The Innovation Space: Helping Entrepreneurs with Science Resources and Business Know-How
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By DERON SNYDER (as published by Delaware Business Times)
Back in 2023, when the burgeoning startup Sindri Materials needed a place to live and grow, CEO and founder Christopher DiMarco began a nine-month research journey. He looked at private lab spaces from Maryland to New York and all the way to Boston. There were lots of business incubators in “great spaces and great ecosystems,” but he says none were the greatest fit for his graphene company.
“Then we stumbled on The Innovation Space,” DiMarco says. “The way their spaces are set up, with their leadership and their focus, they have an emphasis on advanced materials alongside life sciences. It just makes them a unique space for a company like ours.”
The residency paid off immediately. Sindri Materials won an Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion (EDGE) Grant from the Delaware Division of Small Business in 2024 and also made the cut for Technical.ly’s RealList Startups that year. DiMarco says setting up shop at The Innovation Space has played an invaluable role in his company’s success.
Founded in 2017, The Innovation Space helps science-based startups thrive in Delaware, hopefully to the scale of companies that change the world through science and live for generations — like DuPont, which partnered with the state and the University of Delaware to develop the nonprofit. Bill Provine, a longtime DuPont director and The Innovation Space’s founder, president and CEO, says they all saw a gap in the landscape for those types of startups.
“You hear all these stories about people creating Apple Computer in their garages or some software company beginning at the local Starbucks,” Provine says. “But you can’t generate the next therapeutics company or Big Pharma company in your garage.”
DiMarco, who’s from Delaware County just outside of Philadelphia, searched far and wide before finding the ideal location right under his nose. “It’s the shortest distance of any place I looked at,” he says. “I started with Google searches and wasn’t really thinking about Wilmington. Ultimately, I heard about The Innovation Space and it was serendipitous. It was 30 minutes away from me.”
ALL THE RIGHT STUFF
The other options DiMarco considered were more focused on supporting a life science venture. The infrastructure, amenities and shared equipment weren’t geared toward a materials company trying to de-risk its technology, build a business and land investors.
That’s not to say science companies in fields like healthcare, diagnostics and biotech have no place at the 139,000-square-foot facility with 90 state-of-the art lab spaces. Provine points to Prelude Therapeutics as an example; it grew from a few people to over 100 employees while headquartered at The Innovation Space, before moving into its own building as a publicly traded company. “They’re one of the only IPOs of recent note coming from the state of Delaware,” he says.
The Innovation Space has supported more than 140 startups, helping them raise more than $1.2 billion dollars and create and retain over 1,000 jobs. The ability to assist companies focused on advanced materials set it apart for DiMarco. Instead of just getting access to a bunch of equipment he doesn’t need, he can use the facility’s high-end instruments, like a scanning electron microscope. “It costs a quarter of a million dollars,” he says. “That’s something I don’t have to buy. They’ve invested in the equipment we care about.”
Provine says science entrepreneurs typically struggle to leverage such equipment, which is found mostly within academic institutions and private industry. “These are things they can’t afford, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he says. “We’re definitely invested in the equipment and we have a lot of loaned equipment; it’s not just empty labs people get here.”
DiMarco was also swayed by the level of privacy. Whereas other facilities were offering a lab bench in shared quarters, The Innovation Space offered a lab pod — only 160 square feet but exclusively for his startup. “It allows us to protect our intellectual property and technology,” he says.
ALL THE RIGHT CONTACTS
With a PhD in mechanical engineering, expertise in graphene production and experience in process development, DiMarco is well-versed in the science part of Sindri Materials, but The Innovation Space increased his proficiency in everything else regarding the business. That process began with The Innovation Space’s Science Inc. Accelerator, a four-month virtual cohort for early-stage startups, followed by Spark Factory, a pitch event that offers mentoring to new founders. Provine says such training is vital for founders with strong technical backgrounds but little knowledge on running a company, raising money and making important connections.
“We also make certain they’re being honest with themselves,” he says. “Some people just like to play in the laboratory. If they just do that, they’ll never be able to raise the funds and they’ll go out of business. It’s not like a university where [research] is the purpose. Companies really have to do things in a very applied way and a very disciplined way.”
While they’re at it, founders discover common ground among themselves. DiMarco says everyone at The Innovation Space is generous with information and supportive of one another. Some have complimentary or overlapping backgrounds that could lead to partnering on a grant. Others have ideas on human resources or job candidates that are useful. The Innovation Space contributes to and feeds off the state’s tech ecosystem.
“Delaware is so tight knit, you see a lot of the same people at local pitch competitions and conferences,” DiMarco says. “There’s folks from the business side, industry side and the academic side, and they all remember you. It can be at a happy hour or any kind of event.”
DiMarco says the networking has been invaluable, but there are tangible benefits, too. The Innovation Space continues to develop enhanced opportunities for startups, recently adding an early-stage growth grant to complement its First Fund grant, which provides up to $240,000 in cash, lab space, wraparound support and mentorship. And Provine’s team continues to pour resources into the facility, outfitting conference rooms, renovating labs and adding equipment.
“130,000 square feet is a pretty big place, so we’re constantly investing,” he says. “Incrementally, we want to make this the best place in the world for entrepreneurs, and it’s already close to that. But we’re always innovating to add value for the entrepreneurs we support.”
