Venture Point Closes Amid ‘Financial Uncertainties’
By ANDREW SIMONS
The Venture Point Tech Coast Small Business Development Center is closing its doors.
Officials at the business advisory group and the Orange County Business Council, which hosts Venture Point, recently told workers of the shut down.
The reason: “financial uncertainties” dealing with the state, according to Business Council Chief Executive Stan Oftelie.
Venture Point may reopen if the Business Council gets a state contract it can work with, Oftelie said in a memo.
Venture Point’s closure is the latest in an ongoing saga for the group, which provides advice to startup companies on how to start up and get funding.
The group faced a shutdown almost three months ago as it awaited state reimbursement of $172,000. The state came through with the money last month,at the eleventh hour. But a new contract wasn’t hammered out.
In a message to Venture Point’s advisory board, Executive Director Jay De Long said even though Venture Point received some state money, Oftelie was uncomfortable “canceling” the furlough plan.
Nor did the Business Council want to sign on for a $700,000 yearlong contract in which the council would have to float money to Venture Point and then seek state reimbursement, De Long’s memo said.
Venture Point is part of the Small Business Development Center program sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The agency funnels money to such groups via Sacramento.
The Orange County Technology Action Network,Octane for short,is a possible Venture Point suitor, De Long said, but no decisions have been made yet. Octane is a technology group cofounded by Conexant Systems Inc. Chief Executive Dwight Decker.
