ITRE Incubator accelerates Southern Utah technology-based companies toward success and positive regional economic impact. We deliver entrepreneurial coaching, a mix of no-cost business services, access to capital, and the connections to legal services needed for successful business formation, IP protection and long-term growth.

 

 

Business Incubators: An Unused Resource for Local Companies

David Tyler, September 18, 2012

With a slow-recovering economy, business incubators can help local companies create jobs and increase revenue.

If you had a 50/50 chance of turning an idea into a successful business in 5 years, would you accept the risk and start your business? What if that number were closer to 87 percent?

So what’s that “magic pill”, you may ask, that can increase your odds of success? The answer, there isn’t one. But for individuals ready to work and launch their company, business incubator programs can make all the difference.

According to the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA), historically 87 percent of all firms that graduated from an incubation program are still in business.  InfoSiftr, a company providing custom software development, is a product of this statistic.

Currently working with the Information Technology and Renewable Energy (ITRE) Incubator in St. George, Utah for over 2 years, when asked what the incubator has done for his company, Justin Steele, co-founder of InfoSiftr, said, “We started with nothing; we weren’t even a business. Now we have grown to have revenue and sales and a successful company.”

The U.S. Small Business Administration indicates some of the reasons for new business failures are poor management, insufficient capital, poor location, and unexpected growth. So how does an incubator help a new company get past these obstacles to ensure long term success? 

Steele said, “[The ITRE Incubator] provided us with cheap space to rent and monthly mentoring meetings. They were as involved as we wanted them to be.”

Matthew Arrington and Brook Price, co-founders of Forte Strong, a youth mentoring program, said the ITRE Incubator provided their company with “free accounting help, multiple business contacts, office space, and people to help generate ideas.”

Arrington and Price have been working with the ITRE Incubator for about one year and have been pleased with the results their company has seen. They estimate they have received anywhere from $7,000-$14,000 in free advice.

In addition to the services already mentioned, a company joining the ITRE Incubator can also receive entrepreneurial coaching, a mix of no-cost business services, access to capital, and the connections to legal services needed for successful business formation, IP protection and long-term growth.

With large and small companies rising and falling every day, the stability that local incubator programs like the ITRE Incubator provide, can help ensure the successful transition from idea, to business plan, to profitable company.