More than space: Incubators help start-ups get connected, too
More entrepreneurs are skipping the garage to launch their ideas from a business incubator.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Dallas Morning News
Business incubators are springing up locally and nationally amid
increased demand for their support and services. Laid-off workers
want to start businesses as resources have dwindled in the
recession.
Dallas-Fort Worth has 10 incubator
programs. A few began this year; others are expanding or
re-inventing themselves.
Hubert Zajicek is the senior director of NTEC in Frisco
(COURTNEY PERRY/DMN)
Link: National
Business Incubation Association
"Over the last year or so, we have seen more interest in the
industry as more communities look for ways to support new business
development and create jobs," said Linda Knopp, spokeswoman for the
National Business Incubation Association "Many cities are looking
at business incubation programs as a way to build their own
businesses by supporting local entrepreneurs," instead of
recruiting companies from afar.
Business incubators - also called accelerators - usually
offer free or affordable offices, meeting rooms, shared services,
counseling and networking. Some even offer laboratory space and
capital.
Dallas-Fort Worth has 10 incubator programs. A few began this
year; others are expanding or re-inventing themselves.
The Pipeline incubator at UT Southwestern's BioCenter in Dallas
opened in April. The University of Texas at Dallas' Institute for
Innovation & Entrepreneurship plans to offer physical office
and lab space to university start-ups or licensees of university
research by year's end in addition to its virtual incubator
services.
The Center for Innovation at Arlington is undergoing a major
reorganization and renovation, and plans to announce a new business
model this fall, said director Sergio Bento.
Last month, the Arlington Technology Incubator and the Center
for Entrepreneurship merged into the center, which is focusing more
on medical devices.
While most of the nation's 1,100 incubators are nonprofits
sponsored by economic development groups, universities and cities,
the number of for-profit programs has increased.
For-profit Tech Wildcatters, which started last month in Dallas,
is a hybrid of an incubator and venture capital firm.
Chris Fagan, co-founder of Mobestream Media in Dallas, is
getting more out of Tech Wildcatters than he expected.
"The selling point for us is that we'd start getting immediate
access to people who can help us sell our business," said Fagan,
whose firm's Key Ring Reward Cards application lets consumers
manage loyalty accounts from cellphones. "I've gotten connected to
people I never would have dreamed of."
One-year-old CoHabitat isn't an incubator, but it provides work
space, Wi-Fi and networking for two dozen entrepreneurs in a large
house in Dallas' Uptown area for as little as $150 a month.
Already, CoHabitat has had an impact. Tech Wildcatters
co-founder Gabriella Draney met her partner there and three of Tech
Wildcatters' five firms had offices there.
Business incubators provide work space, resources, support and
sometimes capital to help entrepreneurs launch an idea or
company.
•Number: 1,100 in the United States
•Type: 94 percent are nonprofits focused on
economic development.
•Focus: 54 percent are not industry specific,
39 percent focus on technology, 4 percent service and 3 percent
manufacturing.
•Location: 53 percent are in urban areas, 28
percent are rural and 19 percent are suburban.
•Survival: Graduates have an 87 percent
survival rate.
•Impact: Helped more than 27,000 North American
start-ups with more than 100,000 full-time workers and annual
revenue topping $17 billion in 2005, the latest data available.
SOURCES: National Business Incubation Association; Ohio
University; Southern Technology Council; University of Michigan
Business Incubation Center
Where: El Centro College's Bill J. Priest
campus, Dallas
Started: 1989
Funded: El Centro College and revenue
Criteria: Start-ups must submit a business plan
and a formal application ($25 fee).
Services of note: Business library access,
janitorial services, and an on-site Subway sandwich shop opens this
summer.
Cost: Monthly rents of $90 to $1,800. Small
fees for copies, faxes and postage.
Term: Up to four years.
Participants: 36
Website: www.elcentrocollege.edu/BJP/bic.asp
Center for Innovation at Arlington
Where:University of Texas at Arlington
Started: 2001
Funded: Federal funds and revenue
Criteria: Must submit a business plan and
market analysis. Technology firms must have a patent or one
pending.
Services of note: Advisory board services,
access to on-site business assistance agencies, virtual incubator
services and help finding financing and lab space elsewhere.
Cost: Rent of $18 per square foot. Client fees
of $2,500 a year.
Term: Up to three years
Participants: Four incubator tenants; seven
virtual projects
Website: www.arlingtontx.com/center-for-innovation
Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's incubator
program
Where:Dallas, Oak Cliff and West Dallas
Started: 1994
Funding: City of Dallas and the chamber.
Criteria: Business must be led by a low- to
moderate-income resident of Dallas with no more than four
employees. Must submit a business plan and application.
Services of note: Janitorial services and help
finding capital.
Cost: $150 a month
Term: Up to three years
Participants: 10
Website: www.gdhcc.com
Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship's
Venture Development program and incubator
Where: University of Texas at Dallas,
Richardson
Started: Virtual incubator in 2007, physical
incubator to open by end of year.
Funding: UTD and rental income
Criteria: Viable technology-based startups with
management and affiliated with the university
Services of note: Physical incubator will offer
lab space, help developing a business plan, product analysis and
market research, help recruiting management teams, provides
MBA-student interns and faculty advisers,
entrepreneurs-in-residence program, helps with introduction to
investors.
Cost: Rental rates are still being determined.
UTD may take a small equity stake.
Term: Still being determined
Participants: More than 12
Website: innovation.utdallas.edu
NTEC Inc.
Where: Frisco
Started: 2003
Funding: Frisco Economic Development Corp. and
sponsors
Criteria: Medical and clean technology firms
must have a full-time founding entrepreneur, intellectual property
and time-to-market within three years. Must submit a business plan
or executive summary.
Services of note: Lab space, fitness room and
help meeting investors. Goal-setting, planning and strategizing
with management and advisers for accelerator companies.
Cost: Monthly rents range from $399 to $1,400
(labs start at $799). Accelerator companies pay a management fee
and give up a small equity stake.
Term: One year
Participants: Nine accelerator companies and 11
tenants
Website: www.ntec-inc.org
Pipeline at the BioCenter
Where: University of Texas Southwestern
Medical Center, Dallas
Started: 2010
Funding: UT Southwestern and Dallas-based
AT&T.
Criteria: Viable medical technology and
biotechnology companies with management and some capital. Must
submit a presentation or business plan.
Services of note: Lab space, a medical library
and introduction to investors.
Cost: Rent to be set. Companies give up a small
equity stake.
Term: Two and a half years
Participants: No incubator firms; two BioCenter
tenants.
Website: www.pipelineatbiocenter.com
STARTech Early Ventures incubator
Where: Richardson
Started: 1998
Funded: STARTech Early Ventures
Criteria: Technology startups
Services of note: Can provide financing and
helps find investors.
Cost: Rent of $425 to $550 a month
Term: No limit
Participants: 15
Website: www.startechev.com
TECH Fort Worth
Where: Guinn School and University of
North Texas Health Science Center
Start: 1998
Funding: State, city of Fort Worth, UNTHSC at
Fort Worth and corporate sponsors
Criteria: Must have proprietary technology for
the acceleration program.
Services of note: Six labs and introduction to
investors; interns, strategic planning and help recruiting managers
for acceleration companies.
Cost: Rent is about $1 a square foot. The
incubation program has a one-time $1,000 fee. The acceleration
program costs $5,000 a year.
Term: Three to six months for the incubation
program
Participants: 16 acceleration companies and
five incubation companies
Website: techfortworth.org
Tech Wildcatters
Where:Dallas
Started: 2010
Funding: Investors and sponsors
Criteria: Business-to-business technology
start-ups must have more than one founder and must move to
Dallas.
Services of note: Mentoring, $20,000 to $25,000
in capital and access to investors.
Cost: Relinquish up to 10 percent equity.
Term: 12 weeks
Participants: Five
Website: www.techwildcatters.com
UNT Discovery Park incubator
Where: Denton
Started: 2010
Funding: University of North Texas
Criteria: It officially opens this fall but is
accepting tenants and virtual clients now.
Services of note: Lab space, mentors, interns,
access to research and faculty (including the on-site College of
Engineering and College of Library and Information Sciences) and
help finding financing.
Cost: Monthly rents are being set, but should
be $1.50 to $1.75 a square foot.
Term: Up to three years
Participants: Two tenants; 17 virtual
clients
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