A business incubator is something which many start-ups have found extremely beneficial and they have contributed towards the success of a great many young businesses. What is referred to as an incubator is a company which opens its doors up to start-ups and takes them under their wing somewhat in order to help them achieve success in their early years. There are so many reasons why young businesses should look to get involved with an incubator and here are just some of the benefits which they can count on when they do.
Space and Infrastructure
One of the key reasons why young businesses use incubators is that they are able to use their office space, usually for a very reasonable price. This greatly helps a small business not only because they are able to save money on the space they are renting, but more importantly because they are going to be renting space which is designed precisely for this purpose, rather than renting some backroom in the middle of town.
Experience
Not all incubators are hands-on, some you will find are aimed more at just allowing a start-up, or multiple start-ups use their space. With some incubators however they may end up making a deal with the young business, and aim to become something of a part time venture capitalist. This will involve a small amount of investment in the company and the incubator will then be able to provide value and experience to the start-up.
Partnerships
What we will often see is a business incubator looking for emerging companies within their own sector rather than branching out. For example a tech company is unlikely to look to support a new pharmaceutical company, and vice-versa. The benefit of this is that the incubator will look to partner up with the start-up, be it now or in the future, and they will be able to share ideas, goals and best practices as a result. Many successful partnerships in the business world have come about as a result of this incubator/start-up dynamic, and this doesn’t look like it will change any time soon.
Chances of Success
The probability of a business surviving 3 or 5 years is not very high, around 55% at the moment, and that is of course something that worries many young and emerging businesses. When it comes to businesses which have relied on the support of an incubator however, that figure rises to somewhere closer to 84%, a huge increase in the chance of finding success. This is of course a massive draw for start-ups and it is why so many will seek out incubators to use and which will support them to achieve the level of success which they are looking for.
As we can see, this is a worthwhile relationship for both parties, and it is a model which has high levels of success for both.
