BUSINESSES AND STUDENTS FIND OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

The Federal and State Technology (FAST) partnership program, funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and with funds matched by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, enables the program team to help clients apply for, or administer grants from the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business and Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs. In fiscal 2022, more than 150 NBDC clients were supported by FAST activities.

Currently serving as part of the program team are three graduate assistants: Narayani Bakhati, Kayla Lacey, and Laura Oh.

Narayani Bakhati

To increase NBDC’s visibility among students, Bakhati contacted student groups in an effort to tap into a young, enthusiastic audience and spread the word about NBDC’s services.

She says she has gained considerable insight into project management skills through the meetings she has with Nichol-Caddy and other team members.

Most recently, Bakhati has become involved in a new program, the U.S. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps™). It is an immersive, entrepreneurial training program that facilitates the transformation of invention to reality.

UNO is an I-Corps hub for the Great Plains region. The UNO program is led by Brett Clark, Ph.D., associate professor of strategic management and entrepreneurship and associate director of the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Franchising at the College of Business Administration.

“It is a good opportunity to be a client advisor, and it is giving me hands-on experience navigating grants,” she says.

“My end goal is to become a professor. By helping to guide clients through the process, give feedback and editing critiques, so it is a great form of teaching experience.”

Lacey also has developed templates and a system for organizing the documents needed for the grant applications, including the steps for specific applications. The work is reflective of her academic interest in teams and how to help them succeed. “Currently, I am focusing on how teams deal with conflict, as part of my master’s thesis,” she says.

She says she has been profoundly impressed by the NBDC programs, the administration, and staff. “It’s really an incredible organization,” she says. “The breadth of their knowledge and connections is really impressive. From bankers to chambers of commerce to finding potential customers, they know people who can help advance small businesses.”

Since becoming a graduate assistant at NBDC in 2019, she has developed and implemented strategic planning, training programs, and organizational effectiveness surveys.

“I started off getting to know how the Innovation and Technology team works and the services offered,” she says. “I also worked directly with clients, conducting intake meetings and market research. Then I met with Josh and told him what I was learning and how I felt it would be helpful if could apply it to our team.”

NBDC’S GRADUATE ASSISTANT PROGRAM PROVIDES HANDS-ON DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT HAVE REAL-WORLD IMPLICATIONS.

The Innovation and Technology Program at the Nebraska Business Development Center is more than a source of guidance and assistance for entrepreneurs and small businesses seeking to fund and commercialize their ideas: it also presents unique opportunities for graduate students to gain hands-on knowledge that enlivens their studies and gives them a head start in their careers.

“Being able to align what they have been taught with the realities of working as a team and with real-world clients provides value for them and for our program,” says Innovation and Technology Program Director Josh NicholCaddy. “Our clients appreciate their enthusiasm and fresh perspectives, and have benefitted from their academic programing. The feedback between us is like having consultants within our organization, improving our services and processes.”

Each year, the Innovation and Technology Program team conducts confidential, one-on-one consulting sessions, open workshops, and training sessions for clients and prospective clients across Nebraska. In fiscal year 2022, more than 800 people participated in these outreach events and meetings.

Born in Nepal, Bakhati earned a bachelor’s degree in Management Studies at Cambridge College in Boston and came to UNO to work toward a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). She joined the Innovation and Technology Program as a graduate assistant in August 2022, where she began by creating a marketing strategy for the program to raise awareness of the services available.

“I had worked as an associate in my previous job where got to hone my communication and networking skills,” she says.

“Joining NBDC has been an opportunity for me to bring fresh ideas and perspectives that help focus our marketing efforts to companies and small businesses that do not know about SBIR grants.”

Bakhati says the work at NBDC has been fulfilling. “If given a chance to work with the NBDC team long term,” she says, “I would be eager to accept the opportunity.”

Kayla Lacey

Lacey grew up in central Florida and completed her undergraduate studies in psychology with a minor in entrepreneurship at the University of South Florida in Tampa. She is enrolled in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology MA/Ph.D. program at UNO and joined NBDC as a graduate assistant in August 2020.

As part of the Innovation and Technology Program, Lacey works directly with NBDC clients, helping them prepare for the often lengthy process of submitting SBIR/STTR grant applications.

The fact that so many services are available at no charge is also impressive, she says. “They can spend three hours helping one client fill out forms,” Lacey says. “That can cost a lot of money through other sources. Here, we’re just one phone call away.”

Laura Oh

Oh moved from Minnesota to Nebraska to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in business administration at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She went on to receive a master’s degree in industrial/ organizational psychology at UNO, and is currently working on her doctorate in the same field.

By 2022, Oh’s duties had evolved into a more internal role, focusing on client engagements, the specific metrics needed to meet FAST grant requirements, and on ways to assess and improve the team’s soft skills. “I do a lot of assessments to find out how we helped these clients and how to build upon our successes,” she says.

Ultimately, Oh hopes to apply her skills and experience as an internal consultant for an organization.

“NBDC has given me a very unique opportunity to apply theory and knowledge directly to real-world challenges,” she says. “Josh has been very supportive implementing my ideas. NBDC is here to help people, and I feel I’m actually helping the organization.

“The experience has increased my confidence,” Oh says. “I have learned to not second guess myself and to be more assertive.”

From a small business in Kearney seeking electrical engineering expertise, to a prosthetics and orthotics company in Omaha looking for lab space, NU Connections is helping entrepreneurs and businesses plug into the valuable resources of the University of Nebraska system to power their startups and reach out to new markets.

“Since its launch on Oct. 1, 2018, NU Connections has become a front door to the university for business owners and entrepreneurs,” says Catherine Lang, executive director of the Nebraska Business Development Center.

“Our successes range from linking small businesses with programming and expertise at all four University of Nebraska campuses, to creating unique, real-world learning opportunities for students. NU Connections has and will continue to move the economic development needle.”