7 Conclusion
7.1 Implications and future research
7.1.3 Policy Implications
As seen in the introduction, Norway has a documented problem with both innovation in general and cleantech entrepreneurship in particular. However, if the Norwegian Research Council or related agencies decide to develop a space which supports cleantech entrepreneurship in a manner similar to Greentown Labs, there will be some significant challenges.
A common top-down approach to Science Park design in the past has emphasized the internal resources that are provided to members. However, this study revealed that this view is one sided and fails to consider the significant role that external input streams play incubator success. It must be recognized that the success of an incubator is highly dependent on its context and have relevant and high quality resource input streams. They particularly come in
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the form of university students and graduates, government grants and possibly other local incubators and accelerator programs which can feed into it.
Although not the focus of my thesis, it may be implicitly inferred from the results that one way to increase the quantity and quality of dealflow to current and future Norwegian incubators may be to support programs which provide similar input streams. For example, the MassCEC intern program seems to effectively support existing local startups while also creating a pipeline for future entrepreneurial talent. The Cleantech Open and Mass Challenge programs also provided significant dealflow for new Greentown companies. Investigating these or similar programs further to develop a model for a comprehensive entrepreneurial ecosystem may be worthwhile.
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Appendix
Interview Guide
Member Company Employee Guiding Questions:
First, get basic information: number of founders and employees, founder backgrounds, date of founding, date of when they joined Greentown, main product and business model.
Then:
Why did your company join Green Town Labs?
Where were you before joining? What is different? How has Greentown effected the company?
Do you use the physical resources found here? If so, how?
Do you employ the incubator services made available by the Green Town staff and partners? If so, how?
How do you interact with the other companies here? Do you ever help each other or collaborate?
If so, how?
How do you view your fellow companies here?
What would your company be doing if you were not in Green Town?
How has the proximity to Artisan’s Asylum effected you? Do you use your institutional membership? If so, how?
Green Town Administration Guiding Questions:
What services do you offer your member companies (both formal and informal)?
How do you find member companies? If there are many applicants, what criteria do you use to select them?
Why did you recently move from Boston to Somerville?
What is your role here? How do you support member companies?
What kind of resource sharing – physical or otherwise -- among member companies have you observed?
What is your vision for the future of Green Town?
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Other incubators near Greentown
Table 8 Business incubators within a 1 hour radius of Greentown
Name Note
Arthur M Blank Center for Entrepreneurship Associated with Babson College
BioSquare Focused on biomedical companies
Cambridge Innovation Center Currently home to over 600 companies,
mostly startups Enterprise Center at Salem State University -
Institute for Energy & Sustainability A “virtual” incubator. Offers services, but no physical space
Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives Focused on biomedical companies.
Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center Focused on biomedical companies.
Newburyport CleanTech Center A similar mission to Greentown
North Shore InnoVentures Double focus on cleantech and biotech
Quincy Center for Innovation Associated with Eastern Nazarene College,
South Shore Innovation and the City of Quincy
Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property Tech transfer office for the University of Massachusetts
Venture Development Center Located on University of Massachusetts Boston campus, but contains teams from many different universities.
Incubators with documented crossover with Greentown are highlighted.
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Member benefits for New England Clean Energy Council (cleanenergycouncil.org):
Tangible Benefits
• Free and/or discounted attendance at NECEC events
• Discounts on tickets or tables at Green Tie Gala
• Discounts on industry partner events and conferences
• Discount on exhibiting at industry partner conference showcase
• Marketing exposure on our website, in our newsletter, through the press and on Twitter
• Coordination of meetings and communications with state and federal government officials
• Group insurance rates on health and property/casualty insurance through our partners at Chubb Group and William Gallagher Associates
• Lobbying dollars saved through coordination of meetings with policymakers Intangible Benefits
• Network with other clean energy thought leaders and influencers
• Uncover new business, investment and research opportunities
• Influence, impact and educate policymakers
• Enhance your organization’s profile by participating in initiatives promoting economic growth, job creation and regional clean energy cluster development
• Generate innovative ideas through interaction with domain experts
• Show that your organization is committed to helping to grow the region’s clean energy economy
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Agencies with SBIR programs (sbir.gov)
• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Commerce - National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Department of Commerce - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Department of Defense
• Department of Education
• Department of Energy
• Department of Health and Human Services
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of Transportation
• Environmental Protection Agency
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• National Science Foundation
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Funding sources for Greentown companies
I have placed an * next to the funds awarded to companies that do not fit the given definition of cleantech. Greentown has a small number of companies (six at the time of writing) that do not align with their cleantech-focused mission, in industries ranging from robotics to oil and gas. It is not clear why these companies chose to make their home at Greentown or why they were accepted. These funds are asterisked because they are not typically awarded to clean tech companies, as discussed in the section titled “The resource stream that wasn’t: Venture Capital”.
City of Boston Green Triple Decker Pilots Fraunhofer Energy Savings Study
NAVAIR NCIAA Villgro 21 Ventures Solgenix
Grayghost Ventures Invested Development CASIS Grant*
DHS ARI Grant*
TrueVentures*
Slow Venture*
Highland Capital Partners Summer@Highland*
Rough Draft Ventures*
Energy Ventures*
Chevron Technology Ventures*
Mertz Holdings*
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