Networking is a core aspect of business and is a critical factor in a startup environment. The people and businesses you connect with when your company is young can greatly influence the trajectory of that business over time.
UK entrepreneur James Dooley describes networking as “pivotal for entrepreneurs as it lays the foundation for creating important relationships, unlocking new opportunities, and building brand awareness in the business ecosystem.”
While important, networks aren’t a given. Often, building a network from the ground up requires the right connections. This is why the Missouri Innovation Center has made networking and connection a central part of its mission. The business incubator was launched to nurture entrepreneurs across Mid-Missouri as they create high-growth ventures that improve lives and grow the economy.
Along with offering affordable access to core facilities and equipment in high-barrier areas like life sciences and technology, MIC provides access to potential investors, funding channels, and business growth opportunities.
The Missouri Innovation Center: A Hub for Innovation
The Missouri Innovation Center is a non-profit organization that started in 1984 as part of a statewide initiative to create economic development support systems. It leaned on the resources of the University of Missouri and, through those channels, launched its Life Science Business Incubator in 2009.
MIC supports a variety of startups across multiple industries, including enterprise, consumer, and deep tech. However, the incubator has a distinct focus on life science ventures, particularly those aimed at improving human life and sustainability. This includes a further focus on niche areas, such as radiopharma, animal health, biowaste, renewable energy, alternative energy, diagnostics, medical devices, drugs, biotech, and nanotech.
The MIC incubator has been home to many high-growth businesses in the past and currently houses approximately 17 businesses across its facilities. Each of these growing entities falls in line with the incubator’s core values and vision. These include:
- Supporting life science business ventures that improve human life and sustainability.
- Working with founders fostering good ideas with high-growth potential.
- Supporting entrepreneurs who are interested in contributing to the growth of Mid-Missouri.
The Missouri Innovation Center seeks to achieve these goals through a variety of services and resources. This starts with the incubator itself. The structure consists of 33,000 sq. ft. of access to entrepreneurial spaces.
This is divided partially into a series of laboratory suites equipped to serve the needs of startups in the biomedical, engineering, and life sciences. This empowers resident companies to overcome high industry barriers to entry. MIC gives them access to expensive equipment and similar resources needed to engage in full-service commercialization in the life sciences sector.
Bridging the Gap: Connection Programs and Initiatives
The practical side of the Missouri Innovation Center’s facilities is a strong attraction for many companies that lease its spaces. However, it is the unseen benefits that often are a bigger advantage for clients once they are on the premises.
MIC offers access to a variety of high-profile networking connections, from distinguished researchers to venture capitalists, seasoned entrepreneurs, and more. The center provides access to these industry-specific forms of expertise (both business-focused and life sciences-focused) through multiple avenues.
MIC’s Mentorship Program
One of Missouri Innovation Center’s top “soft” resources is access to its mentorship services. This robust network comes from a curated MIC staff that consists of highly qualified business professionals.
These individuals bring years of experience to the table and have spent portions of their careers not just living out their work but helping others do so. This gives resident entrepreneurs access to experienced advisors who can assist in building their businesses from the ground up. MIC mentors offer incisive advice for a range of life science entrepreneurship needs, including:
- Business plan formation in a complex field.
- Streamlined financial acquisition through pre-vetted recommendations and connections.
- Employment strategies designed to overcome industry barriers and accelerate growth.
- Support when navigating the production and manufacturing process.
- Advice to maintain effective and profitable ongoing research and development.
Networking Events and Opportunities
The ability to lean on mentors while navigating complex startup decisions is easily one of the top value propositions for anyone considering renting space at the incubator — but the networking value extends beyond that.
MIC also facilitates a variety of events and opportunities where resident founders can meet and engage with potential professional connections. This shortcuts the need to access networking opportunities by offering niche, targeted interactions with like-minded individuals.
Other opportunities are more business-specific, such as MIC’s Entrepreneurial Regional Node, which is described as “a ‘front door’ platform for entrepreneurs to easily gain access to a well-connected network of educational and regional support systems, creating a one-stop hub that consolidates knowledge and services from regional node organizations.” These unique resources make it easier for resident teams to not just make connections but build high-quality networks.
Funding the Future: Investment Connections
Missouri Innovation Center’s networking goes beyond life science industry relationships and business-building specifics. The incubator has also curated a financial side of its network that helps connect high-growth, high-value startups with the funding to take their ideas to the next level.
For example, MIC’s partners page includes a key relationship with the angel investor network Centennial Investors. It also has strong connections with the public-private partnership Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC), which operates to foster innovation and support high-tech businesses across the state.
MIC has created multiple opportunities for financial networking. These are designed to empower its client startups to make bold, calculated investments with confidence as they develop products and bring them to market. The list of successful companies that have emerged from this financial safe haven bears testament to its effectiveness as a fiscal networking tool.
Technology Transfer and Commercialization
Networking in business is only effective if it has a purpose. Simply making connections can be encouraging at the moment they are made, but successful businesses are built on relationships that matter. Missouri Innovation Center has built its network with targeted and intentional benefits in mind, such as:
- Helping connect entrepreneurs with experienced business professionals with the expertise and knowledge to navigate startup challenges.
- Giving founders access to researchers and scientists with the cutting-edge knowledge required to equip ideas with industry-leading expertise.
- Mentors and advisors experienced in the complex process of transferring complex theory and technology into commercialized products.
- Providing intellectual property support and guidance as entrepreneurs invent new solutions and attempt to bring them to market.
These networking opportunities provide a host of additional benefits for the entrepreneurs who choose to access them on a regular basis. For instance, a curated network like MIC’s can help entrepreneurs:
- Gain ongoing insights into the latest industry trends as well as exposure to new technologies and innovations.
- Achieve greater visibility and credibility within their particular niche or sector of the life sciences industry.
- Find the best opportunities for collaborations and partnerships with complementary and like-minded fellow entrepreneurs.
- Improve talent acquisition as they build boards of directors, boards of advisors, and diversified management teams.
- Faster problem-solving of both product development and business concerns through shared expertise and insights.
These advantages make networking worth the effort in any situation. However, the ability to streamline the networking process by accessing a curated and targeted source, like that created by MIC over decades of investment and relationship, exponentially increases its value.
Looking Ahead: Future Initiatives and the Enduring Need to Network in the Startup Space
Networking will remain an integral part of the startup process for the foreseeable future, and Missouri Innovation Center is committed to remaining at the forefront of the life sciences and entrepreneurial communities of mid-Missouri. It is invested in a variety of upcoming programs and networking opportunities that mirror past successes.
MIC is also always seeking new industry partnerships, whether through mentorship opportunities, funding channels, or general business advice. It is this ever-improving, forward-thinking approach that has defined the incubator’s impact on the Missouri entrepreneurial ecosystem for so long. For those founders, especially in the life science field, interested in gaining access to this elite source of industry connections, we encourage you to reach out to our MIC team. Together, we can explore what elements of the incubator are most needed by your new enterprise to ensure your founding team is equipped with the connections that can turn your fledgling business ideas into reality.
