Emerging Erosions

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project type: student work, second-year spring semester

program: live/work space for the E.V.E. program and a residency for faculty adjunct (an incubator for new businesses)

location: Troy, NY

completion: 5.2014

Our live/work space will try to improve the Emerging Ventures Ecosystem, (R.P.I.’s incubator program) while also providing a residency and workspace for adjunct faculty and other guests that R.P.I. brings to campus. R.P.I.’s incubator program, EVE, provides resources to student entreprenuers such as funding, networking opportunities. The EVE program has started multiple succesful businesses and is a great asset to students. The decision to combine the EVE program with an adjunct faculty/guests residency is to further strengthen the incubator program and to further help the student entrepreneurs. The faculty and guests bring expertise and knowledge that will further help the entrepreneurs and can provide insight in how to further grow their business. This is also a great way for the entrepreneurs to furhter expand their network. Our mission will be similar to the EVE’s program which is to provide a major resource for student entrepreneurs that have a business that deals with R.P.I.’s field of research which are; Biotechnolgy and Life Sciences, Energy, Environment and Smart Systems, Computational Science and Engineering, Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Media, Arts, Science and Technology. Another mission of ours is to provide a public space for both the

entreprenuers and the public that allows the entrepreneurs to refresh their minds and also showcase their business but also a place where the general public can take full advantage and enjoy the riverfront. Our incubator/faculty residency will first save R.P.I. money that they spend keeping the faculty in hotels. It will prove that R.P.I. is the leader in innovation and their slogan “why not change the world?”

In order to make our own residency we had to look at other remarkable residencies. The one I analyzed was the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Japan.The Nakagin Capsule Tower is one of the rare remaining example of Japanese Metabolism

movement, which is a post-war movement that fused architectural megastructures with those of organic biological growth. It was the world’s first example of capsule architecture built for permanent and practical use. The building is actually composed of two interconnected towers; one eleven floors the other thirteen floors, and they house 140 prefabricated modules. The capsules are pretty small because they were made for traveling businessmen that worked in central Tokyo during the week. The modules could have been connected and combined to create larger spaces, and can function as

either an office or living space. The capsules are small and compact with each measuring 7.5 ft. x 12 ft. x 6.9 ft. with the bathroom the size of an airplane lavatory, one wall is filled with appliances such as the stove, sink, refrigerator and television. The capsules are designed to be replaceable; they are connected to one of the two main shafts by four high-tension bolts. The capsules are attached independently and are cantilevered so that when they are removed they do not disturb the other capsules. The building was to be sustainable and efficient and according to the architect Kisho Kurokawa the capsules are supposed to be replaced every 25 years therefore the building can last about 200 years.

Building on decades of succesful efforts to nurture new busines and bring ideas from classrooms and labs to the marketplace, Rensselaer launched, in February 2011, a distributed incubation program to help young businesses grow and succeed: the Emerging Ventures Ecosystem (EVE).Once a new company completes the application process and they are chosen the program will then be give a status

Pre-Seed, Emerging, or Early Stage

Biotechnology and the Life Sciences

Energy, Environment, and Smart Systems

Computational Science and Engineering

Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials

Media, Arts, Science, and Technology

Services that the E.V.E. Program Provides

Board of Advisors

A board of advisers will be established from community resources or alumni/ae as may be appropriate. If a company already has a board of advisers or directors, EVE will assign an additional person to the board to act as a liaison to mobilize resources within the Institute.

Quaterly Goals and Objectives

With the belief that new businesses need a concrete plan to succeed, each company will develop with its advisory board three or four key objectives, with milestones they need to accomplish each quarter. These goals will be tracked and measured each quarter with new goals developed for succeeding quarters. Companies must continue to show steady progress in order to remain in the program.

Access to Entrepreneurs in Residence

The Institute representative will identify resources within the Institute that can be utilized to assist the company as needed. As a member of EVE, a company will have access to the Entrepreneur(s) in Residence at the Lally School as well as other resources including labs, patenting and licensing services, faculty, and students for work study assignments, internships (REIP), and student projects.

Help Desk

Alumni/ae and community volunteers (e.g., attorneys, accountants) will be available on a rotating schedule to requires regular ongoing assistance, it will be encouraged to select a professional service company from a stage companies.

Monthly CEO Roundtable Discussions

EVE will host monthly (may be more frequent) peer review meetings where the CEOs of the incubated companies get together to talk about topics and issues of importance to them. Participants will sign at early stage, and emerging companies provides a framework for peer-to-peer coaching

Funding

EVE will promote and introduce its companies to investors, assist them in identifying and seeking grant opportunities (NYSERDA, SBIR, etc), and help them prepare for business plan competitions. The companies will be given assistance in preparing applications, presentations, and pitches. Additionally,