Hank [BS/MSEE,
MSM $$$, Ph.D. Mgmt] teaches Visit To Purdue Research Park (PRP)
Our visit to PRP yesterday provided a great background on the Park, both from the perspective of the “manager” Tim Peoples, and of two incubator firms. I have been part of the interfaces Tim has with new companies and can personally vouch that under him, the Park is “the real deal.” All of you should consider residence there should your circumstances warrant.
We had two presentation by founders:
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Shawn, founder of Aerial Image Corp http://www.aerialimageinc.com/, 1291 Cumberland Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47906 provided insights into his background and how his business has evolved.
Aerial Image is using radio-controlled helicopters, a 30-foot-long radio-controlled blimp and other devices to offer video and photography for emergency and commercial services, public events and mapping systems. Support of the military was especially interesting, as was the company competing against much much larger competitors. -
Jon from Seyet http://www.seyet.com/ Purdue Technology Center, 3000 Kent Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47906, 765-532-0225, info@seyet.com provided a different, laid-back approach to discussing his startup with the class.
Seyet provides advanced life sciences companies with visual solutions that effectively communicate the complex science behind their products and technologies. You would never know this from John’s personality, would you? -
You may have wondered why the addresses of both companies are included in today’s blog??? Hint Hint Hint Remember what Tim O’Malley told you after your great video presentations? Send Shawn & John a note thanking them for hosting us, and Tim too for the matter.
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For tomorrow, please comment on what you learned from your visit to the Park that will stand you in good stead for the future. Hank 3:47 PM 5/29/07
PS: The “Boomer” is processing video from this morning’s visit. There weren’t enough slots open in the case to install the SCSI drives, so “only” an additional 500 Gig IDE drive is installed. There were 79 critical updates, 11 software updates, and 1 hardware drive update, along with antivirus software and utilities that had to be installed in Windows XP Pro before the Boomer went into use. It is without a doubt the quickest computer I have every used. Even web stuff is faster! I’m thinking about two 24″ monitors for it, instead of the single 26 incher on it now. I’ll keep you posted. Update - when I turned it off last night, seven more “critical” updates from Microsoft were installed. Will it never end?
It is always nice to know we are open to such choices at Purdue. With the support of PRP I am sure Purdue students with high-tech innovations would enter the market very well. It is nice to know that we have those options open to us.
What was reinforced was that housing your business in an inexpensive area (such as West Lafayette) is beneficial for someone starting up — what else was funny was that Seyet, was started by a group of 3…Also Aerial Image had 2 full-times and the CEO making 3 full-times…there’s something magical about having at least 3 people
I really enjoyed learning about the logistics of Purdue Research Park, including the cost, the affiliate program and all of the various services they offer their tenets. No doubt Purdue and the Lafayette area will reap huge benefits from the Park.
Like Rebecca stated this is good for the community of Lafayette. Also, I had no idea that the park owned such an enormous amount of land. Lastly, it’s nice to see someone who is only a couple years of out college like John, and is succeeding. John was a good speaker, and likeable but did anyone else get the feeling that he did not want to talk about his company. He even stated that talking about your company over and over gets monotonous, but I still felt he should have better explained his company and vision.
I am increasingly amazed by the things in little Lafayette, Indiana. I knew a little about the research park, but
I wouldn’t have dreamed that such a haven for high-tech start-ups would exist here. Although Mr. Peoples put a lot
of emphasis on high-tech, I believe the research park also has benefits for other companies that are not as high-tech.
I hope so. That would be very beneficial to other Lafayette entrepreneurs, business owners, and students.
I knew little to none about the park before this class. It amazes me that we have these type of these availably to us/ I find out more and more things like this all the time. The park will no doubt help out Purdue’s students as well as the Lafayette community and I think it is a great program with great people there to help.
I also had no idea that so many companies were housed in Purdue Research Park. Honestly, before the trip I thought that it was just a place where a bunch of guys in lab coats play around with microscopes all day. I think it is really interesting to see all the work that Purdue has done to support these start up companies.
As most of my other classmates mention, I also did not know how extensive the Purdue Research Park is. It is
interesting that companies with so much potential are located in the park. I think it is interesting that the park
has so many benefits for their employees. This can help retain their companies and employees. One thing that
struck me as the most interesting is how a company can take an idea and modify it to create a successful company.
For example, I thought that aerial images was interesting because they take aerial pictures just like other companies,
but they modify their images so that certain colors will “pop.” This demonstrates that one can have an idea similar
to others, but if they have a unique aspect to the company, it will be prosperous. Overall I thought that the trip
was very insightful and it is good to know that there is a place where one can go to receive help with starting
up their company.
I think that the visit to the park was very informational and insightful. It was very interesting to learn about the park and what companies are apart of it. I found it very interesting to find out how a company can become part of the PRP and how reasonable the pricing is.
Nwokedi…Check out lyrics to Blind Mellon’s- “Three is the Magic Number,” good song.
I was also amazed that such an incredible resource is availiable to Purdue students, it is easy to take the resources that Purdue has for granted. If we were at a smaller school, tech start-ups would be much harder to launch.
I too had the misconception that all the PRP had to offer were scientists that conducted studies and things of that nature; however, I was happy to see that I was wrong. Its is definitely insprirational to see people from right here at Purdue doing the things they are doing at the PRP. It will be interesting to see how man more people will be involved with the PRP as students become more informed and inspired by it.
~J.A.
I had no idea what to expect from Purdue Research Park, and it was all very impressive. I had no idea they had so
much space to work with, and that you could get access to all they have to offer for as little as $40/month. What
they provide seems invaluable to the small business entrepreneur, and it is a fantastic resource to have at our
immediate disposal. The two entrepreneurs were interesting, and their entirely different backgrounds further
emphasized that anyone with some tenacity and a good idea can get a company off the ground by learning the process.
Purdue keep on growing and it is great to be part of it. PRP is another thing to brag about to people who are not familar with Purdue. I was impressed with the workings of it. I thought that wile the first speach sounded canned, it gave a good background. I would have rather have been give a tour and been able to meet some of the other people in the park.
One idea that I thought would be interesting was if after the research park expands there will be a need for housing of all it’s employee’s especially if some companies go global. I’m wondering if they will put in apartments just for the purpose of housing interns and other employees that would be moving in to West Lafayette because of the new job opportunities created in the park. I also wonder if they already have planned for something like this.
I had no prior knowledge of the Purdue research park. The presentations proved to be beneficial in several ways.
It familiarized me with significant resources that can be utlized within the proximity of Purdue. I now know where to
develop my idea so it can properly blossom. Subsequent to the trip, I felt fortunate and blessed to be enrolled at Purdue.
I have known a little about the research park but from my seat it seems as if we only seen all of nothing!
I am sure there is much more to the park than a conference room. I would have been nice to actually see
people working or ideas in progress or the actual place that one would be working if allowed to develop
in the research park. I am very glad that we all visited but I feel as if we got the watered down version when there is much more to see and learn.
Also it also seems that there really is competition among those who are trying to get into the research
park and those who are already in. The competition comes in the form of competing for space and time more
so than money. These are just preliminary thoughts. As we all know it is easy to point out the negative things, among all
the positive things that we learned.
Although I knew a little about Purdue Research Park, I was amazed to learn how far PRP goes to help entrepreneurs. I was surprised how many startups were present and how little it costs to gain access to this world-class resource. I continue to be amazed at the benefits of being a student at Purdue University. Shawn’s presentation on Aerial Image Inc. helped me grasp what companies in PRP do. I had difficulty understanding exactly what Seyet did until late in John’s presentation.
PRP is definitely a resource that I would be foolish to ignore.
I never really knew exactly what the Purdue Research Park was before Maymester started… I guess I thought it was similar to Discovery Park (which I also didn’t really get). It looks like a lot of us just thought the area was full of little labs for people to do research in while wearing white coats. It was pretty cool to have been able to talk to a few companies in the incubator to see what they’re about. I wish, though, that we could have checked out the digs available to companies just coming into the Park… Tim mentioned 100 square feet of office space for newbies; I think that’s about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of my old dorm room in Earhart. I can’t imagine the work you’d be able to get done in there. Maybe he meant 1000 square feet, that’d be a little more reasonable. I think it’s also great that the PRP is activiely trying to keep its businesses in the Lafayette area; this area could really use the tax revenue. I was also really relieved to find out that none of my out-of-state tuition is being used to pay for the PRP.
Wrapping everything up, Purdue Research Park will help us get off our feet. The facilities they provide are great, and I think it offers the right amount of incentive to keep our drive going. I did not know how far the property expanded, and it was nice to see such enthusiasm from Purdue as far as keeping in touch and helping students jumpstart their companies.
What I really picked up on is that your market doesn’t have to be very big at all for you to be successful. Sayet is very specialized in what they do. It feels good knowing that even such a niche market can still do well.
I love the Purdue Research Park. Tuesday wasn’t the first time I have been there but every time I do go there I am always impressed. It seems great to have all those resources available and close by. I think it would also be great to work near other entrepreneurs and have someone to discuss ideas with.
I liked the presentation from Shawn because his company Aerial Image Corp took something ordinary, photography and offered more services, options and technological advances. I think this is what sets his company apart from ordinary small photography companies. It was also interesting to see how they can filter colors out of photos to reveal objects that may otherwise be unseen.
I liked the presentation from Jon because of his laid back business attitude. I thought it was interesting that his business was professional and technologically advanced but he was still able to be himself at work. I also enjoyed hearing stories of his personal experiences. I think learning from your personal experiences as well as the experiences of others is the best way to learn.
With everything said the PURP will help any feasible business get up and running. They provide state of the art facilities and allow room for growth. Its nice to see our university has such a strong focus on reseach.