Among Rhode Island’s greatest gifts are its people, its universities, and its natural resources. The Slater Center for Marine and Environmental Technologies is combining those resources to grow the state’s economy.
Slater Marine/Environmental is one of four Slater Centers working to stimulate entrepreneurship and to expand high-tech employment opportunities in Rhode Island. The other three Centers are focused on biomedical technology, design and manufacturing, and interactive technologies.
The Slater Centers were founded to ensure that great ideas born in our state continue to be developed here -- and to attract out-of-state entrepreneurs to develop their products and companies in Rhode Island. Named for industrial visionary and early Rhode Island entrepreneur Samuel Slater, the Centers provide early-stage seed funding, business development services, and other support designed to take cutting-edge technologies to the commercial market.
The Centers’ resources are used to catalyze the creation of new technology companies, to support their early stage development, and to help them to access institutional capital for future growth. The Centers works with Rhode Island entrepreneurs to develop viable commercial ventures flowing from Rhode Island’s scientists, engineers, universities and research centers.
Slater also serves as a business development resource for technologists and entrepreneurs -- providing access to the public- and private-sector tools and talent they need to grow their companies in Rhode Island. Often, Slater seed funding - combined with critical business development support - is the only bridge that will carry a company from the lab to the investment stage and/or product sales.
In addition to supporting individual Rhode Island companies, the Slater Centers are committed to working with universities, research centers, government agencies, and various private sector partners to nurture the state’s vibrant community of entrepreneurs through networking, education, regulatory advocacy, and other initiatives.
Because of Slater Marine/Environmental’s specific technology focus, much of this Center’s outreach and support is directed at URI, although all four Centers have worked with URI professors and entrepreneurs, including the Colleges of Engineering, Environment and Life Sciences, Pharmacy, Business Administration, and the Graduate School of Oceanography.
Slater Marine/Environmental’s areas of focus include:
• Marine sensors, imaging and forecasting
• Shipbuilding and design
• Materials (marine and “green”)
• Waste product conversion
• Pollution prevention and control
• Agricultural biotechnology and Aquaculture
• Industrial biotechnology (e.g., green chemistry)
• Alternative energy (e.g., bio, wave, wind, solar)
To date, Slater Marine/Environmental has helped fund and support a number of successful companies that are developing diverse products ranging from innovative sonar systems, to environmentally friendly waste disposal systems, to alternative energy technologies. Several of them, such as FarSounder, grew directly out of research being conducted at URI.
Slater funding is generally in the form of convertible loans and in some cases straight equity with other participants, with grants available in limited cases. Phase 1 investments are on the order of $100,000. In addition to its financial support, the Slater Centers help mentor and support their portfolio companies in areas such as strategic planning, market analysis, and business plan development, among others.
As an integral component of Rhode Island’s program for economic development, the Slater Centers are providing a critical pipeline from URI innovation to successful business ventures. If you have a technology business idea for Rhode Island, Slater would like to hear from you.
For information about the four Slater Centers, visit
www.SlaterMarineEnvironmental.com
www.SlaterBiomed.com
www.SlaterDesmfg.com
www.SlaterInteractive.com