By Joann Steinmetz:
Blakely’s
been cultivating this expertise from a young age. He attended the University of Buffalo where
he earned dual bachelor degrees in biology and psychology in two years. He was
24 when he founded Advanced Refractory Technologies, Inc. (ART), a manufacturer
of high-performance ceramics, composites and advanced coatings. And he grew the company from a staff of two
to 325 employees with both local and international operations.
In
2001, Blakely sold ART to Tyco International and went on to found The Inventures
Group, an advisory firm focused on delivering technology assessments, strategic
business planning, and technology commercialization assistance to both U.S. and
international businesses. He and his staff
of experts assist entrepreneurs, innovators, and corporate executives in
developing new product and technology ideas by building productive organizational
structures, establishing viable commercial networks and devising marketing and
funding strategies.
According
to economist Enrico Moretti, the United States overall has “shifted from an
economy centered on producing physical goods to one centered on innovation and
knowledge jobs.” In his book, “The New
Geography of Jobs,” Moretti explains how
“(i)nnovative industries bring ‘good jobs’ and high salaries to the communities
where they cluster, and their impact on the local economy is much deeper than
their direct effect.”
Blakely
has analyzed this multiplier effect from
his own ventures and his findings mirror that of Moretti when it comes to the
value of jobs created by entrepreneurs. The
economic impact can be two-three times greater than that of traditional
manufacturing jobs. “What was particularly interesting when I analyzed the
companies that I had started and the spin-offs and start-ups that were
generated from them was that, on average, these organizations employed nearly
five times as many employees per million dollars of sales as large companies.
As importantly, the types of jobs that they created were much higher
value positions – including skilled manufacturing, engineering, and
professional jobs – than you generally expect to see with small
businesses. So it wasn’t just the
quantity, but it was quality of the jobs as well that was more favorable in
these businesses. To me, that is the way
to reenergize an economy.”
While
not everyone can endure the rigors of being an entrepreneur, Blakely thrives in
that milieu. And he believes that there
are many others in the Buffalo region with the same drive, talent and vision. But what they need is an “ecosystem”
consisting of like-minded innovators, support services and start-up and
early-stage funding to bring their ideas to market.
An
educated workforce is also one of the most important factors in creating this
environment. Moretti points to a broad
national trend that he refers to as the “Great Divergence” which started in the
1980’s: “Cities with many
college-educated workers started attracting even more, and cities with a less
educated workforce started losing ground.”
While Western New York is home to a large number and wide variety of
colleges and universities, many graduates, including science, math and
engineering majors, leave the area for economic opportunity elsewhere. With close ties to the University of Buffalo,
Blakely has worked to keep this talent in WNY.
He worked closely with past UB President William Greiner and Provost
Betty Capaldi to develop the framework of what is now called STOR – UB’s Office
of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Research. The organization’s mission is to interface
between faculty/student research and the commercialization of new product and
process development. In a May 6th
story in The Buffalo News, Dr. Robert Genco, Vice Provost and Director of STOR,
said that over 180 businesses were started or assisted by STOR.
Related to his efforts with STOR, Blakely also established First Wave Technologies, a for-profit
organization that assists university researchers in advancing their
technologies to a stage where they can form the basis for a successful
enterprise and enter the commercial marketplace. “When I created First Wave, my vision
was to demonstrate the viability of this approach – working closely with
university faculty and the technology transfer office to bring new ideas and
concepts across the so-called ‘valley of death’ and create fundable, viable
start-up businesses,” he said. “First
Wave has successfully done this several times and I am hopeful that others will
now try to replicate and emulate the approach.
We could use about five to ten more ‘First Wave’ companies working with
the great researchers we have at UB, Rochester Institute of Technology, the
University of Rochester, and the other research institutes in Upstate NY.”
In
2011, Blakely had the opportunity to advocate at the state level when he served
on the Entrepreneurship and Business Development Working Group of the WNY
Regional Economic Development Council (WNYREDC). His workgroup’s recommendations included creating
an entrepreneur academy, developing best practice incubators throughout WNY,
and reforming state and federal regulations that all too often hinder start-up
companies.
While
he sometimes felt like a fish out of water, given the political and
bureaucratic elements involved in the process, Blakely supported the efforts of
the WNYREDC by providing an authentic entrepreneurial perspective to bear on
the group’s work. “I was very impressed
by the commitment of the leadership and participants in the process and know
that they are all committed to the success of our region. My hope is that our state government
understands the urgent need for major reforms in the operating environment for
businesses in NYS – from taxes to regulations – and the equally urgent need to
make capital available to investment in technology companies – through
investment tax credits, dramatically increased allocations of seed, start-up,
and development stage venture capital, and other incentives.”
Blakely
also emphasizes the need for new sources of venture capital for local
entrepreneurs: “If we had the
(financial) infrastructure to support new ideas, I have no doubt that Buffalo
could be on the national and international map.” To that end, IVG is initiating its own
venture fund that will go beyond the personal investing Blakely has done in
local start-ups as well as those outside the region. This initiative is just getting underway with
Blakely tapping into the venture and private equity capital networks that have
financed his previous ventures.
There
were many opportunities that Blakely had which would have meant leaving the
area. He has served as the CEO of
companies in St. Louis, MO, Fayetteville, AR, New York City, Columbus, OH,
Santa Clara, CA, and Troy, NY. He chose,
instead, to stay in Western NY and lives in North Buffalo with his wife Lin who
worked with him as his VP of Human Resources at ART for nearly 20 years.
Many
of his local clients feel the same.
“They’re not looking to get out of Dodge,” he said. “But they are looking for signs that the
region is interested in keeping them here.
I believe that what we do at The Inventures Group sends a clear message
that there are reasons to hope and reasons to stay.” That’s good news for the economy.