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CWA provides innovative, market driven solutions to help its clients foster innovation, commercialize technologies and build successful businesses in rural and urban settings around the world. CWA’s global consulting practice specializes in:
- Business incubator and accelerator feasibility assessment, business plan development and performance monitoring,
- Entrepreneurial ecosystem development,
- Small business and development finance,
- Strategic planning and policy development, and
- Professional development.
Chuck Wolfe, President of Claggett Wolfe Associates, 
brings more than thirty years of expertise in entrepreneurship, incubation/acceleration, business/development financing and training. His work has taken him from teaching entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley and “Best Practices in Business Incubation” in Taiwan to consulting engagements around the U.S., the Middle East and Asia. During this time he has garnered extensive insights into the economic, social and programmatic dynamics that are needed to build high performing entrepreneurial support platforms and ecosystems. As a serial entrepreneur with five ventures in the IT, electronic, service and retail sectors under his belt, he also brings unique real-world insights to his consulting engagements.
Chuck has testified before the House Committee on Small Business on “The State of SBA’s Entrepreneurial Development Programs and Their Role in Promoting Economic Recovery” and was a major contributor to the NBIA publication “Developing a Business Incubation Program: Insights and Advise for Communities”. Chuck also co-authored the 1st and 2nd editions of “Best Practices in Action: Guidelines for Implementing First-Class Business Incubation Programs”.
CWA Associates
Claggett Wolfe Associates has brought together a team of experts with the professional and academic credentials to address the diverse base of industries and clients we support. Our associates have practical experience in designing, constructing, financing and operating a wide range of platforms supporting venture formation and growth in industry sectors ranging from food manufacturing and the arts to advanced manufacturing and clean technology.
What we do.
BUSINESS
INCUBATION AND ACCELERATION
Business incubation and acceleration are one of CWA’s core competencies with the firm having completed over 70 projects around the world. Services include:
Market Assessments and Feasibility Studies – CWA’s team is recognized internationally for its capacity to fully assess market conditions and local dynamics surrounding an incubator’s/accelerator’s ability to reach a level of sustainability and generate desired outcomes. When determined to be infeasible, our team recommends alternative, market appropriate solutions that help our clients meet near-term objectives and, if possible, set the stage for developing a successful incubator/accelerator in the future.
Business Planning – Each incubation/acceleration program is unique, and must be designed accordingly. Whether you want a comprehensive “Business Plan” or a streamlined “Business Model Canvas”, CWA’s team will prepare a plan for a high performing program that is customized to the market, local organizational dynamics and available funding.
Program Performance Evaluation and Enhancement – CWA’s team utilizes “Best Practices” and local metrics to assess the performance of established programs; providing recommendations for enhancing program effectiveness.
Training – CWA’s team has developed and delivered numerous training workshops on “Best Practices”, “Developing a Successful Incubation/Acceleration Program”, and “Early-Stage Venture Financing” both within the U.S. and around the world
ENTREPRENEURIAL
ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
CWA has a broad base of experience in designing and developing entrepreneurial support platforms to generate the outcomes desired by its government, corporate, academic and nonprofit clients. CWA has a team of experts with extensive experience in areas ranging from entrepreneurship education and business plan competitions to more sophisticated business incubator and accelerator platforms. Whether taking steps to foster innovation and entrepreneurship or catalyzing an emerging industry cluster, CWA’s market driven approach will help you create high-performing, innovative solutions to meet your objectives.
Services include:
- Market Assessments and Feasibility Studies – CWA’s team has extensive experience in all aspects of the entrepreneurial ecosystem; allowing it to assess the market opportunities for developing a high performing, integrated support system. Whether it be improving the performance of existing programs or integrating new tools such as coworking space or an accelerator, our team can bring together the necessary components to increase entrepreneurial activity and build successful businesses.
- Business Planning – Building a high performing entrepreneurial ecosystem requires integrating new and existing components into an effective operating model. Utilizing its market driven approach, CWA’s team will prepare a plan that brings together the various support programs, establishes operating budgets, defines performance metrics and outlines a collaborative operating framework that will maximize program performance.
- Training – CWA’s team has developed and delivered numerous training workshops including topics such as “Best Practices”, “Developing a Successful Entrepreneurial Support Platform” and “Entrepreneurship as an Economic Development Strategy”.
SMALL BUSINESS AND
DEVELOPMENT
FINANCE
CWA provides a full complement of services to support small business and development finance efforts. For over 25 years, CWA’s staff has been involved in both the design and operation of community-based loan programs evaluating over 80 business and development deals that resulting in loans totaling over $40 million ranging in value from $20,000 to $6 million. Specific services include:
- Loan program design and operation,
- Loan origination and packaging,
- Loan underwriting,
- Loan closing, servicing and workout, and
- Training on loan program design, operation, underwriting and portfolio management.
CWA also has extensive experience with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG). Projects have included providing technical assistance, regulatory compliance, program support and training at the federal, state, county and city level.
STRATEGIC PLANNING AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT
CWA provides strategic planning and policy development support for individual organizations, associations, and local, regional and state government agencies. Although versed in preparing broader economic development strategies, our efforts over the past decade have been concentrated on efforts to stimulate innovation, entrepreneurship and new venture development. Specific services include:
- Advisory services to management, boards, elected officials and agency staff,
- Legislative white-papers, and
- Strategic plan development.
CWA’s team members have also provided expert testimony in areas of small business support, business incubation and small business financing.
testimonials
Big Sky Economic Development
Claggett Wolfe (Chuck) was the game changer for what has become Rock31, our hybrid approach to entrepreneurial development. Initially, we (Big Sky Economic Development) wanted to build an incubator. We learned (with Chuck’s help) how to identify what our market actually needed (a hybrid approach) and how to build and deploy it effectively. He helped us identify potential barriers and ways to overcome them. His market assessment lead to our ability to successfully launch with a solid and achievable plan.
FAQ's
Business incubators are structured programs that provide business coaching, access to mentors, access to markets, access to capital, networking and other services over a pre-defined period of time. A “best practice” incubation program is selective, choosing applicants that are coachable, can benefit from program offerings and align with program goals. Dedicated staff work with each client to establish milestones, monitor progress and mobilize the resources needed to accelerate the launch of a new (or grow an existing) business and increase its chances of success. Participation in an incubation program can range from 12 to 18 month for an IT venture to 4 to 5 years for a food manufacturing or life sciences ventures. Most business incubators include physical space, but some new models also operate without a physical presence.
It is important to note that a multi-tenant facility without comprehensive support services focused on accelerating the launch new (or grow existing) and improving their chances of success is “just” a multi-tenant facility, not a business incubator.
Business accelerators are an intensive investor-driven model consisting of mentorship, education, industry connections and access to other services over a fixed term (e.g., 3 to 6 month). Graduation consists of a “presentation” or Demo Day where participants pitch to a group of active investors. Applicants go through a rigorous selection process with a very small percentage being selected to participate in a cohort typically consisting of 6 to 12 startups. Some business incubators such as Innovation Deport in Birmingham Alabama have added a business accelerator (Velocity Accelerator) program to complement their business incubation program.
An important first step is to bring together a core group of stakeholders and determine what outcomes you want the program to generate along with over what time period. For example: If one of the desired outcomes is to expand an industry cluster (e.g., IT) how many new businesses and jobs would have to be created over the next 10 years for your group to consider the program a success?
Once you’ve defined your desired outcomes, the next step would be to begin the process of determining which programs, physical facilities, resources, etc. would provide sufficient “value” to help your entrepreneurs generate these outcomes. By focusing on the entrepreneur and your “value” offering relative to generating outcomes you may find that a customized hybrid model consisting of multiple solutions (e.g., meetups, startup events, entrepreneurial education at the K-12 level, business incubation services, business accelerator, coworking space or maker spaces) is the answer.
Once you’ve determined your “value” offering the process should then progress to developing the appropriate business model to deliver these programs, resources, etc. either through partnerships or new initiatives.