Based upon feedback we’ve received from you and many other listeners, the Gang is increasing the pace of the show and getting to areas of interest in a tighter show format.

In today’s show, a few links mentioned include:

+ Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) Summit

+ The concurrent UnSummit that occurred for those unable to get into the MIMA Summit 

+ TechCrunch article on the credit crunch

+ “With credit tight, young companies keep closer eye on cash” by Katharine Grayson, Twin Cities Business Journal

+ RangeBuzz, “...the Iron Range MN online guide to northern MN dining, nightlife, music and area events. RangeBuzz.com makes it easy for you to discover what’s happening on the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota!”

+ Next Social Media Breakfast on October 31st at Deluxe Corp. (watch their site for details to appear).

Minnov8 Gang Podcast – Episode 9 is a post from: Minnov8 and published under a Creative Commons license.

According to the U’s own business development people (see link to Powerpoint presentation at bottom), the 20-year success record of the U’s technology company spinoffs is only half the university average nationally — and less than one-fourth the success record of the nation’s premier schools. What’s more, in one recent year (2004), for example, the U of MN spun off only one company compared to 14 at the University of Michigan and 16 at the University of Illinois. Why I am focusing here on spinoffs? Well, because, according the U’s own business development people, creating university spinoffs is “much more profitable than licensing (revenues)” to the school.

And, besides, the largest source of the U’s licensing revenues will run out soon. That was the focus of a recent Sunday feature in the StarTribune by my friend Thomas Lee, entitled U’s Transfer Problem: The University of Minnesota needs more eggs … and more baskets. With time running out on its royalty income stream, the U is scrambling to find the next Medtronic. An excerpt:

Judging from the university’s recent track record of converting its vast reservoir of research into cash, the U faces an uphill climb. The school that’s known for inventing the pacemaker, the heart valve and one of the Web’s first Internet browsers is desperate for a hit.

At a time when the state’s economy is slowing and its medical device sector is maturing, the U’s long commercialization slump has attracted the urgent attention of lawmakers, venture capitalists and others concerned about where Minnesota’s next Medtronic or St. Jude will come from.

The next day, we find this look at innovation at the U is a two-part series in the StarTribune, with another article appearing by Thomas Lee, this one entitled: His Job: Magician – The University of Minnesota’s research VP brings his experience honed in Madison to jump-start innovation in the Gopher state. In this piece, we hear about specific programs the U has undertaken since 2005 in an attempt to make up for the expected drop off in licensing revenues, starting next year.

One of Mulcahy’s first priorities when he arrived in Minnesota was to recruit industry professionals like former Honeywell executive Jay Schrankler to run the Office of Technology Commercialization. The office traditionally had been staffed with academics who had little or no business experience.

In the past, many of the university’s start-ups failed because the school lacked the business talent to fully develop the ideas before it sought outside capital, experts say.

The school hired a half dozen “strategy managers” with experience in fields like software, pharmaceuticals and medical devices to determine if faculty research or technology can be licensed or spun out into new companies. The Venture Center, under former investment banker Doug Johnson, launched a “CEO in Residence Program” in which outside entrepreneurs and business people regularly examine potential start-ups, mentor MBA students and help structure deals.

The article says the U has set some lofty goals compared to the numbers I cite in my first paragraph above. To wit:

Schrankler and Johnson say their goal is to spin off three companies a year, including one that has the potential to go public in five years with at least a $250 million market value. They also hope to generate $50 million to $60 million in royalty income annually.

Johnson said, “There is plenty of world-class technology at the U.” He cited a company called Orasi Medical, which the U recently spun out, and another university medical startup that several VC firms are interested in. He also cited the work of a medical researcher at the U, Dr. Doris Taylor, which recently received wide attention:

• Here’s the story as published by UMNnews: Researchers Create a New Heart in the Lab: Work Opens a New Path to Replacement of Hearts and Other Organs.

• The day before, the doctor’s work was published by the journal Nature Medicine: Technical Report abstract – Nature Medicine 14, 213 – 221 (2008).

• And here’s how the New York Times reported the breakthrough that same day: Researchers Create New Rat Heart in Lab.

Dr. Taylor will be the keynote speaker May 29 at the U of M Alumni Association’s 2008 Annual Celebration, being billed as “The Heart of Discovery,” and the featured guest is Earl Bakken, the founder of Medtronic. Tickets are available to the general public at the alumni association web site.

What’s the take of the investment community to the U’s latest initiatives in technology commercialization? Well, one VC gives the U a big thumbs-up. David Spreng is a Minnesota native (and U of M grad), and is now based in Palo Alto, CA, as Managing General Partner of Crescendo Ventures. On his blog, called “Lightbulb,” he wrote an upbeat blog post citing Doug Johnson’s CEO-in-residence program: The University of Minnesota May Have Cracked the Code.

(By the way, here’s a link to the Powerpoint presentation I mentioned at the beginning of this post, actually a PDF: A Presentation on Industry/Academic Partnerships, by Doug Johnson, Office of Business Development, University of Minnesota, which is dated May 2006.)

What’s your take on the U of M as a source of technology innovation? What about the Institute of Technology — are you aware of any promising new technologies coming out of the computer science and EE programs? Is medical technology sucking all the oxygen away from IT and Internet startups in Minnesota? And do the innovations that really matter happen outside the walls of academia, anyway?

Speak your piece in the comments.

The Latest on U of M Technology Innovation and Commercialization is a post from: Minnov8 and published under a Creative Commons license.