TECHNOLOGY CENTER SUPPORTS FLEDGLING ENTERPRISES

Though some entrepreneurs may require little more than a telephone, computer, and fancy letterhead to get started, others -- especially in the fields of science and technology -- require more intensive and expensive support. The UMBC Research Park, now under construction on a 41-acre campus site, will soon join roughly 130 similar facilities in the country which offer companies direct access to an array of experts and resources which they often cannot procure independently. The Research Park will complement the existing UMBC Technology Center, which currently is home to nine incubator technology companies (they receive office and lab space at subsidized rates) and a handful of emerging technology companies, which are farther along in development. And it will offer expanded facilities for companies requiring more room for R&D.

"There is a lot of creative processing that goes on when you have a number of technology companies co-located," says Research Park executive director Ellen Wiggins. "Being an entrepreneur can be pretty lonely. We find that the companies that tend to be most successful really take advantage of the business assistance offered here."

One beneficiary is Direct Dimensions, Inc., an engineering firm that specializes in measuring complex surfaces and shapes, using innovative proprietary tools. Though the small, six-person company generated more than three-quarters of a million dollars in sales last year, and is on track to do even better this year, it is still in start-up mode, and intends to take full advantage of its three-year stay in UMBC incubator facilities. One big advantage, according to president Richard Lee, is having ready access to UMBC faculty engineers, graphic designers, and other specialists, all of whom can assist with product prototypes during the company's critical R&D phase.

Once a high-tech company is able to raise adequate capital to sustain itself competitively, it is ready to graduate from the UMBC "cocoon." One recent graduate is Receptor Biology, Inc., which moved to Beltsville in July after two-and-a-half years as an incubator company. The company entered the incubator with just one employee -- founder Jesse Baumgold -- and no sales. Now, Receptor Biology generates over $1-million in sales annually and employs seven. Baumgold says that the incubator's well-equipped, small-scale lab space, access to specialized lab equipment, and business advice all contributed to the company's initial growth spurt.

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