M7 Technologies’ Michael Garvey went all out when looking for resources to help him re-imagine Trumbull Bronze Co. We asked Garvey, as well as Barb Ewing, Youngstown Business Incubator COO, and Mike Hripko, director of Youngstown State University’s STEM’s research and technology-based economic development, for advice on reinventing your business.

Get out more. Getting the upper hand will require plenty of legwork. “Get out of town,” Ewing says. She recommends attending tech trade shows and conferences, visit customers, and check out the competition.

Ask for directions. Garvey may not be working with NASA if he hadn’t received a boost from YBI. “Find every tech-based economic development organization within a reasonable geographic boundary,” Ewing says, pointing to the wealth of regional energy
initiatives.

Don’t rush. So you found a college with which to form a partnership. Just be sure not to rush into a commitment too quickly. “Shotgun weddings are really tough,” Hripko says, adding that a courting period allows the faculty to visit the factory and the company to come to the classroom. “The parties really start to understand the other’s capabilities and interests.”

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