A paradigm shift is taking place in Binghamton, the sights and sounds of which are something of a misnomer. Entrepreneurship is in the air, gaining steady traction yet operating in dim light.
Back in 2009, two major initiatives were introduced at Binghamton University encouraging entrepreneurship among students and faculty. The first provided assistance to faculty who wanted to pursue their own business. The second incorporated entrepreneurial themes in the classroom setting with the help of individual $1,000 grants that supported curriculum revisions across academic disciplines.
Fast forward to today, and you will notice an evolution in the number of initiatives to reach the campus and larger Binghamton community, so many in fact that I cannot discuss them all in full detail here.
In direct relation to the University, several major pushes for an increased entrepreneurial spirit include last year’s startup weekend, the creation of a business development learning community in New Dickinson and the promotion of a student-driven sandbox hosted by the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Looking ahead, President Harvey Stenger and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have proposed a high-tech jobs incubator Downtown as part of NYSUNY 2020 to focus on smart energy, health care and electronic systems integration and packaging.
Economic development efforts along these lines have become an even greater priority to the community at large. Organic meet-ups such as Refresh Binghamton — an open gathering for professional designers, developers and “generally creative people” — are becoming a more common occurrence. A few startup workspaces have opened up as well, including a brand new CoWork Binghamton Downtown and Start-Up Suites offered through the University’s Innovation Technologies Complex for emerging technology enterprises.
Even as recent as last week, faculty from the economics department and School of Management came together to rally around Launchpad Binghamton, a project to develop and found businesses Downtown by helping students with the writing of a business plan in order to identify a proper storefront location and raise capital. Ideas like the Launchpad are essential for the University to attract esteemed faculty, who are more inclined to settle at other academic institutions with surrounding areas better equipped to meet their needs.
SUNY Business and Education Cooperation of the Southern Tier (also known as SUNY BEST) came together last February to discuss the interaction of such entrepreneurial forces, driving home the point that the connection of regional activities is perhaps the most crucial factor in rejuvenating Binghamton.
But the universal irony of fostering a collective entrepreneurial mindset is precisely the problem it aims to circumnavigate — people learn but rarely change. In the scheme of large organizations, the forces of bureaucracy and general social inertia often result in an ingrained culture that can take upward of 10 to 30 years to overcome.
However, as a university, we stand at the intersection of forward thinking and opportunity, a distinct advantage over the traditional institution that inspires others to apply their learning. But that does not change the underlying fact that we have been a knee-jerk job placement school for the duration of many years. Nor does it bring us closer to surpassing the economic decay that has plagued this region for decades.
These entrepreneurial initiatives are an undoubtedly crucial starting point in raising awareness around value creation, but without a clearly defined least common denominator, it will be difficult to find a comprehensive consensus within our low-growth region and subsequent aspirations toward a professional culture.
Contrary to popular belief, it is the market rather than the idea that sustains a movement. The same way an investment is compounded on principle, buy-in for an idea is compounded on cohesion. For this reason, economic development needs to be driven by the same vehicle; otherwise the movement risks losing its purchasing power.
As stated by Deputy Director of the SUNY Levin Institute Tom Moebus, an innovation economy takes more than just perseverance; it requires time, energy and private money harnessed through a collaborative culture between young and mature thinkers. That means we need to retain talent as a part of the Southern Tier, and more importantly, it means tomorrow’s entrepreneurs need to start today.
Eat, sleep and build our team. Keep calm and think big, Binghamton.