Read the summary and watch or listen to the interview here: https://www.crowleylawllc.com/podcasts/the-path-to-prosperity-insights-on-tech-startup-growth-with-wayne-barz/
Introduction to the Podcast
Philip Crowley: Welcome to the From Lab to Patient, Garage to Market podcast. I’m your host, Phil Crowley. In each episode, we discuss issues relevant to tech startups and professionals serving this market. You can find the show on all major platforms, including YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and at our website, CrowleyLawLLC.com. Now, let’s dive into today’s episode.
Meet Wayne Barz: Chief Investment Officer
Philip Crowley: Today, I’m happy to welcome Wayne Barz, the Chief Investment Officer at Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Ben Franklin is part of the largest network of tech accelerators in the U.S. – a network that has seen great success. I’m also proud to serve on its board, working with Wayne regularly. Wayne, welcome!
Wayne Barz: Thanks, Phil. It’s great to be here. It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Philip Crowley: That’s great to hear. Wayne, your experience is central to helping young tech companies grow and succeed. How did you get started in this field?
Wayne Barz: Believe it or not, it was by accident. I entered the economic development field in the late 1980s when Pennsylvania and other Northeastern states were experiencing deindustrialization. I started working for an economic development corporation in Allentown, which had just acquired a couple of old Mack truck facilities. We were repurposing one into a business incubator. My job was to figure out what a business incubator was and how it could fit into that space. I’ve been working with startups ever since.
Philip Crowley: That’s a fascinating start. Now, for the past five years, you’ve been the Chief Investment Officer at Ben Franklin Technology Partners. Can you tell us more about the role and how Ben Franklin helps companies transition from lab to market?
Wayne Barz: Sure. Most founders find us through referrals from other professionals in the ecosystem – attorneys, accountants, and other development organizations. Since its creation in the 1980s, Ben Franklin has built a strong reputation, and if you’re a tech founder in Pennsylvania, or even nearby states, everyone points you to us. We have a decentralized structure with four regional offices, and my team covers the northeastern part of the state, overseeing about 200 startups annually. We assess, invest in, and help grow these companies.
Philip Crowley: So, what’s the process like? Out of the 200 companies you look at, how many do you end up investing in?
Wayne Barz: We typically invest in 25 to 30 of those companies. It all starts with our field team, which is made up of five enterprise developers. They’re out in the community, meeting with founders and vetting early-stage companies. If we think a company is a good fit, we schedule a meeting with the broader team. Each month, we review five or six companies, listen to their pitches, ask questions, and discuss whether they’re ready for funding. From there, we send their materials to external reviewers, such as yourself, for feedback. After reviewing everything, we decide which companies to recommend to the board.
Philip Crowley: And then the board makes the final decision, right?
Wayne Barz: Exactly. The board evaluates the companies based on the team’s feedback and the external reviews, but it’s not about guaranteeing success. We look for companies with the right trajectory and potential.
Philip Crowley: Are there common issues that startups struggle with before they come to Ben Franklin or any accelerator?
Wayne Barz: Yes, there are many. Most of our founders are first-time entrepreneurs, so they often don’t fully understand how the journey works. One of the biggest challenges is sales and marketing – we need to see real customer demand, not just a general market study. We also see weak financial projections. Founders may project sales of $10 million, but they often don’t think through the operations and workforce needed to achieve that. It’s not about whether the numbers are right, but about how well the founder understands the entire business process.
Philip Crowley: It sounds like you and your team act almost like business consultants, asking tough questions to help them think through every aspect of their business.
Wayne Barz: Absolutely. It’s about making sure they’ve thought about all the pieces of the puzzle, especially when it comes to building a multi-talented team. A startup needs people with diverse skill sets: business, sales, finance, etc. We help them identify any gaps in their strategy and advise them on how to address those.
Philip Crowley: Do you meet with the companies regularly, or is it more ad-hoc?
Wayne Barz: It’s a bit of both. We meet quarterly with the staff overseeing different regions of our portfolio. Every company gets updates at least twice a year, and most get touched four to eight times annually. We also run educational sessions and mentorship programs. Our third cohort of mentorship just launched, where we connect founders with experienced entrepreneurs for six months of guidance. We stay involved and offer continued support as needed.
Philip Crowley: That’s great to hear. It sounds like Ben Franklin offers more than just funding – you provide ongoing guidance and a network of resources to ensure success.
Wayne Barz: Exactly. That’s what sets us apart. While many economic development organizations just provide funds, we’re hands-on. We often stay engaged with companies for years, even after they’ve received funding. Our ultimate goal is to drive job growth in Northeast PA, and that requires long-term support.
Crowley Law LLC: Helping Innovators
Philip Crowley: That’s fantastic. And speaking of long-term support, I want to quickly mention Crowley Law LLC. We’re passionate about helping innovators in life sciences and technology move from the lab to the marketplace or from the garage to the market. We offer big firm expertise with the personalized attention of a boutique firm. We have free resources available on our website, CrowleyLawLLC.com, including the book The Top Ten Causes of Failure for Technology Startups and How to Avoid Them. It covers many of the issues Wayne has mentioned, like sales, marketing, and financial planning.
Manufacturing and Technology in Pennsylvania
Philip Crowley: Wayne, I want to return to the topic of manufacturing. Often people don’t think of manufacturing as involving technology, but Ben Franklin’s success shows how technology and innovation can revitalize manufacturing in Pennsylvania.
Wayne Barz: Right. Ben Franklin was created in 1982 to help manufacturers in Pennsylvania become more competitive, especially in the face of globalization. In the 1980s, we were losing many manufacturing jobs to places like the South and overseas. Our goal was to help existing manufacturers become more cost-effective and competitive. We connect manufacturers with university experts and consultants to solve problems and innovate.
The Value of Networking and Expertise
Philip Crowley: Can you give us an example of how you’ve helped a manufacturer?
Wayne Barz: Sure. One example is Noble Biomaterials, which started as a small company in the Pocono region. They produce antimicrobial fabrics using nano-silver, but their process was very manual and inefficient. We connected them with Lehigh University’s industrial engineering department, and together they developed an automated system that greatly improved the efficiency of their production. This simple change helped them become more competitive and grow their business.
Philip Crowley: That’s a great example of how technology can impact manufacturing. Wayne, thank you for sharing these insights with us today.
Philip Crowley: The ability to access external expertise and help companies move forward requires a group of dedicated people who understand entrepreneurs, along with technical expertise. How does Ben Franklin go about this?
Wayne Barz: Companies come to us for funding, but they’re often under-networked. We’ve built a strong network of professional service providers—intellectual property experts, corporate organizations, law firms, accountants, capital raising experts, and experienced entrepreneurs and senior executives. Many enjoy being involved with startups, and we get a lot of free time from them. This is our “solutions network.” Our team of eight can’t possibly know all the technologies that come through the door, but our network helps us deepen our capabilities.
Philip Crowley: So, this external network supplements your internal efforts?
Wayne Barz: Yes, it’s about finding people with the right personality who can provide constructive feedback and want to be part of this ecosystem.
Philip Crowley: What do you enjoy most about your role?
Wayne Barz: I love being challenged. Before becoming Chief Investment Officer, I ran our tech ventures incubator for 19 years. Each day brought new technologies and personalities, and I often felt like a burned-out transmission. But it’s incredible to watch founders grow from having an idea to finding success. It’s fulfilling to contribute to the economy of Northeast PA, where I was born and raised.
Philip Crowley: Ben Franklin is supported by the legislature, and you’ve shown that for every dollar the legislature invests, $4 in extra tax revenue is generated. This demonstrates your impact on technology development and manufacturing in Pennsylvania.
Wayne Barz: That’s correct.
Future Goals and Expansion
Philip Crowley: Looking ahead, where do you see the future of Ben Franklin?
Wayne Barz: We’re one of the largest tech accelerator networks in the country, with 14 incubators across our region. We’ve been doing this since 1982, before accelerators existed. With more funding, we could expand our support, such as matching federal R&D funding for companies. I’ve been working on connecting life science companies with regional healthcare systems, which could lead to clinical studies and more funding. There’s also opportunity in the semiconductor industry here in the Lehigh Valley, which was the birthplace of transistor manufacturing. We have major players like Cisco, Broadcom, and Intel, but there’s no effort to create synergies among them. More resources would allow us to foster that collaboration.
Philip Crowley: Those are exciting opportunities.
Wayne Barz: Absolutely.
Philip Crowley: Thank you, Wayne. This has been a great discussion on what Ben Franklin does and the value it provides.
Philip Crowley: Thank you for tuning in to the From Lab to Patient Garage to Market Podcast. You can find this show on all major platforms, including YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. If you found this helpful, please subscribe, like, leave a positive review, and share. Thank you.
