workshops.
“Beyond developing a greater understanding of the scope and nature of independent invention activity in our state, we launched the pilot program to identify three areas: unmet needs, ingredients for success and effective resources for inventors,” said Joy Wilkins, manager of community innovation services at the Enterprise Innovation Institute. “If we can understand the needs of inventors and how Georgia Tech can better connect these idea artists to helpful resources, there is a real potential to boost commercialization and economic development throughout the state.”
The workshops are sponsored by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to provide education, increase the awareness of available resources, and demonstrate the importance of inventors to the overall economic growth of Georgia. In addition to TAG, Georgia Tech’s partners include The Creative Coast and the Inventors Association of Georgia.
“EDA’s investment in this research of inventors in Georgia – and the subsequent identification of ways to support invention commercialization – supports job creation and private investment throughout the state,” said Phil Paradice, EDA’s Atlanta regional director. “In fact, the project earned EDA’s Planning Performance Award for its collaborative efforts with state, local and federal entities.”
Interested participants may register online for workshops at www.tagonline.org, under “Calendar of Events.” For additional information, contact Jason Chernock (404-385-0829); e-mail (jason.chernock@innovate.gatech.edu).
About Enterprise Innovation Institute:
The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation.
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Media Relations Contacts: Nancy Fullbright (404-894-2214); E-mail: (nancy.fullbright@innovate.gatech.edu) or John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).
Writer: Nancy Fullbright
