This paper seeks to evaluate the impact that the Michigan State University Product Center Food-Ag-Bio (or Product Center for short) has had on the success and survival of the entrepreneurs who have received assistance from it. To determine this impact, a survey was sent out to over 2200 Michigan food and agricultural entrepreneurs in the fall of 2012 . Over 600 entrepreneurs responded to the survey, both clients and non-clients of the Product Center, and the resulting data was used to conduct this analysis. Considerable effort was taken to overcome the inherent selection bias in entrepreneurial assistance program (EAP) evaluations. This bias is due to the fact that those who seek assistance are more likely to have a higher propensity to seek information and lower overall entrepreneurial ability, and both factors are also likely to influence venture performance. These biases are best thought of as an unobserved variable bias when included a regression analysis. To overcome these biases, therefore, we identified observable factors that predict the decision to seek assistance and included these in the impact evaluation regressions in order to have unbiased estimators. In short, we found that the Product Center had the most incremental impact on small to medium sized ventures, older entrepreneurs with less industry-related business experience, and for those who participated in the development of the business idea prior with the Product Center prior to the launch of their new venture. This impact was seen most notably in increased survival rates, levels of employment and increased perceived legitimacy with external resources holders
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