Incubator RoundUp: Building a Culture of Entrepreneurship

Business incubators, known for the business support services they provide entrepreneurs, have shown themselves through the years to be a valuable resource in the process of starting and growing companies. Office and laboratory space provided at a reduced cost to tenants is just one of the benefits. Many incubators also offer access to university research, mentoring and seed and venture capital in order to encourage entrepreneurship and ensure the success of new high-technology start-up companies.



According to a recent study by the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA), the business incubation industry has grown steadily in recent years, with the number of incubation programs in North America nearly doubling between 1998 and 2006. The study indicates 1,100 business incubation programs were operating in North America in early 2006 - up from 587 in 1998 and 950 in 2001 - and more than half (54 percent) of these programs were mixed-use incubators that accepted a variety of clients. Another 39 percent focused on assisting technology companies. Based on extrapolations from survey data, NBIA estimates that in 2005 alone, North American incubators assisted more than 27,000 start-up companies that provided full-time employment for more than 100,000 workers and generated annual revenue of more than $17 billion.



Over the past few months, several new incubators have emerged -- many in partnership with higher education institutions. The synopses of recent incubator announcements below offer a picture of their developments and the incubation industry as a whole.

 

Following a recent merger with Ann Arbor IT Zone, Ann Arbor SPARK announced plans to develop an entrepreneurial business incubator in downtown Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti SmartZone Local Development Finance Authority is financing the 2,500-square-foot incubator.

 

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northwestern Pennsylvania is refurbishing a 35,000-square-foot building that will house start-up companies. The incubator, called Ben Franklin TechVentures, is set to open in September and will include wet lab space, reports the Morning Call.

 

Burlington County College recently opened its $4 million science incubator -- New Jersey’s first incubator for life science businesses at a two-year school. The incubator offers 11 interconnected, 600-square-foot laboratories to house early-stage and start-up scientific companies. The New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology awarded $80,000 to the science incubator and $130,000 for the college’s high technology incubator, which was formed in 1998.

 

State and local officials marked the groundbreaking for the first building at Dayton’s Tech Town campus earlier this month. The Creative Technology Accelerator is a three-story, 45,000-square-foot, multi-tenant office building designed for businesses that are developing and commercializing new technology products. The Institute for Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology (IDCAST) is the anchor tenant and recipient of a $28 million grant from the Ohio Third Frontier Commission.

 

A new $6.9 million building located in Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII will provide space for post-incubator companies. The 44,000-square-foot building will serve companies that have graduated beyond the initial stages of development. Bethlehem city officials hope the building will be home to companies that emerge from collaboration between local universities and entrepreneurs, according to the Morning Call.

 

The Institute for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization at Boston University School of Management and the Boston University Office of Technology Development announced the creation of the Entrepreneurial Research Laboratory (ERL) last month. The ERL is a living laboratory for entrepreneurial sciences that connects new entrepreneurs with students, professors, mentors, businesses, investors and policymakers. The ERL provides incubator space in the Boston University Discovery & Innovation Center.

 

Last month, the Missouri Western State University Science and Technology Incubator was dedicated as the Christopher S. Kit Bond Science and Technology Incubator. Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) and local leaders worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration to secure $2.5 million for the incubator.

 

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) is in discussions with a developer to build a business incubator near its proposed Carolina North campus, according to an article in the Triangle Business Journal. The proposed Carolina Innovation Center, which could total as much as $25 million, is not limited to life sciences start-ups. UNC must be granted a special use permit by the town of Chapel Hill and, pending that approval, the incubator could be up and running within a year or two, according to the article.

 

A new $2.5 million, 15,000-square-foot business incubator opened last month at the University of Tennessee (UT). The incubator will provide space and assistance to developing and start-up companies with the goal of helping commercialize intellectual property generated from researchers at UT and the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The incubator is a partnership among UT, Knox County, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Knoxville Utilities Board, the state of Tennessee and the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

 

Finally, Utah State University announced plans to open a business incubator in Brigham City by next year. The community innovation center carries a $10.7 million price tag and will provide space for classes, conferences and a business resource center. Start-up companies will be given the option of renting space in the building at below-market value.



More information regarding NBIA's 2006 State of the Business Incubation Industry report, including survey methodology, is available by purchasing the report at http://www.nbia.org/store.