For Thomas Pote, massaging his clients makes up more than a business tactic. At the age of 19, he studied massage at the Lourdes Institute of Wholistic Studies in Collingswood, NJ. At the same time he worked toward a degree in health promotion and fitness management at Rowan University. In October 2006 he combined those experiences to launch Mobile Massage. "We bring the luxury of a spa massage to our clients," Pote says.

At Rowan, Thomas Bryant, executive director of the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE), and his colleagues helped Pote along, even though he was not a student in the CIE credit program. Bryant says, "We took him out to some networking events, and coached him a bit." With a wide range of experience -- including a PhD in policy analysis from MIT and having served as the CEO of Shad Valley, which runs summer programs for students interested in science, technology, and entrepreneurship -- Bryant finds ways to help students with various business interests. "The center picks up all the loose ends," Bryant says. "If it doesn't have a fit any place else, the university throws it at us." Whatever sort of business idea comes to the CIE, though, Bryant and his colleagues take an analytical approach. "The most valuable thing we do," he says, "is to turn thinking into a clear plan that people will buy into."

Even at just five years old, the CIE has already helped more students than Bryant can count, especially given that it works with others outside the program, such as Pote and his massage company. The center also works with organizations. To stay afloat, the CIE relies on considerable indirect (but not much direct) funding from Rowan, such as office space and support staff. "We work on a contract basis," explains Bryant, such as projects for state agencies.

The center also runs an incubator, which Peter Jamieson directs. "Our primary incubator focuses on high tech," says Bryant. A building under construction will provide 14 engineering labs, including wet labs and clinical spaces, for tenants. Beyond space, the incubator tenants will receive coaching, such as a monthly session on leadership. "Although not restricted to life science," says Bryant, "we can accommodate this area as well as, for example, research on advanced industrial materials."

One incubator tenant came with an information-collection and analysis concept. "They had a strong concept and advisory board, but a poor business plan," says Bryant. So he and Jamieson helped the tenant turn the plan into something appealing to potential investors. The center works only with companies at relatively early stages, say before an initial public offering or corporate merger.

The center gives students and companies a start, but the final results depend on turning that assistance into reality. Pote and his four therapists massage personal and corporate clients around the tristate region. "We're growing more every week, and we're turning a profit," he says. In thinking back about his days working with Rowan's CIE before graduating in May 2007, Pote says, "They provided a great network of people with tons of experience." Although he struggles to convince some people that he can succeed as such a young entrepreneur, just 22-years-old, he advises others to chase their dreams: "If you're passionate about an idea, go for it."