Accelerating UH’s Research Commercialization Success
Although it may sound like a car vanity license plate belonging to Robert Downey, Jr.’s Iron Man alter ego, multi-billionaire industrialist Tony Stark; there is nothing vain in the purpose of XLR8UH—the University of Hawai‘i’s first proof of concept center (POCC) launched in fall 2014.
The University of Hawai‘i is aggressively pursuing the successful growth of its research enterprise and increased commercialization of its innovations to help diversify the state’s economy. As a partner in the Hawai‘i Innovation Initiative with the Hawai‘i business community, UH’s proof of concept center venture accelerator is vital to helping turn its research success into entrepreneurial success as well.
With XLR8UH, UH now joins a growing movement of universities around the country that are creating POCCs or turning to other new approaches to commercialize its research and to prevent innovative ideas from slipping through the cracks and suffering slow and obscure deaths. Unlike traditional business incubators that offer seed money to established companies, the POCC concept looks to harvest promising research and identify investors and businesses interested in the further development and exploration of its commercial viability. Georgia Tech, University of Utah, UC San Diego and the University of Southern California lead the list of success stories utilizing this novel approach.
The University of Hawai‘i is world-renowned for its research in oceanography, astronomy, agriculture, medicine, cancer research and genetics,” said UH Vice President for Research and Innovation Vassilis L. Syrmos. “However, the crossover to commercialization is expensive and for many scientists, including our own, success without the proper ecosystem that a POCC provides often results in the proverbial ‘valley of death.’”
The “valley of death” that Syrmos refers to is a term used to refer to the vast chasm that
often separates a great idea from the individuals that will invest in it to create a successful business that brings the idea into usage in the community. Over the last decade, decreasing interest in initial public offerings has left even less available capital for early-stage companies.
To help bridge this gap and stimulate innovation in the U.S., the White House began allocating millions of dollars in federal funding to support POCCs through competitive grants administered by organizations like the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Economic Development Administration (EDA). The initiative represents a shift in administration policy from monetary support for the discovery of scientific and technological breakthroughs to one that focuses on its commercialization.
Earlier this year, XLR8UH was awarded a $500,000 grant from the EDA’s i6 Challenge, a cutting edge federal program that supports initiatives to spur innovation commercialization, entrepreneurship and job creation on the local level. With matching funds from UH, XLR8UH plans to expand its program statewide, including the underserved, rural neighbor island communities—by introducing new stimulus activities to assist in the growth of
regionally developed intellectual property, entrepreneurs and startups.
“The establishment of XLR8UH represents an exciting new initiative and has received strong support from the community,” said Managing Director Omar Sultan. “The center has become an integral part of accelerating the development of University of Hawai‘i intellectual property and facilitating the commercialization pathway.”
The University of Hawai‘i is not just writing out blank checks to any would-be entrepreneur from its ranks. Before receiving any funding, all faculty and student cohorts accepted to XLR8UH must first successfully complete an entrepreneurial/commercialization education program conducted by the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE). PACE, which has been instrumental in encouraging and promoting entrepreneurial activity to UH students and faculty through a multitude of programs, will provide cohorts with the necessary education, guidance and resources to nurture the development of UH’s synergistic and integrated entrepreneurship ecosystem.
To date, the XLR8UH program has developed 15 companies that currently employ 67 individuals. These startups have generated over $600,000 in revenue and have raised $7.8 million in total funding. Last October, XLR8UH was recognized by the SBA as one of the nation’s elite programs in their annual Growth Accelerator Fund Competition.
“The early successes and accolades for our XLR8UH program indicate that we are proceeding down the right path to increase commercialization,” said UH President David Lassner. “Now our innovative researchers have an easier road to follow to get their cutting edge ideas and technologies to the community, and that is a core objective of the Hawai‘i Innovation Initiative.”