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| 7/1/2008 |
Time to take the incubator out of incubation |
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| Pulling the trigger on a new idea, launching a new venture, is no small decision. In the latter years of my prior life, the one in Decatur, I gave serious consideration to leaving the newspaper there and starting a new venture for an idea I had. Did a lot of reading, research, talked to trusted business friends and, frankly, prayed a lot.
I constructed a business plan, crunched numbers, projected costs and revenues. I never pulled the trigger because, I like to think, I never reached a comfort level with what I felt were reasonable projections and the odds of success.
What I didn’t do is have an independent, impartial consultant look at my plan. I didn’t go to the expense of letting experts do a study and give me their opinion. Probably for the same reason.
That certainly cannot be said about the city’s look into a Regional Specialty Food Incubator and Test Kitchen. Last week’s presentations, a walk-through of a summary of a much more extensive business plan for the proposal, displayed a professional, thorough, well-researched look at how the entity can come about, how it can survive, possibly thrive, and how that would benefit the economic development of Bluffton, Wells County and the region.
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| 6/26/2008 |
Bluffton food incubator could cost $2 million, report says |
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| Wells County residents learned Wednesday that it might cost up to $2 million to open a regional specialty food business incubator.
A specialty food incubator would provide a commercial kitchen for companies and provide marketing, consulting and other services to help food entrepreneurs develop successful businesses.
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| 6/26/2008 |
Officials initially encouraged by public turnout, questions on proposed regional food incubator |
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| If the proposed Regional Specialty Foods Business Incubator and Test Kitchen never becomes reality, it will not be caused by a lack of interest by the local community.
Wednesday’s series of public meetings at which a general overview was presented by leaders of the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (NIIC), who were contracted to construct a feasibility study and a business plan, drew “a very encouraging number of people,” Bluffton Mayor Ted Ellis said.
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| 6/25/2008 |
Bluffton hatches plan for incubator geared toward specialty foods |
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| Bluffton will consider replicating the success of specialty food business incubators around the country by creating one of its own.
The city and the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center will unveil a business plan today for a specialty food incubator.
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| 6/25/2008 |
Bluffton incubator idea draws dozens |
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| The city of Bluffton and the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center on Wednesday offered the public a glimpse of what specialty food incubators are and why they want one in Bluffton.
Dozens of people showed up for the first two of four informational meetings today in the Wells County city.
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| 6/24/2008 |
Attendance encouraged at any of four meetings Wednesday on proposed food incubator plan |
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| The series of public meetings scheduled for tomorrow are designed to lay out a business plan for the proposed Regional Specialty Food Business Incubator and answer a set of basic questions.
Bluffton Mayor Ted Ellis is hoping for a “healthy turnout” by the public. While the city council will ultimately make the decision whether to move forward on the project, he says the public’s opinion, and support, will be crucial.
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| 6/24/2008 |
Innovation Center Graduate Trust Bearer works with Microsoft |
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| The text-based passwords found scattered across the web simply aren’t very good for protection. We’ve heard countless tales of hacked or phished passwords leading to identity theft - what happens when a user’s entire web presence (including financial and health data) is tied to a single password? It’s a recipe for disaster.
To remedy the issue, a number of companies have come up with different ways to improve security. Trustbearer requires users to provide a physical ID “token” to verify their identity (users can order a $40 USB stick if they don’t already have one of the acceptable ID cards). Vidoop offers a free browser-based image authentication system that uses advertising to generate revenue. And so on.
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| 6/24/2008 |
Innovation center maps future growth |
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| The Northeast Indiana Innovation Center soon could experience more growth.
Fort Wayne Plan Commission members Monday approved rezoning nearly 37 acres of land east of the center, 3201 Stellhorn Road, for general industrial use. The City Council will have the final say on rezoning the site, now designated planned residential.
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| 6/23/2008 |
Incubator meetings come at providential time of progress |
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| Sometimes as things happen and events come together, one wonders whether is it all just coincidence.
It seems providential, from this corner, that the series of public meetings concerning the possibility of a Regional Specialty Food Incubator and Test Kitchen will be taking place just as our annual Progress Edition is being published this week.
The meetings are being hosted by the city and the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (NIIC), who used a $30,000 city grant to construct a business plan for the project.
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| 6/20/2008 |
Innovation Center plans for continued growth |
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| A new building is under construction at the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, and Karl LaPan already is looking to start marketing another portion of the technology park.
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