VT KnowledgeWorks announces merger and expansion
VT KnowledgeWorks and the Business Technology Center, two Virginia Tech offices that help promote economic development by providing a range of services to technology-based businesses, have joined forces to create a single, comprehensive entrepreneurship assistance program.
The merged VT KnowledgeWorks will launch in the coming months an “in-reach” program, aimed at helping Virginia Tech inventors commercialize their discoveries in a more timely manner.
VT KnowledgeWorks will continue to be led by Jim Flowers, who has served as its executive director since 2004. Dick Daugherty, who had directed the Business Technology Center, also since 2004, as a faculty member of the Pamplin College of Business, will lead the in-reach program and other mentoring initiatives in his new role as director of strategic services at VT KnowledgeWorks. He will also continue to provide market research and business plan development services.
“The merger will give us one brand name for business acceleration services that Virginia Tech provides to entrepreneurs and new ventures,” said Daugherty.
A subsidiary of the Virginia Tech Foundation, VT KnowledgeWorks receives funding from clients, corporate and individual friends, and municipal and university sponsors. Its campus sponsors are the Pamplin College of Business, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Outreach and International Affairs, and the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, where VT KnowledgeWorks is headquartered.
VT KnowledgeWorks recently extended its services statewide, working through its Entrepreneurship Alliance, a network of regional partner centers. “We encourage and enable creative entrepreneurship worldwide, through supporting innovative curriculum development, local business resource centers, and a global network of cooperating regions,” said Flowers. “We focus on three essential contributors to success: clear understanding of fundamental business principles; access to timely, relevant information; and meaningful personal and corporate relationships.”
During its more than 15-year life, the Business Technology Center helped hundreds of emerging and evolving technology-based companies through key services that included market research and strategy development, competitive analysis, business plan development, and financial modeling. The center also provided students significant opportunities for experiential learning through working on projects with business owners and managers, and these internships will be continue to be offered, through VT KnowledgeWorks.
Please visit VT KnowledgeWorks for more information about its services, sponsors, and upcoming events.
