A Thank-You Message to All of Our Partners

LA NPDT is excited to announce that we have reached a milestone for our company: three years in the product development cycle. Looking back on our amazing journey, we want to thank our partners and friends who have made it all worthwhile. Collaboration is at the heart of all the stages of new product development, especially building a company.

This industry is an entire network of businesses and organizations who rely on each other in the different stages of new product development. To celebrate this anniversary, we want to express appreciation for our friends and partners who have helped us along the way and share how we have witnessed the product development cycle in action.

Business Development

Several organizations helped us develop a thriving business model. We received a grant from Louisiana Tech to start our early internal project Grapheno, and LA Tech also helped us lay the foundations of a business plan.

Later, New Orleans BioInnovation helped us refine and present our plan at the BioInnovation Competition. Because of the opportunity to participate in this event, we received recognition in the Louisiana startup community.

Attending One Million Cups at Cohab as participants and speakers continued to help move our business model forward, build a network of supporters, and grow brand awareness in our local market. Additionally, The Louisiana Economic Development Center selected our CEO, Konstantin Dolgan, to participate in their CEO Roundtable event.

The Louisiana Tech Park in Baton Rouge gave us valuable insights and leads to grow our market in that city. The Small Business Development Center on Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) campus has always brought us so many valuable opportunities. We can’t thank them enough. And of course the Louisiana Tech Enterprise Center is the place where LA NPDT’s story began. We participated in many of their programs, including TOP Dawg Competition and I-20 Top 20 .

The Biomedical Research Foundation (BRF) and Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program (EAP) are our partners in crime. They have helped our customers develop their businesses, and our office space is located in their building. These teams have been wonderful partners, and we have enjoyed our collaboration with them.

We are just getting started and want to expand our network of experts to advance ours and our clients’ growth. Reach out with your ideas of how we can collaborate to strengthen the stages of new product development and entrepreneurial communities together.

Training and Talent

Access to talent has always been crucial for building our cross-functional team. Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) and the Digital Media Institute  have been instrumental in this regard.

Entrescan also helped in this area by providing training for working with our 3D printers. Finally, our team honed their diverse skill sets at academic institutions such as Louisiana Tech, Louisiana State University (LSU), Louisiana State University Shreveport (LSUS), and Centenary College. Of these, it is important to note that the majority of our engineers are LA Tech graduates, and we especially want to thank the Shell Eco-Car Team for nurturing their talent. Training with an emphasis on hands-on experience and creative problem-solving has made our team stronger. We believe in the power of education, and we are so lucky to have access to talent through all of these institutions.

As business community members, we understand our responsibility to be present for students and schools. It is so important to foster their motivation to focus on school and education so they can achieve their goals. For this reason, our team members mentor Louisiana Tech Seniors in their senior design projects.  We also mentor kids at Junior Achievement and teach about product development at BPCC during NBT Summer Camp.

We are always looking for interns and driven talent to join our team, so please reach out to us. Share what interests you about our team and the stages of product development, and we will find a fit for you. If you are an educational institution, we would also love to hear from you. Our team members love to share insights they have gained from their experience in product development.

RESEARCH

As a tech company, scientific research and advanced technologies are crucial to the services we provide throughout the stages of new product development. This is why Segue Science Management (SSM) is one of our research partners. Their focus, licensing ideas at universities and bringing them to market, perfectly compliments ours.

As we grow, we need partners within tech parks with the resources to pilot our projects in fields like IoT, rapid prototyping, electronics, 3D printing, heavy machinery, the automotive industry, and high-pressure applications, among others. If you do research in any of these fields, reach out to us to share your insight and explore new opportunities.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Protecting new ideas is vital in the product development cycle. For this reason, the services of R. Keith Harrison (our patent agent), Patrick Mixon (our patent attorney), and First Tech Ideas (our intellectual property partner) make it possible for us to bring ideas to life.

We love sharing knowledge with the community of entrepreneurs and really appreciate what co-working spaces like The Office Hub do for the community. Our collaboration with them for our Tech to Market series with USPTO was a huge success.

MANUFACTURING

After product design comes manufacturing, a crucial stage of the new product development cycle. R&H Machine and Raytech Industries are our manufacturing partners.

We are always looking to expand our network of manufacturing partners. If you work in contract manufacturing or know a company involved in this stage of new product development, please reach out to us.

MARKETING

Marketing and PR efforts are crucial to any company’s success, especially in the product development cycle. Stephen Key of Inventors Groups of America and First Tech Ideas participated in some of our webinars and Tech to Market events. BIZ  and Silicon Bayou News also helped our PR efforts move forward by publishing articles and news updates featuring LA NPDT.

A big thank you goes to KTBS, who have shared news with the public about events like Tech to Market and other updates in the world of entrepreneurship. Finally, the printing and packaging services provided by the Louisiana Association for the Blind (LAB) are an important stage of new product development.

NETWORKING

Several of our partners have given us the opportunity to make connections with other businesses in the product development cycle.

Bossier Chamber of Commerce did our ribbon-cutting when we first moved to our present-day office space.

The Office Hub and the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce have also allowed us to host events at their locations. Finally, the Rotary Club’s oldest chapter in Shreveport welcomed us to speak at one of their meetings.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

A number of businesses and organizations have helped us make connections in the region. We partnered with Startup Prize to support local entrepreneurs, and Konstantin Dolgan served as a mentor there. Our team has also served as mentors at Southern University Shreveport Louisiana (SUSLA).

We’ve also had the opportunity to make connections through courses at LSUS in subjects such as entrepreneurship, 3D printing, and product development. Finally, LA Tech, Magnolia School of Excellence, and Opportunity Machine are among the organizations who have invited us to speak at their events.

The product development cycle is truly the work of an entire community. We are grateful to have been part of this network of organizations throughout our state and region for three years, and we are excited to continue growing, learning, and strengthening this community for years to come.