TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The University of Arizona Tech Parks bring companies from around the world to Tucson, and the money and jobs that come with them.
They also give homegrown startups help getting on their feet.
David Scott grew up in Tucson. Now he’s trying to get his startup, Eternum, to grow there too.
The three-person team is getting into compliance testing for cannabis before it gets to dispensaries.
“The later we move in and get equipment going, get accredited, the later our delay is to launch,” Scott told KGUN. “So we need to move fast.”
He says the UA Tech Park shared that sense of urgency, building and installing a lab full of instruments for Eternum in about 4 months.
“I know how to run a lot of instruments, I know a lot of theories. But when things go down, and you need to maintain them, and you have turnover times with customers, that’s a whole new ball game and industry,” Scott said.
Now 20 years old, the Tech Park’s startup incubator is called the Center for Innovation (UACI).
That innovation happens more easily when startups’ fundamental needs are taken care of. It provides a program to address startups’ business needs.
Another way UACI does so is providing lab spaces that startups can share.
“Here they can rent just one bench for a much more reasonable price,” said Mark Rico, program manager at UA Tech Park. “And when they work here, they get a fume hood, they get chemical storage areas, they get a professional lab.
“When they come in they’re not having to spend money on a new pH meter, a new balance. This stuff is already here, in place,” he added. “It’s gonna cover any scientific discipline… We keep it certified. We keep it calibrated.”
Plus, the legitimate workspaces help entrepreneurs pitch to potential investors.
All of it plants the seeds for startups to succeed in Tucson, bolstering the job market and keeping talent in the Old Pueblo.
“And by working with them to become successful scale-up companies, it creates a stickiness factor to Tucson,” said Carol Stewart, Vice President of Tech Parks Arizona. “And then obviously the ripple effect of that is jobs for our students and our grads.”
That includes UArizona grads like Scott, who are dreaming big.
“This is my startup, so this is my baby,” he said. “I live here, so them taking it as seriously as I do means a lot to me… In other labs I’ve never been treated that way. So having that backup here and support is very helpful.”
He is hoping for Eternum to launch next March.
The Center for Innovation includes more than 70 startups, helping nearly 250 total since opening.
Of the six thousand employees overall at the UA Tech Park, roughly two thirds are UArizona graduates.
Stewart says there has been an uptick in international business coming to Tucson since the pandemic began. One of those new businesses at the Tech Park is Eurofins, a lab testing company based in Luxembourg.
