Good morning all,

The Technology Forum of Delaware does great work in highlighting technologies and offering a source of information for start-ups.

On Wednesday night, the focus was on early-stage enterprises with each venture getting a few minutes to tell their story at the event on the  University of Delaware STAR campus.

It was a good time to talk to people with promising ideas.

On a few occasions, I have detected frustration over  a lack of a financing infrastructure for start-ups and an overall  lukewarm attitude toward new ventures. It happened again on Wednesday night.

In one conversation,  I heard the frustrations, as I outlined the progress that has been made over the years through state and local programs.

After all, I was around in the 1990s. It was clear at that time that poobahs at the state’s largest corporations were not enthused about those young whippersnappers talking about things like venture capital at a time when their focus was beginning to turn to global competition.

The funding infrastructure at the time and even now was located  to the north along Route 202 corridor in Pennsylvania.  A  few sizable companies with Delaware links were spawned in the 202  area.

The late David Freschman waged a sometimes-lonely effort with a venture fund and the Early Stage East fair that matched funding to great ideas..

A variety of programs have sprung up since that time that address issues ranging from lab space to early-stage financing. Players include the University of Delaware, corporate players, The Mill center in Wilmington, Technical.ly, New Castle County Chamber,  state government, and the list goes on.

Sadly,  the landscape  remains opaque with many silos  and varying  levels of enthusiasm.

Added to this mix is a generally downbeat view of a Delaware economy that is clearly sluggish in some quarters,  but is nowhere as bad as some believe.

Too often, these attitudes percolate downward and discourage people with a promising idea or technology.

Meanwhile, navigating this landscape  can be tricky, even for small companies that have been around for a while

 Something as simple as a  Google search of terms related to start-up financing in Delaware  yields unimpressive  results.

What is crystal clear is the lack of a one-stop point of entry that would pull together information.

Accompanying this investment would be a small but well-versed staff able to get the person making the inquiry to the right place via Email, social media inquiry or phone call.

The effort would be accompanied by an online campaign that would show up  on Google AdSense and similar online advertising networks. 

It’s an idea that deserves consideration.

In the meantime, entrepreneurs can check out the Innovation Delaware magazine. While a print-driven product with loads of ads, it does contain information of  value to the start-up community.

Click here  to view an electronic copy.

Here’s to a great weekend. At least Sunday looks OK on the weather front. – Doug Rainey, publisher.