Jules F. Knapp Entrepreneurship Center Launches Portal "Calling All Garage Gurus – Door Opener Available"
Jules F. Knapp Entrepreneurship Center today announced its portal, www.knappcenter.iit.edu will go live on August 15, 2006, marking the Center’s official launch. The Knapp Center was established in 2004 with $2 million in charitable gifts to the Illinois Institute of Technology to promote techno-entrepreneurship in the Chicago area. The Center is housed with its current clients within the IIT University Technology Park.
"Knapp Center and IIT’s University Technology Park are leveraging the University and the city of Chicago’s historical expertise in manufacturing and service sectors, while drawing from collaboration between traditional engineering and newer digital technologies." said Ken Johnson, Executive Director of the Knapp Center. "With our portal going live, and a venture fund campaign underway, we are at speed to make Chicagoland the home of choice for new technology ventures."
The Knapp Center portal will offer applicants a birds’ eye view to services ranging from environmental scan to exit strategy, including start-up negotiations, state-of-the-art facilities, incubator space featuring university-level resources, and operational consulting and execution. Participating firms can also manage ongoing programs via the portal. The center is also joining forces with Chicagoland business, technology, and entrepreneurial groups to secure technology experts and entrepreneurs who would otherwise migrate to the coasts for funding.
"Local investors will be quick to tell anyone who asks, they’re tired of getting on a plane to conduct due diligence," says David Weinstein, President of Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center.
Thus far, Knapp Center has found no shortage of ventures meriting its support. Their current client’s technologies stand to change the way business is done in a range of areas including cellular frequency use, voice over internet protocol (VoIP) security, mobile custom content management, and solar power application.
"Innovation is about changing the way things get done," said Johnson. "That’s what we look for in our candidates, and that’s what we’re doing to support them."
About the Knapp Center
The Knapp Center, located on Illinois Institute of Technology’s Main Campus, provides all-inclusive services for technology-based companies, and offers negotiated rates for services not available internally. Included in the Center’s offerings is the University Technology Park, allowing participants to start and scale operations. The Center evaluates applicants based upon perceived potential value of the technology, the experience of the management team, and the potential need for the Center’s offerings.
Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting technological university awarding degrees in the sciences, mathematics and engineering, as well as architecture, psychology, design, business and law. IIT’s interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum prepares the university’s 6,200 students for leadership roles in an increasingly complex and culturally diverse global workplace.
