We All Owe Thanks to NC's BIO Pavilion Sponsors
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Imagine a gathering of the world’s biotechnology movers and shakers without a North Carolina contingent.
The vacuum created by our absence would be significant – and corrosive. After all, North Carolina was the birthplace of the annual gatherings of BIO members.
That’s why the North Carolina Biotechnology Center commits tens of thousands of up-front dollars, and the better part of each year, preparing for the next year’s BIO International Convention.
And it’s why each of the 28 companies and institutions that stepped up to help pay for the North Carolina Pavilion at BIO 2014, as well as the Friends of NC who provided food and beverages for a highly popular opening-day reception, deserve the gratitude of all 66,000-plus people who work in the life sciences statewide.
The BIO convention is an annual reminder to the world that North Carolina is a major player. The #3 state in the nation for life science activity. And determined to keep that critical mass from slipping away.
Pavilion is a reasoned entrepreneurial risk
It’s a little like starting a new company each year, setting a budget, designing the “product,” marketing to intended customers while hoping they’ll respond as expected.
When 15,000 or so converge on the chosen convention center for BIO, as they did this year in San Diego, they come face-to-face with NC pavilion sponsors in a venue far more impressive than any one sponsor could effectively create.
Sponsors: givers and receivers
Sponsors also represent the whole statewide sector. And in the process, they get access to useful information, investors, customers, suppliers, mentors and peers.
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Miles Wright Photo courtesy of Xanofi |
“Xanofi’s decision to join the North Carolina pavilion at BIO this year was the right call," said Miles Wright, CEO of the Raleigh nanofiber company. "The show was a great success for us. Where else can you arrange one-on-one meetings with 30-40 new clients in just three days?
"And NCBiotech helped with almost every facet of getting the most out of the show. As a small company, it would have been twice as expensive and half as productive if we tried to pull off this major show by ourselves."
Start planning now for BIO 2015
So next time you see a colleague from one of the sponsoring organizations, offer a thank-you. And start planning to join the pavilion next year.
As Wright put it, “The calculus is quite simple - if you are a biotech company in North Carolina, you will be well served participating in the North Carolina booth at Bio International. The NCBiotech folks make it a turnkey experience and we received a tremendous amount of value for modest expenditure.”
Great kudos. Yet we can’t do it without Xanofi and the other great sponsors from across the state.
And if we can’t do it, North Carolina stands to lose precious visibility in this fast-changing industry.