Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) won a Spirit of Endeavor Award from the Southeast Chapter of the AeA (American Electronics Association), the nation’s largest technology trade association. The award was presented in the category “Leadership in Education by a Technology Organization” for its FastTrac® Tech Venture™, a comprehensive business training program developed by the Kauffman Foundation. The Technology Association of Georgia served as the marketing partner with ATDC on presenting a customized version of this program locally.
Each year the Spirit of Endeavor Awards celebrate the success of individuals and organizations that have made a significant impact on the direction of the technology industry in the southeast.
“In our 20 years in Atlanta, the AeA Southeast Council has fostered and cultivated the spirit of endeavor, which drives the technology industry through the creation and execution of ideas,” said Mike Levin, executive director of the AeA Southeast Council. “Our nominees and winners this year reflect the high quality of technology professionals and organizations that continue to bring attention to the southeast as a haven for the advancement of technology. We salute those that embody and display that spirit for their hard work and accomplishments that help advance the spirit of technology.”
ATDC presented the comprehensive 12-week business program last fall to address the needs of startup technology entrepreneurs. Participants worked intensively with mentors and learned from entrepreneurial experts on subjects such as defining target markets, conducting market research and analysis, planning for financial success, protecting intellectual property, identifying funding and managing cash, among others.
“Overall the program was a great success for the companies and the community,” said Cindy Cheatham, director of business development for ATDC. “Companies sharpened their plans and impressed investors, which led to more than a dozen in-person meetings. Through this program, we built a community of mentors and entrepreneur peers that will continue to be an asset in Georgia’s technology community for years to come.”
The 2007 recipients of the Spirit of Endeavor Awards were selected from 50 nominees by a panel of 35 respected community leaders from all segments of the southeast technology community. Mark Allen, Georgia Tech’s senior vice provost for research and innovation and co-founder and chief technology officer of CardioMEMS, an ATDC graduate company that has developed and is commercializing a proprietary wireless sensing and communication for the human body, was also recognized in the “Technology Innovator” category.
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Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).
Writer: Nancy Fullbright