DETROIT ? Leslie Smith has been on the job less than two months ? she is the new general manager at Wayne State University’s TechTown ? but she already understands the magnitude of the task facing her at one of the world’s largest business incubators.

“Understanding all the moving pieces here,” she answered when asked about her biggest challenge. “I’m taking a fresh look at all the things we do, the teams, the operations, the space, the funding.”

One of her first steps on her first day on the job, July 19, was to “pause” TechTown’s rapid expansion of personnel and services.

“Based on surveys we did of past clients, we needed to understand how we deliver services to have a meaningful impact on our clients,” she said. “When I came, I tried to put that pause in the context of all the parts of the enterprise that need to fit together. We had grown quickly. Ten staff people two years ago to 30 today. Then 500 clients turned into thousands.”

When she arrived, the Tech One building was almost at full occupancy with 160 tenant companies. The Tech Two building across the street on Cass was undergoing renovation.

In addition to its tenants, TechTown also hosts the FastTrac to the Future program, a $9.25 million joint effort by the Kauffman Foundation and the NEI to create 1,200 new companies in the Detroit area in three years. The program is in its second year.

Smith also had to help oversee a growing collection of grant programs and help manage the tech park?s 100 mentors.

But she came with solid management credentials. Most recently, she was the director of business acceleration for the Michigan Economic Development Corp. At the MEDC, Smith had direct oversight of a $300 million investment portfolio, including state and federal grant and loan programs.

Smith also managed relationships with SmartZones and regional, state and national entrepreneurial service providers including statewide incubation and acceleration services. Prior to that, she was Chief Financial Officer for a privately held real estate firm in Ann Arbor.

But she also arrived with a passion to help her native Detroit.

“I was born in Detroit, and I have a special commitment to the renaissance of this place,” Smith said. “I look forward to being even a small part of the solution.”

Executive Director Randal Charlton said Smith’s new role running the day-to-day operations at TechTown allows him to do increased fundraising on TechTown?s behalf.

“We’ve needed someone in the general manager’s role for at least six months and probably a year, but we haven’t been able to afford it,” Charlton said.

Smith’s position is paid for through a $750,000, three-year grant awarded TechTown in June by The New Economy Initiative.

What has Smith learned so far? A lot of entrepreneurial programming at TechTown is a module a week with homework in between, she said. But that didn’t necessarily work because entrepreneurship isn’t linear. Entrepreneurs are at many stages of development.

“What we found is when put a group of entrepreneurs in a program, this week we’re learning about this, and next week that and you may not hit them where they are at,” she said. “We’re going to give them targeted programming to serve their needs. The one size fits all doesn?t fit as many as we’d like.”

She’s now helping TechTown develop four entrepreneurial experience models timed to four phases. Those include the completely inexperienced entrepreneur; later stage, still nascent to growth; third high level serial entrepreneur who are post launch and in the growth mode; and fourth those that just need to diversify and reach higher level business connections.

“Our goal is to roll out new solutions in each quadrant during the next four months and adjust on the fly,” she said. “I have no grandiose notion that we’ll knock the ball out of the park in all instances. We’re just reacting and trying to meet a significant need.”

Smith said TechTown wants to spend its resources more effectively in each quadrant. So if other players in the region do something better, than TechTown will partner with them to tap their expertise.

“For instance, in Homeland Security and Defense, the new Macomb Community College-Oakland University incubator does a better job than us. We’ll send our entrepreneurs in that sector there.”

And where does she hope TechTown will be a year from now?

“We want to be able to promise our entrepreneurs they can come out of TechTown with something tangible. And, as a result of meeting these objectives, we will create sustainable companies.?

For more information, click on TechTownWSU.Org

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