A SHORT HISTORY OF THE WAYNE BROWN INSTITUTE
The Institute’s mission is to improve the human condition through entrepreneurship for the purpose of creating new wealth, jobs, and tax base. This is accomplished with Cooperative Venturing educational programs that transfer experience, knowledge, contacts and capital from the world’s leading business and financial organizations to promising early-stage, companies. Formed in 1983 as the Utah Innovation Foundation, a 501(c) (3) non-profit educational organization, the Institute was renamed in 1988 in memory of its founder, Dr. Wayne S. Brown. The Institute has become the most efficient, cost effective economic development organization in the country.
Dr. Brown held positions in mechanical engineering and had served as Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Utah. In addition to his academic postings, he was a founder of Kenway Engineering (HK Systems), TerraTek, NPI (Agridyne Technologies), the Utah Innovation Center (the world’s first venture accelerator/incubator) and Utah Ventures (now UV Partners, Utah’s first and largest earlier stage venture fund). By virtue of his academic and business background, Dr. Brown was a leading authority in technological innovation and entrepreneurship. Many of the world’s science/research parks, innovation centers and incubators have their roots with Dr. Brown. In addition to his many accomplishments, he affected the role of government in innovation and entrepreneurship as the architect with Roland Tibbitts of the national Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, later as head of the State’s Science Council he spearheaded legislation to create the Utah Technology Finance Corporation (UTFC), and Utah’s Centers of Excellence program.
Today, the Institute continues this legacy by educating early-stage, companies through mentor-based training in the art and science of becoming attractive, viable investments. This is done through establishing value-added relationships between entrepreneurs, capital providers, and key professionals who specialize in equity capital-backed businesses. These education-based offerings allow early-stage, businesses to successfully present their opportunity to investors. To date, the Institute’s 650+ alumni companies have raised almost $2 Billion in private capital, and employ over 35,000. Each year, Institute mentors donate over 10,000 hours, allowing the Institute to provide nearly 1% of the venture quality deal flow in the U.S.
The Institute is unique, in that most of its support is from the private sector. Firms such as Zions Bank, Deutsche Banc, Alex, Brown, NASDAQ, Silicon Valley Bank, Ernst & Young, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, and various venture funds and service providers contribute regularly. Lastly, other organizations such as the, Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), Utah Science and Technology Research Initiative (USTAR), Utah State Division of Securities, the Hawaii Strategic Development Corporation, New York Community Investment Corporation, Community Development Venture Capital Alliance, National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF), and many other technology trade associations have supported the Institute in its mission.