Ben Franklin Technology Partners funding creates more tech jobs that pay better
February 13, 2009
Brian James Kirk, Technically Philly
Local technology entrepreneurs should give serious thought to dialing up Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Partners. According to a study released Thursday, early-stage tech companies funded by the network from 2002 through 2006 generated 5 more jobs each year and paid 33 percent better than similar companies who were not funded.
Given common job market fluctuation, the study also factored the duration of jobs created and concluded that 10,165 job years were generated over that time. That’s 10 job millenia, if we’re doing our math correctly. On average, funded companies paid $54,509 per year, while non-funded companies paid a meager $41,019.
Technology Partners is filling a void. Nationally, the total percentage of venture capital being distributed to startup and early-stage companies has remained relatively stagnant at approximately 20 percent since 2002. BFTP’s funding network has invested in 500 companies and institutions in Pennsylvania between 2002 and 2006, and the majority of funds went directly to entrepreneurs, and early-stage and established companies. [Pennsylvania Economy League via Philadelphia Business Journal]