By: James R. Johnson, Grand Forks Herald

In 25 years, UND’s Center for Innovation has grown from an idea into a nationally recognized program for entrepreneurs.

“We’re still a bootstrap operation, academically,” said Bruce Gjovig, director and entrepreneur coach. “It’s really quite amazing.”

Amazing, considering Gjovig started the center in a chemical closet on campus in 1984. Today, the incubators within the center and the Ina Mae Rude Entrepreneur Center on the west end of the campus house 23 small businesses employing about 130 people.

Since 1999, more than 100 students from the center have started businesses. More than 300 students are serving internships.

In that 25-year stretch, more than 440 companies have been launched from the center, which has attracted more than $110 million in investments.

Gjovig credits late UND President Tom Clifford for securing the first $20,000 for an idea totally foreign to college campuses at the time.

“He challenged me to raise funds from UND alumni and entrepreneurial friends,” Gjovig said. “Fifteen entrepreneurs stepped up to the plate that first year.”

Gjovig said he has had to repeatedly reinvent the center through 25 years of changing business environments. The biggest change: the belief that students need experience working in the industry where they want to start a business. Now, they learn on the go.

“The center provides an opportunity to learn from the investors’ side of the table, as well,” said Dan Horak, vice president of business development. “You understand both sides, and that’s a rare opportunity at the college age.”

“In some situations, they’re paying you to start a business,” said Jordan Schuetzle, past chairman of the center’s board. “You’re an employee here with connections to expertise and resources.”

Horak said the network within the center matches entrepreneurs with people who can identify problems and advise how to fix them.

“Our strengths have been focusing on helping entrepreneurs find their competitive edge in the marketplace and attracting angel investment,” Gjovig said. “Angels are private investors buying equity in entrepreneurial ventures. They’ve been there. They enjoy the thrill of building another company. Those opportunities depend on how well we coach our entrepreneurs.”

Mike Kuntz and Todd Mitzel started Icon Architects at the center in 2002. Today, they have 21 employees and soon will move out.

Dale Jensen and Justin Bartak were software developers looking for a place to host their server and to gather mail. The center turned their notion into a business, Ntractive.

“It gives students the opportunity to see what it’s like to be in a small, start-out business,” Jensen said. “It provides an inexpensive way to have the business you started in your garage or basement look like it’s not out of your garage or basement.”

Creative atmosphere

The building itself also is quite a stretch from that first chemical closet. The raised ceilings and lighting varies along hallways that are purposely not straight. Gjovig has lined the walls with 130 local works of art –– creations made from recycled material and paintings depicting prairie skylines.

“Artists are like entrepreneurs; they see the world differently,” Gjovig said. “We’ve made a creative space for creative people. Their work is very intense, so the atmosphere is a visual stimulus for energy.”

Gjovig sees the Center for Innovation playing a critical role in the economic recovery in the United States.

“Many great companies have been formed in a recession,” Gjovig said. “There are opportunities in nanotechnology, biotechnology, unmanned aircraft, alternative energies and plants being raised to create pharmaceutical products.”

Reach Johnson at (701) 780-1262; (800) 477-6572, ext. 262; or send e-mail to jjohnson2@gfherald.com. Reach Johnson at (701) 780-1262; (800) 477-6572, ext. 262; or send e-mail to jjohnson2@gfherald.com.