SUMMARY

CREATING AN INTERNATIONAL HIGH TECHNOLOGY INCUBATOR: THE CASE OF THE UCLA VENTURE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Alan L. Carsrud, The Anderson School at UCLA
Elwin Svenson, The Anderson School at UCLA
Lloyd Gilbert, The Anderson School at UCLA

Principal Topic

This paper describes the development of an international high technology business incubator operating in Australia, Chile, Finland and the United States that has as its basis a global educational program. The paper reviews the development and success of this “knowledge-network” based high technology business incubator. The UCLA Venture Development Program (VDP). This program builds on the successful models of the Connect Program of the University of California, San Diego and the Venture Development Program of the University of Calgary. The VDP is the technology business incubator at UCLA and operates internationally through its Global Access Program and its partnerships with business groups abroad. The objective of VDP is to create new businesses out of the technological research conducted at UCLA, other California universities, and world-wide using the entrepreneurial talents and networks of the Anderson School at UCLA.

Method

The paper traces the growth of the UCLA-VDP from a part-time staff of 2 to over 120 professional support staff and volunteers. In addition it traces the pattern of investment in VDP client firms that now exceeds $20,000,000. To date the program has helped to launch ten high technology ventures in California, four firms and one venture capital fund in Australia, and one technology firm in Chile since its founding in 1995. This “virtual incubator,” housed within the management school at UCLA, has grown from five biotechnology client firms in 1993 to twenty client firms located in Australia, California, Chile, and Finland that represent five major industrial sectors (biotechnology, communications, software/internet, manufacturing processes, and environmental). The paper also discusses in detail the VDP’s Strategic Partnership Network of legal, accounting, and investment experts. Finally the paper reviews the Global Access Program of the VDP in which international high growth firms gain access to international investment and markets.

Implications

Critical to this paper is a detailed discussion of how the educational and support model developed can be replicated in other institutions. The model developed is one of multi-national cooperation in the development of technology based firms.

CONTACT: Dr. Alan L. Carsnid, The Anderson School at UCLA, 110 Westwood Plaza, C506, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1481; (T) 310-825-1808; (F) 310-206-2002; acarsrud@anderson.ucla.edu

ã 1999 by Babson College. All rights reserved. Last updated March 2000.