Kevin Keegan’s company has a new home and firm financial footing, thanks to the help of the Missouri Innovation Center. Keegan is co-owner of Equinosis, which has signed on to be one of the first tenants at the new University of Missouri Life Science Business Incubator at Monsanto Place in Columbia, Mo. Equinosis manufactures the Lameness Locator, a product Keegan helped develop that uses sensors and computer software to test horses for lameness.
Last year, Keegan, an associate professor at MU, launched the startup company with the help of seed capital and marketing support from Centennial Investors, Missouri Innovation Center and St. Louis-based The Incubation Factory.
Now that Equinosis is off the ground, Keegan said he is glad to be getting a dedicated work space for the business because he now stores his Equinosis equipment in his cluttered work space in Clydesdale Hall. Keegan said the incubator offers endless opportunities for business development and collaboration.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of knowledge and ideas that you can pick up from people in that kind of environment,” he said. “It will be helpful being around people who are trying to do the same things that I’m trying to do.”
Jake Halliday, MIC’s president and chief executive officer, said the incubator is an ideal place for emerging life-science companies because it provides them access to all of the research capabilities of the university, including the MU Research Reactor, located right next door.
“This is where the world of academia, the world of the research university, meets the world of business and commerce,” Halliday said.
Story courtesy Columbia Daily Tribune/Photo courtesy Columbia Business Times