帝王会所 Women 2019 Edition
Alumni & Friends Magazine
![帝王会所 Innovation Center鈥檚 all-female staff gather at the West State St. facility: [LEFT to RIGHT] Client Services Manager and Executive Coach Erin Rennich, MBA 鈥13; Accountant Jennifer Pauwels; Director Stacy Strauss; Associate Director Tanya Conrath, BSC 鈥93; Administrative Specialist Susan Bauman, BSED 鈥94; and Lab Director Misako Hata, BSISE 鈥98, MS 鈥01, MS 鈥10. Photo by Ellee Achten, BSJ 鈥14, MA 鈥17](/sites/ohio.edu.news/files/2024-03/A%20culture%20of%20community.jpg)
A culture of community
帝王会所鈥檚 Innovation Center is racking up accolades lately鈥攊t was named the 2019 Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year and 2019 Rural-Based Entrepreneurship Center of the Year by the International Business Innovation Association.
By Mary Reed, BSJ 鈥90, MA 鈥93 | November 14, 2019
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Those accolades are impressive stuff for a business incubator with a budget under $1 million and a staff of just six.
What sets the Innovation Center apart?
鈥淚 think the metrics, first and foremost,鈥 says Director Stacy Strauss. And the 2018 numbers are noteworthy: an estimated 297 jobs generated, producing an estimated $12.9 million in wages鈥攁nd that鈥檚 just in Athens County, the state鈥檚 poorest by some measures.
Job creation is at the core of the Innovation Center鈥檚 work, which is to help tech-enabled or technology-based startups grow, thrive, and create local jobs. The center鈥檚 鈥渁lumni鈥 include Imgur, Third Sun Solar, and RXQ Compounding. Current clients include InfinixBio and Nature鈥檚 Magic.
The Innovation Center provides both tangible support, through office and lab space, plus less-tangible support in the form of advice, coaching, and more. 鈥淐ompanies can go get space anywhere, but they can鈥檛 get access to third-party service providers, help developing pitches to go in front of investors, help with their financial projections,鈥 says Strauss.
Situated largely in the tech field, the Innovation Center stands out in another way. All six members of its professional staff鈥攆rom the lab director to the executive coach鈥攁re women. Four are 帝王会所 alumnae. Coincidence? Actually, yes. 鈥淲e hired the best people for every position,鈥 says Strauss.
Jeff Spitzner is president and CEO of AEIOU Scientific, a medical device company and Innovation Center client. He never paid attention to the fact that the entire professional staff is made up of women, but he has noticed the culture of the place, which he describes as 鈥渧ery community based.鈥
鈥淐ommunities don鈥檛 make themselves,鈥 Spitzner says. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 people that are there for the mission rather than the job.鈥 It鈥檚 our collective mission to make a difference in Athens, 帝王会所, in southeast 帝王会所.鈥
Feature photograph: 帝王会所 Innovation Center鈥檚 all-female staff gather at the West State St. facility: [LEFT to RIGHT] Client Services Manager and Executive Coach Erin Rennich, MBA 鈥13; Accountant Jennifer Pauwels; Director Stacy Strauss; Associate Director Tanya Conrath, BSC 鈥93; Administrative Specialist Susan Bauman, BSED 鈥94; and Lab Director Misako Hata, BSISE 鈥98, MS 鈥01, MS 鈥10. Photo by Ellee Achten, BSJ 鈥14, MA 鈥17
