Saturday, April 08, 2006

No Way In for Entrepreneurs

Take a look at Harold Miller's post on the problems facing Pittsburgh entrepreneurs:
The Pittsburgh Region has a wealth of capable agencies and resources for entrepreneurs, but the entrepreneurs themselves say it's hard for them to navigate, and they frequently have to go through lots of wrong doors to get to the right one -- and that's only if the entrepreneur has the time and stamina to keep going to and through doors.
Here's a quiz for you: You're a startup technology firm in the Pittsburgh Region. Who do you call first? The Technology Collaborative? A Small Business Development Center (there are several)? Innovation Works? Idea Foundry? The Life Sciences Greenhouse? The Small Business Administration?

The problem may even be worse than that: What if you're an experienced entrepreneur looking for a technology to commercialize? Looking for a business to partner with? Looking for an early-stage opportunity to connect with? My sense is that not only do these folks have Harold's "wrong door" problem, but they also often have no doors at all.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What percentage of businesses actually receive public support to start? Do they need it in Silicon Valley.

We have too many whiny people...A true entrepreneur just gets it done.