NCET

Ky Good doesn’t want anyone to settle in at the new business incubator in downtown Reno.

“These are entrepreneurs. I don’t want them comfortable. I want them working and out of there,” says Good, who’s spent three years as one of the organizers of the nonprofit incubator.

Its doors open Tuesday.

The project dubbed C4CUBE” — that’s short for “Center for Unique Business Enterprises” — is designed to move startup technology companies as quickly as possible into successful stand-alone businesses.

About 30 companies are likely to be housed at any time in the 12,000-square-foot CUBE incubator at 300 E. 2nd Street, an office building that overlooks the Reno Aces Ballpark.

Most of those companies, Good said, will call the incubator home for 15 to 36 months as they tap into services ranging from intellectual property lawyers to experts in venture capital.

They’ll wrap up their stay when they’re ready to win backing from venture capitalists, angel investment groups or other investors.

Organizers expect the new companies will create about 300 jobs within the next couple of years. Read more:

Technorati Tags: Northern Nevada Business Weekly, Ky Good, Reno, entrepreneurs, C4CUBE, “Center for Unique Business Enterprises”, Norman Smith, 3D Armor Systems Inc., First Warning Systems Inc., Lynn Keller, Chuck Alvey, Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, Basin Street Properties, Scott Stranzl, business. NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology

Three years ago many would have dismissed the notion that a significant supply of the world’s automotive fuel could come from algae. But today the idea, while still an adventurous one, is getting much harder to ignore.

Making green from green: Biofuel from algae has been given a boost in investment in recent years.

Back then there were only a handful of companies seriously focused on producing algae fuel. Now there are well over 50, according to Samhitha Udupa, a research associate with Lux Research.

The number should double within the next year or two, she adds, and private investment in algae fuel ventures has at least doubled every year since 2006, a trend likely to continue.

Last month ExxonMobil– which has been publicly skeptical of other biofuels in the past — invested up to $600 million into a collaborative R&D program with Synthetic Genomics, a startup founded by J. Craig Venter. Read full story:

Technorati Tags: Steve Mollman, CNN Money, Samhitha Udupa, Lux Research, biofuel, ExxonMobil, Synthetic  Genomics, J. Craig Venter, Celera Genomics, U.S. Department of Energy, Solazyme, Gillian Madill, Friends of the Earth, J.B. Hunt, GreenFuel Technologies, business, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology

If it’s made in Nevada, chances are it will make this year’s edition of the Made In Nevada catalog to be released next month.What began 20 years ago as a state-administered marketing program for locally made products — from food to artwork — has grown to where 120 businesses will offer in-state items in the latest catalog.

The program’s growth, particularly during the past 12 months, is in part a product of the recession, believes Lynette Castillo, volunteer coordinator for Made in Nevada Inc., a nonprofit cooperative spun off by the Nevada Commission on Economic Development on July 1.

“It tells me people out there are looking for other avenues to start up something new and do on their own,” Castillo said. Read full story:

Technorati Tags: Reno Gazette-Journal, Made In Nevada Inc., Lynette Castillo, Nevada Commission on Economic Development, business, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology

Nevada will lose enough water to supply 130,000 households annually because budget cuts are closing the state’s cloud-seeding program.

Tom Swofford, field operations manager for the program, said 65,000 acre-feet of water a year will be lost, a reduction that will affect ranchers, recreation and wildlife. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons, enough to cover an acre a foot deep or supply about two households for a year.  The renowned program, operated by the Reno-based Desert Research Institute, squeezed 5 percent to 15 percent more snow from storms to increase the winter snowpack, which provides summertime water to the thirsty state, according to Swofford.

“That’s a lot of water going away. It’s kind of shortsighted for the driest state in the country,” said Swofford, one of four program employees who will lose their jobs. Read full story:

Technorati Tags: Tom Swofford, Desert Research Institute, Jim Ashby, Western Regional Climate Center, Reno, Stephen Wells, Dan Gralian, Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, Mike Riordan, Joe Busto, Colorado Water Conservation Board, Nevada Farm Bureau, Elko County Commission, Gov. Jim Gibbons, business, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology

ISO 9001:2000 Internal Auditor Training, Wednesday & Thursday, September 23 & 24, 2009
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

When: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, September 23 and 24, 2009

Where: Foster Corporation
              4336 Lossee Rd, Suite 7
              North Las Vegas, NV 89030

Click Here to view event flyer

Through this workshop, participants will:
▪ Understand internal auditing methodology and the roles of audit participants
▪ Review and understand the ISO 9001:2000 standard and its requirements
▪ Explore process interactions and perform advanced process-based auditing
▪ Form audit teams
▪ Apply and practice auditing techniques under the direction of the trainer
▪ Prepare audit working papers
▪ Document audit findings and prepare and present audit reports
▪ Understand the responsibilities for post-audit activities including containment, root cause analysis, corrective action, and verification of effectiveness

Presented by Cheryl Gustafson
Cheryl Gustafson is recognized by the American Society for Quality as a Certified Quality Auditor. She has almost ten years of experience working with companies to implement and improve ISO certified quality management systems. $650 per person. Group discounts available. Register Here Includes the following materials: ANSI/ISO/ASQ Q9001:2000 Quality Management Systems Requirements, and a workbook with CD including auditing procedures, checklists and forms.

Cost: $650.00

For more information, contact either
Nikki’ Brown
(775) 445-3328
brown@mapnv.com

Lorraine O’Neill
(702) 651-5694
loneill@mapnv.com

Get course info online NOW at
www.mapnv.com

Technorati Tags: MAP Nevada, Cheryl Gustafson, ISO, business, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology