New York SBDC Research Network

From Thomasnet According to Bicycling.com, the modern carbon-fiber bike is “a technological marvel” based on its superior strength over traditional metal bikes, at a fraction of the weight. So why isn’t everyone hopping on one of these top-notch bikes to pedal around town? Two reasons – the cost is insane and, say the experts at Bicycling.com, carbon-fiber can be a manufacturing nightmare. Typical problems mostly relate to quality control, in a production environment that requires lots of labor and precision, which is why the Silicon Valley startup Arevo intends to upend the process with 3D printing. The company has a prototype of the first 3D printed carbon-fiber bike, and Arevo hopes to propel the business into manufacturing ASAP. The intention is to partner with existing bike manufacturers and automate the production aspect using a robotic arm.

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics High-tech industries are an important part of the U.S. economy, employing nearly 17 million workers in 2014. While this accounted for about 12 percent of total employment, the high-tech sector contributed almost 23 percent of output. According to a study funded by the Workforce Information Council, the high-tech sector can be defined as industries having high concentrations of workers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) occupations. Although the term high-tech has been notoriously difficult to define, as technology changes all the time, this analysis provides an approach to defining jobs that are in in this sector. This issue of Beyond the Numbers applies the approach used by WIC to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on industry employment and output. It provides an overview of which industries make up the high-tech sector and analyzes historical and projected industry employment and output data from the BLS Employment ...

The availability of capital is crucial for small business startup, survival, and growth. This study investigates how the youngest small firms, especially high-tech firms and firms owned by women and minorities, were financed during the evolving financial environment of the Great Recession. Get the full report or summary . Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Victoria Williams at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov.

Occasionally, we've gotten questions about "technology" or "high tech". While we can get reports, there is no one business code that encompasses such a broad category. The AeA, formerly the American Electronics Association, "uses 45 SIC codes to define the high-technology industry." The organization recognizes that " these 45 SIC codes do not comprehensively cover the entire high-tech industry as the structure of the SIC system is limited. In an effort to produce solid statistics, AeA's definition consists of SIC codes that fall into three broad categories -- high-tech manufacturing, communications services, and software and computer-related services. It does not include broad categories if the high-tech portion does not represent a clear majority. Also, AeA's definition does not include many 'related' industries, such as biotechnology, engineering services, and research and testing services." Likewise, "the 49 NAICS cod...

I've written about state rankings from the Milken Institute before. Here's another one, called the State Technology and Science Index . Published last June, this is their third version of this survey (they do it every four years). The survey attempts to rank each state by its level of investment and commitment to high technology and science. To understand how they do this, it's easier to quote from their site: "The State Technology and Science Index looks at 77 unique indicators that are categorized into five major components: * Human Capital Investment * Research and Development Inputs * Risk Capital and Entrepreneurial Infrastructure * Technology and Science Work Force * Technology Concentration and Dynamism" As you'll notice, New York ranks 15th in their list. This is where we ranked in 2004. Massachusetts ranks 1st, and they've held that spot in each of these surveys. If you click on New York on the map, you'll see a breakdown of where we rank am...