Antonovich Commemorates Technology Week

At the Business Technology Center in Altadena, Los Angeles County Mayor Michael D. Antonovich awarded the High Technology Leader award to Dan Sarnoff, president of DSKR Productions LLC, Tim Sarnoff, president of Technicolor Digital Productions and Tom Sarnoff, president of Sarnoff Entertainment Corporation.
 
Tom Sarnoff was former executive vice president of NBC and was Chairman of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Tom’s father David initiated NBC and young Tom’s voice was the first ever heard on television eighty years ago.
 
Tim Sarnoff is president of Technicolor Digital Productions and oversees the planning and production of world-class visual effects for motion pictures, broadcast and computer animation projects including Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter and the Academy-Award winning Spider-Man™ 2 as well as nominations on eight additional films.
 
At the forefront of the internet, Dan Sarnoff is the CEO of Gamebay.com, a company represents the bulk of the transactional data base systems and progressive jackpot games which have become the core of the Native American gaming industry.  He is also President of TV Games, Inc., a subsidiary of multimedia games engaged in developing TV game shows.
 
The Business Technology Center, a project of the Community Development Commission of Los Angeles County was initiated by Supervisor Antonovich in 1998 and remains the largest technology incubator in California.  The BTC helps to develop high technology firms by providing office space, business management assistance, technical assistance, and the coordination of available financial resources.

LA Tech Week Lauds Technology Leaders
By  Rebecca Mikkelsen

Los Angeles County’s Technology Week celebrates the role technology plays in our community’s business community, and honors the innovative entrepreneurs, dedicated scientists and engineers, supportive investors and mentors who make it happen. The highlight of LA Tech Week’s tenth anniversary of was the Signature Symposium, held at the Business Technology Center in Altadena on October 20. Eight panels of experts provided insights and tips on financing, legal issues, marketing for start-ups and what’s next in technologies for entertainment, medical devices, clean energy. Frequent breaks provided opportunities for introductions and networking.

Available Funding for Technology Start-Ups

What do Qualcomm, Aplina, Medtronic, Viasat, Inc., Symantec and iROBOT have in common? In their early phases, all companies received funds from the federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research (“SBIR”) program. As a speaker on the “Lean Start-up, Strategic Partnerships and Stronger Sales” panel, Dr. Bob Conger, Executive Vice President of Microcosm, Inc., touched on the features of the SBIR. Here are a few highlights:

This federal program was created to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of federal research funds in small American businesses, in order to build a stronger national economy.

The Small Business Administration coordinates the program, awarding a portion of the some research budgets of federal agencies to small businesses. They define “small business" as a for-profit business with fewer than 500 employees, owned by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States.

Phase I of SBIR grants and contracts are made to startups, of "up to $150,000 for approximately six months’ support [for] exploration of the technical merit or feasibility of an idea or technology." Phase II awards grants of "up to $1,000,000, for as many as two years," in order to facilitate expansion of Phase I results. Research and development work is performed and the developer evaluates the potential for commercialization. Phase II grants are awarded exclusively to Phase I award winners.

The Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) uses a similar approach to expand public/private sector partnerships between small businesses and nonprofit U.S. research institutions.
For more information please visit: www.sbir.gov.