Center for Entrepreneurship helps entrepreneurs, family businesses

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The 21st Century Jobs bill passed by state legislators in 2006 funded the creation of the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) at the University of Connecticut. A partnership between UConn’s schools of business and law, the center facilitates “the development of transformational technology businesses in Connecticut” and enhances the state’s economic climate by assisting new and existing companies in solving complex business and legal problems.

The center benefits the state in two major ways: First, it helps new and existing companies in critical technology-based industries to grow and contribute to the state’s economy; second, it helps provide skilled, well-prepared graduates in these areas, says Richard Dino, Ph.D., associate professor of management and executive director of the center.

The center comprises the business school’s Innovation Accelerator, Venture Consulting Initiative, Student Entrepreneurial Organization and Family Business Program, as well as the law school’s Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Law Clinic.

Under the Innovation Accelerator program, teams of students and faculty conduct market analyses and develop strategic road maps and business models to help entrepreneurial new businesses make inroads into the marketplace.

The Venture Consulting Initiative provides experiential learning opportunities for students to serve as consultants with client firms.

The Student Entrepreneurial Organization organizes conferences, panel discussions and networking events to facilitate that sharing of knowledge and best practices in entrepreneurship between students and inventors.

The Family Business Program deals with key issues in developing and operating family-owned businesses in Connecticut.

The business school has also expanded the entrepreneurship curriculum it offers at the undergraduate, MBA and doctoral levels.

As part of the center, the law school has created the Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, staffed by law students. Under the guidance of supervising attorneys, they provide pro bono legal advice to start-ups and expanding businesses, both to protect their intellectual property and, more generally, to help them navigate the legal hoops required to establish and expand a business. The clinic’s services include patent searches, patent filings and trademark applications, drafting nondisclosure agreements, and forming corporations and limited liability companies.

Since it opened, more than 130 companies from a wide range of industries have been aided by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The clients include companies from the software, biotech, energy and engineering industries.