A company working to make NASA spacesuits stronger and safer and another providing data to millions of drivers to help them avoid traffic jams are both growing in Delaware.

Assistance from the state Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism is helping STF Technologies and TrafficCast take their businesses to the next level.

“Growth in Delaware’s economy through projects like these stems from an ecosystem created in the state,” said Linda Parkowski, Acting Director of the Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism. “Delaware has a business environment that encourages research and innovation and has programs in place to provide the ready space and produce a well-trained workforce for high-tech companies.”

STF Technologies, which is based at the University of Delaware STAR Campus in Newark, develops advanced thickening materials that can change form between liquid and solid to improve the protective abilities of NASA spacesuits, making them more puncture- and impact-resistant.

Last year STF began manufacturing and selling shear thickening fluids.  Previously a material mostly confined to research labs, these materials are now being used by a number of different companies to create next-generation protective materials and motion-control devices.

At its February meeting, the Council on Development Finance recommended a $50,000 Technical Innovation Program grant for STF to help provide a bridge between Phase I and Phase II Small Business Innovation Research funding from NASA.

“This technology could protect and save astronauts venturing to Mars,” said Richard Dombrowski, Co-Founder of STF Technologies. “It is gratifying to see the state showing confidence in the company by helping us find Earth-based markets for our materials. We are also grateful for the TIP grant, which helps us to maintain our research and product development activities between rounds of NASA funding.”

TrafficCast, which is based in Madison, Wis., is relocating its East Coast Traffic Operations Center to Delaware. The company uses data from 1.5 billion GPS trace points and its own road-based sensors to monitor traffic flow nationwide and provides real-time traffic data to more than three-quarters of all in-dash vehicle navigation systems.

The company is relocating 10 jobs and creating an additional 58 new jobs in a new office at The Mill, a coworking space in downtown Wilmington. At its February meeting, CDF recommended awarding TrafficCast a $171,600 Performance Grant from the Delaware Strategic Fund.

Many of the new jobs will involve software development so proximity to Zip Code Wilmington, which is also located at The Mill, is an important selling point for moving there.

Both The Mill and Zip Code Wilmington have benefited from past assistance through the state’s economic development efforts.

“Delaware provides a great opportunity for TrafficCast to grow and create a footprint in a state-of-the-art location in Wilmington,” said Al McGowan, CEO of TrafficCast. “Access to the talent required for that growth attracted us to Delaware, and the support we have found here in the private sector and in state government has shown us it was the right choice.”

Media Contact:
Michael Chesney
Director of Communications
Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism
Michael.Chesney@delaware.gov
(302) 577-8472 (office)
(302) 943-9508 (cell)

The Delaware Libraries Inspiration Space announces a new initiative to enable small business owners to expand their knowledge with the latest ideas from the business world’s thought leaders. A Book Club for Entrepreneurs will launch at the Lewes Public Library on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at noon.

Small business owners will have the opportunity to learn about the latest concepts in entrepreneurship from books and each other. In addition to discussing the content of the selected book, participants can share their relevant experiences with the group and explore related ideas.

The book club will be self-managed and will select the best day and time for future meetings. Each member will have the opportunity to select a book and lead the monthly meeting. The selected books will be made available in a variety of formats through the Delaware Library Catalog.

Like all Delaware library programs, participation is free.

Register at http://tinyurl.com/bizbookclubjan9lewes. The January book selection and other details will be provided to registrants via email.

Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism hosting listening sessions statewide

WILMINGTON, Del. – Delaware received an A+ rating and ranked #2 out of 50 states in the 2017 Small Business Friendliness Survey released on Thursday by Thumbtack, a web and phone application for small businesses.

Thumbtack awarded the state A+ ratings in 9 of 12 categories studied – most importantly in Overall Friendliness.

“Thumbtack’s study confirms what people living and working in Delaware see every day. This state is a great place for entrepreneurs and small business owners to succeed,” said Governor John Carney. “We continue to work to make Delaware an even better home for small business. Since taking office, my team has focused on this area of economic development with the creation of the Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism, which will take Delaware’s support for small businesses and entrepreneurs to the next level.”

“The ranking reflects Delaware’s previous and continuing efforts to have a direct and immediate impact on small businesses through close working relationships with owners and entrepreneurs,” said Cerron Cade, Director of the Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism. “This is gratifying feedback from the community, and we are looking for even more as we continue to improve our approach to economic development.”

The Division is hosting three listening sessions Tuesday through Thursday – one in each county – to allow the public to share how the state can further support small business development.

Tuesday’s study release also comes on the heels of the state launching its new #OptionsInDE campaign, which is highlighting the many reasons Delaware is an appealing location for business of any size to grow and thrive.

Between July and September of this year, Thumbtack surveyed more than 13,000 small business owners across 50 states and 80 cities to determine how easy government makes it to start, run and expand a small business. This is the sixth year the company has produced the nationwide survey.

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Related:
OptionsInDE.com
Governor Carney op-ed in The News Journal: “Innovation is Delaware’s path to jobs and prosperity”
Governor Carney Takes Steps to Restructure Delaware’s Economic Development Efforts, Create Jobs
Governor Carney Announces Strategic Plan to Restructure Delaware’s Economic Development Efforts

Dover, Del. (October 23, 2017) – The state of Delaware wants to hear from small business owners, community leaders and interested citizens as the new Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism charts a path forward.

There will be three listening sessions this week – one in each county – to allow the public to share how the state can support small business development.

The sessions are:

October 24, 5:30 – 8:00 PM: Georgetown, University of Delaware – Carvel Research & Education Center, 16483 County Seat Hwy.

October 25, 5:30 – 8:00 PM: Wilmington, New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, 920 Justison St.

October 26, 5:30 – 8:00 PM: Dover, Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Hwy.

People interested in participating can click here to RSVP.

“Delaware is reinventing its approach to economic development and we’re asking our customers—Delaware’s residents and business owners—to help,” said Cerron Cade, Director of the Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism. “We want to hear from the public, so the chosen approach is one that serves the needs of residents and the business community.”

At each session, discussion leaders will work with attendees through three possible scenarios. They highlight non-mutually exclusive directions the Division could take. Each has benefits and tradeoffs for consideration.

Governor Carney signed HB226 in June, which led to the creation of the Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism and the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, a public-private partnership that will market the state externally as a place to grow and expand business.

Media Contact:
Michael Chesney                                                                                            
Director of Communications
Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism
Michael.Chesney@delaware.gov
(302) 577-8472 (office)
(302) 943-9508 (cell)

The Division of Revenue announced the annual adjustments to filing thresholds for small businesses and employers under the Delaware Competes Act. These threshold adjustments are intended to ensure that small businesses continue to reap the benefits of the Delaware Competes Act for years to come.

As noted last year, the safe harbor provision for small businesses had been enacted in 1984, but because the original qualification thresholds had not been adjusted, many small businesses had stopped qualifying for the reduced reporting obligations. “Updating thresholds throughout Delaware’s tax code reduces administrative and compliance costs for small businesses and the Division of Revenue alike,” said Division of Revenue Director, Jennifer Noel. “These adjustments will continue to ensure that the tax code is predictable and fair for small businesses and will maintain the reduced filing frequencies that small businesses benefited from last year.”

This notification is part of the Division of Revenue’s annual notification process, in which businesses and employers receive updates regarding their filing responsibilities for the upcoming year. The Delaware Competes Act mandates that thresholds are subject to an annual inflation adjustment, meaning that the thresholds’ future effectiveness will not erode over time.

New threshold information can be found by visiting the Division of Revenue web site at http://revenue.delaware.gov/services/Business_Tax/Threshold_Update_102017.pdf.