Fritzinger elected to board of Business Incubator Association of New York State

Robert Fritzinger, Director of the SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator, has been elected to the board of directors by members of the Business Incubator Association of New York State (BIA/NYS). Members and guests gathered at the University at Buffalo’s NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences to attend the daylong 2012 annual meeting of the BIA/NYS earlier this year. His selection to the board provides the opportunity to network with incubators across the state to discuss goals and strategies.

“Membership with BIA/NYS is great recognition for SUNY Fredonia and Chautauqua County and gives us the opportunity to share best practices with incubators throughout NYS,” said Fritzinger. “I am looking forward to contributing to the leadership of this organization.”

The BIA/NYS is a nonprofit trade association established in 2005. It is governed by a nine-member board of directors, elected by the general membership. There are over 30 organizational members who operate incubator facilities and virtual business incubation programs all over the state. The SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator is a supporting member of the association.

The SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator is a university-sponsored economic development initiative that supports entrepreneurs and business start-ups in the technology sector and related industries. Officially opened in December 2009, it is ahead of its growth projections and currently houses 16 start-up companies. According to a recent report by the Rockefeller Institute in Albany, N.Y., the Western New York Region provided 70% of all pure start-ups in the entire state, with SUNY Fredonia’s incubator providing nearly half of these, state-wide. A recent study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation shows that start up firms are responsible for all net job growth in the U.S.

The Business Incubator Association of New York State seeks to expand the resources available to incubator-based enterprises and to work with policy-makers on matters affecting them; to promote through co-operation the entrepreneurial activities of incubators within the state; and to network business incubators, incubating/incubated companies, and other interested parties.