Ben Franklin TechVentures is owned and operated by the Ben

Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, which

is an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community

and Economic Development and is funded by the Ben Franklin

Technology Development Authority.

Printed by Nacci Printing, Inc.

For more information, contact:Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern PennsylvaniaBen Franklin TechVentures, 116 Research Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18015-4731610.758.5200

www.bftechventures.org www.nep.benfranklin.org

8/2012

The BeN FRANkliN TechNology PARTNeRs oF NoRTheAsTeRN PeNNsylVANiA is part of a four-center, state-funded economic development initiative that links companies with business and technical experts, universities, funding, and other resources to help them prosper through innovation. The organization’s strategy encompasses three key areas:

The northeastern center is headquartered on the campus of lehigh University in Bethlehem, with regional offices in Bloomsburg, Reading, and scranton.

Ben Franklin is recognized nationally and internationally as the gold standard for technology-based economic development. Ben Franklin has worked with hundreds of early-stage firms and established manufacturing firms at their most vulnerable times, positioning them for success.

1. Developing early-stage, technology-oriented companies

2. Helping established manufacturers creatively apply new technology to achieve industry leadership

3. Promoting innovative community-wide initiatives that foster a supportive business environment for high-growth companies

owned and managed by the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Ben Franklin TechVentures® provides an entrepreneurial culture that fuels innovation. This award-winning incubator/post-incubator facility brings together entrepreneurs, Ben Franklin staff, and lehigh University faculty and students to accelerate the growth of the region’s technology economy. The Ben Franklin team supports TechVentures resident companies with management guidance, business planning, strategic planning, and marketing counsel; connections to angel investors and venture capitalists; and assistance in preparing and perfecting funding presentations. Resident companies enjoy shared basic office services and access to equipment, conference and meeting rooms, high-speed internet, and other amenities. Ben Franklin’s innovation institute meeting, learning, and conference space in TechVentures also benefits local partners and programs.

Ben Franklin funding and the reduced operating costs of starting a company in a business incubator are typically what initially draw early-stage companies to Ben Franklin TechVentures. But the business development assistance, mentoring, and sharing of best practices among tenants are also keys to success and are often viewed by company leaders as the most important reason to be a Ben Franklin TechVentures resident company.

grows early-stage firms that create jobs

Ben Franklin TechVenTures

➾➾

➾➾A job creAtion fActory

Ben Franklin TechVenTures

www.bftechventures.org

In 2011, TechVentures won first-place national honors in the U.S. EPA 2011 ENERGY STAR Challenge and the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association Project of the Year Award. The facility received the American Institute of Architects Eastern Pennsylvania Award of Merit and won two Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Journal Best of 2011 Awards.

t e c hv e n t u r e s

r e s u lt s

stArt-up spAce + Wet lAb spAce + entrepreneuriAl synergy

Among the first business incubators in the United states, the original Ben Franklin Business incubator was established in 1983 and was located across the street from Ben Franklin TechVentures on lehigh University’s Mountaintop campus in Bethlehem, Pa. The facility had been at capacity for most of its quarter-century of operation. Ben Franklin and its economic development colleagues had to turn away promising young companies due to a lack of incubator space and available wet lab space. Wet labs are requisite for emerging companies in many technology sectors.

lehigh donated the TechVentures building to Ben Franklin to expand its business incubator, and Ben Franklin completely renovated this former Bethlehem steel research and development facility to meet the needs of high-tech companies. in 2007, Ben Franklin celebrated the grand opening of the Ben Franklin TechVentures incubator/post-incubator facility. This building addressed both increased incubator and wet lab space needs by doubling the available wet lab space and more than tripling the office and dry lab space available when compared to the original Ben Franklin Business incubator.

Ben Franklin staff projected that the 35,000 square feet of rentable space, including more than 11,000 square feet of dedicated wet lab space in TechVentures, would meet the region’s requirements for about five years. Just 18 months after the grand opening, however, TechVentures was filled to near capacity. This is indicative of the tremendous demand for incubator and wet lab space in the lehigh Valley.

expAnsion: ben FrAnklin techVentures2

Ben Franklin received a $6 million expansion grant in september 2009 that was funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act through the U.s. commerce Department’s economic Development Administration (eDA). This grant, combined with other federal and state grants, Ben Franklin funding, and private contributions, allowed Ben Franklin to proceed with the project, which cost $18 million. The expanded Ben Franklin TechVentures improves Ben Franklin’s ability to provide resources, workspace, and hands-on support to early-stage technology companies and generate new jobs.

Ben Franklin TechVentures2 is a 47,000-square-foot addition to the original Ben Franklin TechVentures facility. it includes wet labs, office/meeting space, and a new parking garage, increasing the total facility size to 109,000 square feet. Ben Franklin TechVentures2 is registered to be a certified leadership energy and environmental Design (leeD) building, with a photovoltaic solar array on its rooftop and the latest energy-management and light-harvesting technologies, produced by coopersburg-based lutron electronics, integrated throughout the building. The architect was spillman Farmer Architects, and the construction manager was Allied Building corporation, both of Bethlehem, Pa.

t e c h v e n t u r e s2

— R. ChadwiCk Paul, JR. President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania

“ ben Franklin techVentures epitomizes our work at the ben Franklin technology partners. like its predecessors, ben Franklin techVentures is a job creation factory. our legacy of innovation continues.”

Ben Franklin TechVentures is projected to create as many as 200 sustainable, highly paid technology jobs and retain 100 more jobs at new start-up companies in just its first three years. It will also provide job and internship opportunities for up to 20 university students each year. Since 1983, the Ben Franklin Business Incubator and TechVentures have graduated more than 55 successful companies that have together created more than 5,400 jobs.

techVentures was named national business incubator of the year by the national business incubation Association in 2001 and again in 2012 – an extraordinary repeat honor.