Women network faster in the industry!

May 24, 2012 by Clinovo    No Comments    Posted under: Events

This is an efficient way to meet new people and network, I have to say. I don’t think I have talked to so many people, learned about what they do, what their business was about, and talked about my company, in such a little time frame. In addition, all the women that attend the WIB events are so passionate! Talking to these driven, great individuals is definitely inspiring.

This was one of the most fun industry events I attended. Kudos to the WIB group and the organizers of this event.

Visit their website for more events: http://www.womeninbio.org/

Author: Sophie McCallum, Marketing & HR Manager at Clinovo, sophie.mccallum@clinovo.com

Plug-and-play labs at San Jose BioCenter

Feb 14, 2012 by Clinovo    No Comments    Posted under: Event

I recently went to a networking event at the San Jose BioCenter to learn more about the facility as well as meet people who work there. The BioCenter is a unique facility that allows life science, nanotech, and cleantech companies to plug in to their lab and office space for innovation. By doing so, start-up companies can bypass the costs and time required to set up for research and dig directly in to discovery. I had a good time at the event, meeting people and learning about the incubator in a relaxed, enjoyable environment.

An appealing concept

The BioCenter was founded in 2004 in collaboration with the city of San Jose and the San Jose University Research Center. The facility is 40,000 sq ft and houses about 20 companies and will soon be expanding to almost double its current size. While touring the facility, I saw people from multiple companies going in and out of labs and office spaces, all with the common goal of elevating life through better pharmaceutical, better diagnostics, or bettering the environment.

I met with 2 people from one of the companies in the incubator who are developing a bacterial detection platform for molecular diagnostics. The company in entirety is 7 people, a common theme of the BioCenter. It is an electric environment to see these small companies sharing this large facility. The BioCenter has been at 100% occupancy for the last 5 years. During the crisis in 2008-09, they found a shift from less life science to more cleantech companies moving in, an interesting trend that has stuck with me.

A convenient format to nurture promising research

Some interesting things I learned about the BioCenter and its occupants are that the success rate coming from the incubator is not only high, but often very profitable. Companies have emerged from the space, garnering deals worth 50, 80, even 130 million dollars. A benefit to the companies who do not make it out of the facility is that with this plug-and-play format, decisions can be made quicker and at lower costs, allowing funds to be redistributed to more successful ideas.

I believe that such places play a great role in fostering research, it allows researchers, indivually or in small cells, to start a research program without a big investment and it lowers the risk. At the end of the day, more innovations can be brought to the market.

The event was a great opportunity to learn about the BioCenter as well as meet the tenants. The atmosphere was relaxed, they had yummy bites and my favorite beer, and overall was an evening well spent.

Check out the BioCenter at http://www.sjbiocenter.com to see for yourself what I experienced first hand.

Joshua Elvert
joshua.elvert@clinovo.com
(408) 940 3934