Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Centers Blog

We walked in front of the Lincoln Memorial and talked of bar-b-que sauce.

That sounds strange, but that is often the case when worlds collide.

Dr. Harry Berrier, emeritus professor of veterinary pathology and active entrepreneur, is also a World War II-era veteran and former member of the Air Force Reserve. He was with us when Central Missouri Honor Flight took its third journey to Washington, DC, earlier this week to see the WWII Memorial and other historic sites. I was assigned to be his “guardian,” an Honor Flight designation that simply means we accompany the veterans on the trip, managing airport logistics and personal needs. After seeing the WWII Memorial, our group typically goes to the Korean War and Vietnam War Memorials, passing the Lincoln Memorial in between. It was on that walk that Dr. Berrier and I discussed his business, Show-Me Bar-B-Q Sauce, Inc.

Here again, worlds collided. My father, a WWII veteran and rather accomplished outdoor chef himself, introduced Show-Me sauce into our family when I was in high school. Since that time, it’s the only sauce any of us have used. So, I had a particular interest in hearing the story of this amazing concoction and how it fit into Dr. Berrier’s life and work as a veterinarian, educator, conservationist, arts enthusiast, bird-watcher and military man.
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A life-saving market potential of more than $1 billion per year.

That’s what is possible from the nanoparticulate technologies being developed for treating cancer by Columbia-based Nanoparticle Biochem, Inc., according to one of its founders, Dr. Kattesh V. Katti, MU curator’s professor of radiology and physics.

The university spin-off company, founded in 2004 by an interdisciplinary team of chemists, physicists and radiologists, focuses on research and production of an array of nanoparticle-based products. The current NBI team includes: Katti, senior vice president; Raghuraman Kannan, vice president; Henry W. White, president and CEO; Kavita K. Katti, chief science officer; and Anandhi Upendran, director of research.

The fields of nanoparticle research and applications are burgeoning ones. Researchers have found hundreds of uses for the small but mighty substances. NBI’s focus is on medicine, health and hygience.

Products developed by the research team at NBI are of high commercial value, says Upendran. The company’s nanomedicine research concentrates on developing products for the cancer diagnosis and treatment. Its antimicrobial research focuses on a series of agents with important applications for the production of antimicrobial textiles for the defense, health, hospitality and hygiene industries.

Dr. Paul Rehrig, state director of our MoFAST program, a service of the Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Centers housed in our center, says NBI has already demonstrated the ability to deliver innovative products that are ready for market. (more…)

Last Tuesday night, central Missouri felt its first really serious – and treacherous – winter storm. Roads were slick and visibility was poor. Only those willing to take the risk were out on the streets and highways that evening. Only those with a sincere need to travel and a strong desire to reach their destination were huddled up against the bitter cold and harsh elements. Only those with a deeply held belief in their mission were willing to take the chance.

That’s why our plans to honor 20 of Missouri’s best innovators and entrepreneurs in Jefferson City went off without a hitch. Because you don’t reach that level of excellence and achievement without the qualities of determination, tolerance for some risk, belief in the mission and commitment to success. Those innovators and entrepreneurs were there, as were the members of the statewide Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Centers (SBTDC) and Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) who assisted them in achieving amazing milestones in business creation, investment, sales and job generation. For their work they were rewarded with the 2009 Rising Star of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards, a statewide recognition for their diligence, creativity and business development success. (more…)

Jim Ries sits on the floor with his laptop and watches his ten-year-old daughter’s dance class rehearse.

That is, he watches when he’s not working.

Between applauding leaps and offering encouraging smiles, Jim sits against the dance studio wall and responds to emails, drafts technical documentation and programs software applications. It’s both the joy and the bane of his existence.

“When it’s your business, you never leave work,” Jim says. “You’re always thinking, always improving, always communicating. We love it, but there is no closing the door at 5 p.m. I think about if all night; sometimes I work all night. It goes everywhere with us.”

The other part of “us” is Allen Mavel, who with Jim owns Enginet Technologies and Assessment Builders, two companies formed from the two programmers’ passion for code, product development and entrepreneurship. Enginet, primarily a software development consulting firm, was founded in 2000 after Jim and Allen had left Datastorm Technologies, the Columbia firm that rode the crest of the dot-com industry several years ago. (more…)

When Dorothy needed some additional help due to a back problem, her family called Lynette Yaeger at Bluegrass Terrace in Ashland to see if Dorothy could stay at the senior assisted living center for a few months.

After 24 hours at Bluegrass, Dorothy called her family in Columbia and said, “Sell my house, and bring me the rest of my belongings. I’m staying here.”

One visit to Bluegrass Terrace would explain Dorothy’s decision. Possibly the only place you would feel more at home is in your own home. And that’s just what Lynette and her husband, Randy, were wanting when they opened the 16-room facility in December 2007.

“The most satisfying thing for me is when people call this their ‘home,’” says Lynette as she straightens the magazines on the coffee table in the spacious and elegant living area. “That’s when I know we have succeeded.” (more…)

When Michele Stauffer was very young, someone gave her a small scooter for her birthday.

That was nearly 50 years ago – long before helmets and elbow pads. Unencumbered, Michele loved the feel of the wind as she flew down the hills near her rural Kansas home. The neighbors looked on in concern.

When asked about her daughter’s safety, Michele’s mother calmly replied, “Let the girl be. She’s having a good time.”

A few years later, when Michele earned her pilot’s license and entered the male-dominated fields of aviation and aircraft sales, those same neighbors looked on in disbelief.

“Let the girl be,” Michele’s mother said. “She’s having a good time.”

A few decades and more than 5,000 flight hours later, Michele Stauffer is still having a good time as president and CEO of Kansas Aircraft Corporation, a company that sells turboprop, single and twin-engine piston airplanes and jets to a market that spans the globe. The company takes aircraft on consignment, provides consulting services and brokers aircraft purchases for clients. Michele and her team of four handle millions of dollars in transactions each year from their location just minutes from downtown Kansas City. (more…)

At a recent holiday gathering, I overheard a gentleman talking about his grandson.

“He’s really got some entrepreneurial DNA in him,” said the proud grandfather, of the 13-year-old boy, who has started a business planning birthday parties for his friends, including having his 14-year-old sister provide the birthday cake, party favors and invitations. “He has his older sister on contract!” boasted Grandpa.

His mention of “entrepreneurial DNA” reminded me of a young man we met through our center when we held our first Entrepreneurship Camp for high-school students here at MU last summer. (more…)

In the Peanut’s comic strip, Snoopy always began his novels with this line:

“It was a dark and stormy night.”

That’s how I’ll begin my story now.

Last Tuesday was a dark and stormy night. But in a warm banquet room at an area hotel, 200 people were oblivious to the weather as they listened intently to 18 entrepreneurs describe how their dreams are coming true.

All 18 are clients of the Missouri Small Business Development Center and the Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Center, which are housed in central Missouri in our University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at MU. All 18 are in different stages of development, they represent different industries and their owners hold different aspirations.

What they hold in common is their tremendous success and the ability to inspire. (more…)

The ideas were as diverse as the kids who came up with them.

The experiences were as varied as the hometowns from which they came.

The talent in the room was as evident as the noise was loud.

And the enthusiasm and inspiration were infectious and encouraging.

It was Entrepreneurship Camp 2007, a cooperative program of MU Extension, jointly sponsored by our office, the University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and The 4-H Office. The College of Engineering, College of Business, MU Career Center and Office of Community Enterprise and Economic Development provided valuable sponsorship assistance.

The 12 kids, whose average age is 15, came to us from St. Louis, Caruthersville, Kearney, Fredericktown, Concordia, Columbia, Fulton and Jefferson City. They all shared an interest in entrepreneurship. Some had the idea for a business when they arrived, and some did not. One is already in business. Together, we learned how to develop a business concept, a business plan, a marketing strategy and financial projections. We learned the importance of good credit, how to research an industry or business idea and how to convince others that your concept is a good one. (more…)

It was the noon hour, and Gary Duncan was on the second level of the store he owns with his wife, Sharon, when he saw a shopper and asked if he could help her.

“No, thank you,” she responded. “I’m just looking. This is my therapy.”

Frameworks is a great place for that. You can browse to your heart’s content, listen to lovely music, smell the candles and let the pressures of the day fade away. Gary and Sharon understand that, and it’s just the environment they hoped to create when they bought the framing and gift store six years ago.

But after 40 plus years in the plant genetics business, it’s hardly where Gary thought he would end up.

Gary and Sharon are excellent examples of a growing phenomenon in small business – the boomers who fail retirement and start new ventures to remain engaged and contribute to the vitality of their communities. (more…)