The relocation of the Charlotte regional office of the Small Business and Technology Development Center to the UNC Charlotte PORTAL Building concentrates University-affiliated entrepreneurial support services in a state-of-the-art facility. Formerly located in the Ben Craig Center at University Research Park, the SBTDC officially opened in PORTAL Jan. 2.
The PORTAL Building is the focal point for UNC Charlotte university-industry partnerships. In addition to the SBTDC, the facility includes the University’s Office of Technology Transfer and the non-profit venture development organization, Ventureprise, Inc. The SBTDC and Ventureprise provided counseling and program support to 900-plus companies in 2014.
“PORTAL opened in early 2014 to serve as the region’s focal point for commercial collaboration among entrepreneurs, corporations, academic researchers, and our students,” said Robert Wilhelm, vice chancellor for research and economic development at UNC Charlotte. “The SBTDC resources will add to the vibrant scene that already includes the Ventureprise incubator and special events such as the 2014 Charlotte Venture Challenge.”
The UNC Charlotte SBTDC is led by George McAllister, and currently includes five business counselors with broad business expertise. In 2014, they provided assistance to more than 800 small- and mid-sized companies in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties.
“The UNC Charlotte SBTDC office leverages the resources of our statewide organization,” said Scott Daugherty, SBTDC state director. “The new location in PORTAL demonstrates UNC Charlotte’s commitment to economic development through entrepreneurial assistance.”
The SBTDC staff has extensive private sector experience. One counselor with international business experience assists local companies with export sales and operations. Another counselor with extensive federal government experience helps companies sell to federal, state and local governments. The SBTDC expects to add a tech commercialization counselor in early 2015 to support strong commercial connections between corporations, entrepreneurs, and academic communities.
The UNC Charlotte SBTDC can provide aspiring entrepreneurs access to statewide resources, such as access to market research and analysis data and guidance for companies applying for Small Business Innovation Research grants (SBIR/STTR).
The mutual location with Ventureprise aligns all of the SBTDC resources, local and statewide, with the Ventureprise mission of growing innovation-driven enterprises in the Charlotte region.
“Ventureprise and the SBTDC team are already meeting jointly with the 19 early-stage Ventureprise client-tenants located in PORTAL,” said Paul Wetenhall, president of Ventureprise Inc. “By integrating SBTDC capabilities, Ventureprise startup expertise and University resources, we intend to help our entrepreneurs accelerate their growth.”
Charlotte SBTDC Office contact information has changed as follows:
Telephone: 704 687-0440
Email: uncc@sbtdc.org
Web: sbtdc.org
Location: SBTDC
PORTAL Building, Suite 252
9319 Robert D. Snyder Rd.
Charlotte, N.C. 28223