Keith Masavage
Founder and Chief Strategist at Biobent Polymers
As the founder of a rapidly-growing bioplastics startup company everyone here wears a lot of hats. As founder I handle all corporate governance issues, legal matters, personnel and accounting. The life blood of all companies however is their product and their customers. My job therefore also includes research & development, product development, product marketing, sales and customer relationship-building. However, on any given day I could be making sales sample kits, working in the warehouse, compounding bioplastics at our manufacturer’s location or emptying trash. And that doesn’t include fund raising, grant-writing, trade shows, press relations, purchasing, shipping and so much more! It’s a wild ride but very rewarding.
What is the benefit of collaboration between industry and education?
Many benefits exist between industry and education and often these change over time even for the same company working with the educational
institution. These benefits can include:
- Joint collaboration on research, with the company or the school being the primary grant writer or principal investigator.
- Access to resources (human or equipment) that one group has and the other one needs.
- Funding for projects.
- Licensing of technology.
- Joint commercialization projects.
- Networking.
What value/assistance can you and your company provide to teachers and classrooms as they connect with you?
Biobent has supported OSU and OBIC since its inception. We give students tours of our facilities. We provide samples of raw bioplastic materials as well as finished goods. We speak at numerous events, sponsor events, host events and serve as advisors.
Why should teachers connect with you through GrowNextGen?
Our mission and focus is on bioplastic development. If teachers in the GrowNextGen network are needing help, we can assist them with materials, presentations, mentoring and sometimes even sponsorship of events. But mostly, we need the next generation of students coming up through the ranks to understand what we’ve done and then take it to the next level.
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