John Balsam Associates, LLC :: About John Balsam

Mission and Vision About John Balsam Associates

John Balsam has nearly 25 years of experience serving clients with a primary focus on markets, market research, technology commercialization, and project funding. Until 1991, Balsam directed the technology-commercialization division of the U.S. Department of Energy’s national clearinghouse for technology entrepreneurs. During this period, he also played a leading role in the development and operation of two small business incubators—one traditional and the other an “incubator without walls.”

Subsequently, Balsam initiated the first of more than 300 detailed market assessments of emerging technologies in such industries as agriculture, forest and wood products, transportation, manufacturing, electronics, building construction and systems, energy, and more. Most of these assessments were performed under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Inventions & Innovation (I&I) Program (1992-2007). During this period, Balsam:

performed and managed others in performing 200+ detailed technology market assessments
participated in the I&I Program’s Commercialization Planning Workshops
helped develop the commercialization criteria within I&I’s solicitation
reviewed and ranked hundreds of proposals for I&I funding
developed and managed DOE’s popular Energy TechNet website
for technology entrepreneurs
organized Congressional support for the program

From 1993 to 1997, Balsam broke from this work to serve as Director of the Montana Entrepreneurship Center at the University of Montana, after which he returned to performing and managing technology market assessments. Since 1999, he has served as a reliable, results-oriented contractor to the Montana Department of Commerce, the TechLink Center at Montana State University, the University of Montana’s Technology Transfer Office, and a number of private clients providing individualized counseling, market research, proposal-development assistance, and commercialization assistance to more than 200 small technology firms, most engaged in applying to the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, DOE's I&I Program, Montana’s Board of Research and Commercialization, and Montana's Growth Through Agriculture Program.

Balsam earned a BA in mathematics in 1976 and an MBA in 1981.

John Balsam Associates is:

Registered with the MT Secretary of State
Certified as an independent contractor with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry
A member of Montana's Statewide SBDC Advisory Board
A member of the Statewide Technology Partnership Committee
A member of the Montana Economic Developers Association
A member of a growing network of associates, each with specialization and expertise in different aspects of technology R&D, commercialization, licensing, financing, and business and project development.