Noobis Graduates for Suny Fredonia Technology Incubator
One of the highlights of the event was a 'graduation ceremony' for the first graduates of the incubator program, Noobis, Inc. Noobis did its growing in the temporary site and is run by President Jon Brennan and Chief Marketing Officer Mike Brennan, a SUNY Fredonia alumnus.
"This is another milestone in the 183-year history of SUNY Fredonia. This incubator building was a long time coming but now it's a reality and that's thanks to the support of so many people who are in this room," Hefner started. " ... SUNY Fredonia, like all universities, is an engine for economic development and when you look at the SUNY system, you'll note, not only are we producing an educated workforce for tomorrow but we're involved in cutting-edge research. We're involved in providing funding within the community. Just SUNY Fredonia alone, our economic impact in Chautauqua County is currently valued at over $300 million a year."
Hefner went on to say that in addition to the college helping with grants and contracts, a new dimension was being added.
"We know that in the regular economy that when you have new startups, after five years only 20 percent are still in business," he said. "Well, this incubator is designed to turn that number upside down so that 80 percent will still be in business five years from now. That's what the national statistics show for businesses that start in a university-affiliated incubator."
Located at 214 Central Ave., the incubator provides office space, offers significant shared space including a "smart" conference room, meeting rooms and dry laboratories. The incubator is billed as a one-stop that will provide business development, mentoring and space for up to 30 start-up technology companies. The 21,000-square-foot, two-story facility was built at a cost of almost $6 million.
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