Institute fosters innovation on USC campus
In less than two years, 15 USC start-up companies have raised about $115 million in financing for their businesses, as a result of the efforts by the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation.
The numbers, announced at First Look LA — an investor event held in conjunction with UCLA and Caltech — represent the work of the university-wide institute, which was designed to harness the creative thinking and innovative work of all of USC’s 17 professional schools. The institute, based in the Office of the Provost, promotes entrepreneurship through competitions, investor events and providing resources for students.
Innovation · Students display their creative research at last year’s Undergraduate Symposium for Scholarly and Creative Work. - Dieuwertje Kast | Daily Trojan
“The impressive funding activity of USC spinoffs is especially interesting when considering the current economic climate,” said Elisa Wiefel Schreiber, director of communications for the institute.
A report released by Dow Jones VentureSource last month called 2009 the worst investment year since 2003, and start-ups across the country have seen a significant drop in venture capital over the past year.
As a result, the Stevens Institute has focused on
helping the start-ups tap other sources of funding — including private investors, overseas investors and government grants.
Schreiber added that the fundraising success of the companies could be an indication of their future potential.
“These investments are fueling new businesses that are poised to make an ongoing impact in the next decade through new products and job creation,” Schreiber said.
The institute aims to help develop the innovator as well as the work on the company itself, by utilizing educational programs,
community-building events and showcase opportunities, according to Schreiber.
“[The showcase opportunities] in turn provides a central connection for industries seeking cutting edge innovations in which to invest,” Schreiber said.
One of the 15 start-ups, BigStage — a technology company for interactive entertainment developers — was recently ranked 18th out of 20 in Forbes magazine’s list of America’s Most Promising Companies, and has raised more than $10 million within the last two years, according to their
website. Other companies in the list include Box.net, a content-sharing platform and Flixya.com, a video sharing website with ad revenue for users.
The institute does not actively participate in the fundraising process or distribute funds to the start-ups, Schreiber said. A license to a patent is given to an entrepreneur, which then creates a business around that patent and seeks their own funding resources, although the institute does provide assistance and advice in how to go about the process.
“The credit goes to our start-ups for their resourcefulness in raising funds from creative sources during these tough times and building innovative companies that can attract these investments in the first place,” Schreiber said. “We can only encourage, coach and connect; the real heavy lifting in this economy is being done by the entrepreneurs themselves.”
According to Schreiber, the success of these companies is a validation from the private sector of the quality of the research at USC and an early indicator of USC’s new strategic focus on the innovation process through the institute.
“Having the USC Stevens Institute creates a ‘halo effect’ for USC,” said Schreiber. “It’s something the students can be proud of and see as an indicator that USC is competitive with institutions such as the [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] and other innovative universities.”
Students said they were inspired by the success of the companies, and were pleased to know there was an on-campus resource for those planning to start their own companies.
“This is a great opportunity to expose students to these possibilities that are out there,” said Hugh Garvey, a freshman majoring in business administration. “These numbers lay a solid foundation for the future — it makes me optimistic.”
Elton Kwok, a sophomore majoring in civil engineering, also expressed enthusiasm about the institute.
“Seeing this success makes me excited and motivated to strive harder and follow in their footsteps to create my own business,” Kwok said. “This sets a precedent which says it can be done.”