Libraries Bridging the Gap Between Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Competitive Intelligence

Mr. Justin Anderson

Justin Anderson currently serves as the Senior Information Specialist at the Florida SBDC at UCF. As a savvy and accomplished young professional, he possesses a unique cross-section of expertise including, Information Technology, market research, international trade, web design and development, and various marketing disciplines including traditional, digital and event marketing.

Justin is certified in Strategic Management Performance from the George Washington University, and holds three certifications from the HubSpot Academy — a leader in marketing methodology — which include Inbound, Email, and Content Marketing.

Joining the FSBDC in 2015, Justin services the region’s IT infrastructure, while also conducting domestic and international market research, managing a portfolio of social media channels for the organization, coordinating training events, and partly managing the company’s website design and content.

Justin graduated from Florida International University in 2015 with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. He is currently an MBA candidate at the University of Central Florida graduating in the Spring of 2020.

When he’s not conducting research projects at the FSBDC, you might find Justin playing the drums, enjoying a game of basketball, listening to the Beatles, or drinking craft beer.

Mr. L. Harrison 'Hal' Thayer

L. Harrison ‘Hal’ Thayer is an Assistant Director at the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida. With more than 8 years at the FSBDC, Hal has extensive experience delivering the FSBDC’s consulting services, business training and market research resources to entrepreneurs and business owners; he is program manager of the FSBDC’s CEO XChange, a peer-to-peer CEO Roundtable counseling group; and he leads the FSBDC’s marketing efforts. In addition, he teaches a small business development course at the College of Business Administration at UCF. Before joining the FSBDC, Hal was a marketing consultant to small businesses after a 20-year career in marketing, communications and branding in corporate America at HBO, GE and Novell. He has an MBA from Columbia University and a BA from Amherst College.

Ms. Min Tong

Min Tong is the Business Librarian at the John C. Hitt Library, University Central Florida (UCF). Prior to joining the John C. Hitt Library in May 2017, Min had been working as a Regional Campus Librarian at UCF since 2007. As the Business Librarian, Min’s mission is to support the research needs of students and faculty in the College of Business Administration. She has been selected and participated in the 2011 American Library Association Emerging Leader Program. Her other awards included the 2010 Excellence in Librarianship Award at UCF and the ACRL 14^th National Conference Librarian Scholarship Award.

Min is the Principal Investigator of the QEP 2018 Enhancement Award Project entitled “Libraries Bridging the Gap between Innovation and Entrepreneurship”, which consisted of four major events, including “Competitive Intelligence: Industry, Company, and Market Research”.

Ms. Jane Tracy

Jane Tracy is an Orange County Library System reference librarian, a business specialist, and the leader of the Money Talks for Women Program.

She works with entrepreneurs starting and growing their business, as well as with leaders documenting how their success and organizations contribute to the development of our area.

Jane has over 200 oral history interviews with significant leaders in aerospace, defense, government, law, philanthropy, real estate, research, technology and more published online in Orlando Memory, the digital archive created by the Orange County Library System.