For many young entrepreneurs, a startup incubator represents the opportunity to realise their dreams. While it may feel like market newcomers, such as Uber, have been naturally successful, most will have been through an incubator program. Here we breakdown what your business will need to be involved with one and what these programs can offer you.
Is my business suitable?
The key thing for your business to be taken on within a startup incubator is for it to be a new business. Often it doesn’t even require it to be anything more than a business plan or idea. These programs are designed to build your business from the ground up. If your business is well established, and you’re looking for the boost an incubator can give you, a business accelerator.
Though, because of the generosity of these incubator runners are very strict on who they take on. They often require a strong pitch, projections and some sense of the businesses viability. Numbers often touted are 1-2% acceptance rates. So you need to be pretty sure of your business before you start thinking of applying to incubators.
Likewise, most businesses taken on are within the technology or medical industries. Incubator funding is generally from universities or economic development organisations looking to provide solutions to existing problems. For example, startups creating prosthetic limbs.
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What can it offer?
To your business, an incubator can offer a wealth of resources. Namely:
- Mentors and business training.
- Invitations to keynotes and networking events.
- Office space.
- Administrative support.
- Prototyping and product development.
The timeline of these incubators is often flexible and usually on a 2-year basis. In this time, the goal is to gain traction within the market and ensure the business is self-sufficient by the end.
Most of the leaders of these incubator programs will be from the same field as your business and have their own successful businesses. Hence, they can provide advice from their personal experiences to help ensure your business’ success.
Final thoughts
Startup incubators are an exciting opportunity to elevate your business to the next level. However, given how valuable these opportunities are, the selection process for gaining a sponsor is highly competitive. Nevertheless, if you believe that you have a business opportunity worth growing, apply to an incubator. There’s no harm in trying.
