As the number of start-ups at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator continues to grow, so must Koffman’s support staff. Last month, local entrepreneur Eric Krohn was added to the team and will serve as program coordinator.

The Vestal native became acquainted with the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships team in 2014, when he founded Gyro Heat Technologies, featuring a rotating gas burner that hinders hot spots by rotating the flame from stoves. He’s also the co-owner of b-Safe products, a medical device company with a focus on innovations that promote harm reduction.

As program coordinator, Krohn’s duties include mentoring incubator companies and facilitating the incubator’s operations. He said he’s excited about the new position because he gets to do what he’s passionate about.

“My passion stems from two places, one of innovation and the other in  “incubating” peoples dreams and passions into self sustaining, successful companies,” Krohn, 39,  said.  “I truly have my dream job here giving back the same gifts that helped me out so much years prior.”

Krohn, who holds degrees from Marywood University and the Culinary Institute of America, previously served as a nutrition health education specialist at the Southern Tier AIDS program and a dietitian for Broome County. But he said the field of entrepreneurship has special meaning for him.

“I love the world of innovation,” Krohn said in an interview about Gryro Heat Technologies. “It’s blind to race or sex or anything else. It’s only concerned with, ‘Do you perform? Are you doing something interesting, something novel?'”’”

By Orla McCaffrey ’18