Business incubators—programs designed to help launch entrepreneurial ventures—are expanding nationwide amid increased demand for the resources, services and counseling the programs typically provide for little or no cost.

New incubator programs have been forming in the U.S. at an annual rate of 8% to 10% for the past five years, and today there are approximately 1,200, estimates Tracy Kitts, vice president of the National Business Incubation Association, a nonprofit in Athens, Ohio. The programs are commonly funded by economic-development groups, government entities and academic institutions, and more than half support start-ups in a mix of industries.

More Incubators Hatch Start-Ups

Programs designed to help launch entrepreneurial ventures are expanding nationwide amid increased demand for the resources, services and counseling the programs typically provide for little or no cost.

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TechTown

Most incubators offer start-ups commercial space to grow their ventures for below-market lease rates, plus free counseling, administrative support and services in areas such as human resources, information technology and marketing.

Purdue Research Foundation in West Lafayette, Ind., the Center for Emerging Technologies in St. Louis, TechTown in Detroit and the University of Toledo in Ohio are among those that have added new incubator programs or facilities in recent years to accommodate more early stage companies.

Driving the trend is largely high unemployment and a dearth of adequate financing in the current economy, says Mr. Kitts. But at the same time, some incubator programs have suffered budget cuts, he adds.

About 1,500 early stage companies are participating in 10-week business-training programs at TechTown, an incubator established in 2000 by Wayne State University, General Motors Co. and the Henry Ford Health System. Of those, about 80% are run by individuals who have been unemployed for six months or longer, says Randal Charlton, executive director. Located in Southeast Michigan, where unemployment is about 15%, the incubator is also home to 200 start-ups in industries ranging from energy and education to homeland security and logistics.

There are also a growing number of incubators funded by early stage investors and other parties looking to capitalize on new prospects. Since 2008, Polaris Venture Partners, a Waltham, Mass., venture-capital company, has opened incubators, called Dogpatch Labs, in Waltham, New York and San Francisco. And Pool LLC, an incubator-marketplace hybrid, is currently being built by real-estate developer Brad Weinstock in a vacant 100,000 square-foot commercial space in Mesa, Ariz.

Start-ups that live in incubators stay for an average of three years and most—close to 90%— survive for at least seven years after they leave, according to the NBIA. One reason for their high success rate is that the programs tend to have strong ties to investors seeking promising young ventures to support.

Paul Angott, founder of Angott Medical Products LLC, a medical-device company at TechTown, says he was introduced to one of his start-up's largest investors as a result of connections he nurtured at the incubator. "I've met a number of people that have helped me with my business," he says.

About 70% of the start-ups admitted to the Austin Technology Incubator in Austin, Texas, obtain investor funding during their residency, says Isaac Barchas, director. Over the past two years, its entrepreneurial occupants have raised more than $50 million, and about $750 million since its inception in 1989, Mr. Barchas says. The incubator is a division of the University of Texas at Austin and is made up of four programs—two of which were added in the past four years. The programs support young companies in information technology, wireless communications, clean energy and health-care focused life sciences.

Incubators are also attractive homes for start-ups because they typically charge affordable rent. The Business Incubator Center in Grand Junction, Colo., founded in 1987 by community leaders, offers a five-year program with a lease that starts at 25% off fair-market value and increases annually by 5%. The 60,000 square-feet facility, which will undergo an expansion next year, currently houses around 50 start-ups, including a website developer, credit-card processor and soap manufacturer, says Chris Reddin, executive director.

Another benefit of incubators is that their tenants can exchange ideas and advice with other budding entrepreneurs. "If you need help with something, like understanding how to advertise on Facebook, you can go to others in your space," says David Ambrose, whose start-up, Scoop St., an online collective-buying service, moved into Dogpatch Labs' New York incubator in January.

Mr. Ambrose's company must move out by June, as residency there is limited to six months. The incubator currently provides 15 start-ups with as many as five desks per company, Wi-Fi access, conference space and snacks.

Incubator programs tend to be selective when considering applicants for occupancy. University of Toledo's four programs want start-ups planning to establish themselves in the area after they move out. Purdue Research Foundation's four incubator programs favor ventures that promise to tap resources at Purdue University, such as the school's labs for research and its students for jobs.

It is also common for incubator programs to assess applicants' chances of survival and commitment to success. Some deny admission to competitors of existing occupants.

Aspen Renee Flower Boutique LLC will be the lone florist and one of roughly 300 tenants to occupy Pool, the incubator-marketplace hybrid in Mesa slated to open on June 1. Owner Aspen Renee says she is paying $1,500 a month for roughly 400 square feet of retail space, plus she is getting benefits such as free marketing, utilities, storage, a mailroom and security.

Ms. Renee had been working out of her home since launching in 2005, and until now the only properties she could afford to lease were warehouses in industrial areas.

"It was something I wanted to expand into one day," she says. "Pool just gave me the opportunity to do it sooner."

 By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN of WSJ.com

eVenues will be 1 of 14 companies to showcase our new service during the Seattle 2.0 Awards on May 19 at Elliot Hall at Bell Harbor starting at 6 PM. Come out and suppor the local entrepreneur community and see who takes home the statues!

We're now 3 days out from the eVenues Networking Event and Demo which will be hosted by Cofounders Nic Peterson and David Jennings at the new Maxwell Hotel at 300 Roy Street in Queen Anne. Come and take part as we help this small community of space owner/managers with tips & tricks on booking their underutilized space. Enjoy free Hors d'oeuvres, conversation and company at the Maxwell Hotel on Thursday, May 6th at 4pm.

If you're interested in learning more, or just coming to mingle and meet local professionals in this space.. please email us at team@eVenues.com and we will send you an invite. If you can't make it, let us know so that we can keep you posted on the next event. 

Pass it on!

April 21, 2010 article in MI Reporter

By Mitchell York, About.com Guide

The Internet has enabled countless business models, one of the most useful and popular being the online marketplace in which potential buyers of a product or service are matched with sellers who have inventory. Think of priceline.com for hotel rooms, LendingTree.com for mortgages, or elance.com for freelance and project management help, among many others.

A new entrant into the exchange market is Seattle-based eVenues.com, which provides a clearinghouse for available meeting, event and even desk space, inexpensively and on short notice. Like the other exchanges on the Web, eVenues solves a problem on both sides of the transaction, providing value for buyers and sellers.

"With the economy the way it is and more home-based businesses and freelance professionals entering the workforce, we know that people are seeking to break out of the traditional long-term lease obligations. Consumers are seeking attractive and affordable pricing in a changing environment, but until now there has not been a destination site where you can find such a thing," said eVenues co-founder Nic Peterson.

"From a venue provider level, we provide the tools necessary for any space owner to manage, market and rent their space efficiently and effectively," he noted. eVenues gets paid 13% of the value of the rental transaction. The company had originally rolled out its product nationally, but now is focusing more on the Seattle area before embarking on national aspirations. They want to enroll all kinds of "perishable" spaces like small yoga studios, boardrooms of law firms, and other spaces that can be turned into quick cash for their lessees and owners.

Peterson founded eVenues in 2008 with David Jennings, a long-time Microsoft executive. The two met at another Seattle company, DiscoverU. The business model at that firm was adult education classes held in various venues, like community colleges, that had capacity at various times of the day. From that experience, the two realized there was market potential to fill under-utilized space.

Peterson said the company is also looking into "white label" solutions in which it would create Internet storefronts for businesses to sell their perishable meeting and work space. For example, convention and visitors bureaus could brand their own site and use the service to fill excess meeting space inventory among their member hotels and other meeting venues. It also has plans to add a negotiation feature so that buyers and sellers can go below the published price of a meeting or work space.

eVenues, like many of its customers, is a lean and small startup. "We're an industry disruptor. So our biggest challenge is getting venues to see our vision." So far eVenues represents about 200 venues in 35 cities.

The company is bootstrapping its early development but is looking to raise outside capital to finance growth.

Mitchell York
Entrepreneurs Guide

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"Co-working" businesses, like Conjunctured here, offer homey environs for people to work, brainstorm and drink as much free coffee as they like. Conjunctured's 22 members pay a monthly fee of$250.

The concept is not new. Such facilities surfaced acouple years ago, but they are thriving because the economy has forced companies and non-profits to use them as a practical way to save money. They are especially appealing to one-person businesses, which grew 8% in2008, the most recent year for which data are available, according to the Small Business Administration.

Despite a rise in vacancies, office rentals remain pricey, at $27.80 per square foot nationally, says Reis, a New York firm that tracks commercial property.Co-working services are sprouting in Austin, San Francisco, Boston and New York. There's even a business district in Paris that is a hub to such spots. There are dozens of such businesses popping up in the U.S., says David Walker, co-founder of Conjunctured.

"Who can afford office space?" says Natalie Petouhoff, an analyst at Forrester Research.Satellite offices, she says, have displaced coffee houses, bookstores and libraries to study or work.

Where: Meet, Mix, Mogul, an open-loft space in Los Angeles run by Danielle Nicoli, has become a fashionable destinationfor writers, start-ups, sales people and non-profits. It's also home toa weekly cooking class. Customers can pay monthly or per use.

"It's a new thing for entrepreneurs," says Nicoli, who noted several co-working businesses are coming to Los Angeles. "It signals a socialized and economic shift in how people do work."

Many freelancers need nothing more than a Wi-Fi connection, but some independent contractors or people who work remotelywant to bounce their ideas off others. A new study of 3,600 telecommuters commissioned by Microsoft revealed their No. 1 complaint was lack of face-to-face interaction.

"Our biggest selling point is as a community," says Daria Siegel, director of Hive at 55 in New York. Since it opened in December, more than 50 people have become regular members.

Graphic designer Brad Istre has collaborated on several website projects with people he's met as a member of Conjunctured. Another half-dozen places are about to open in Austin.

Cool Press Release from the Daily Journal of Commerce: 

By MARC STILES Real Estate Editor, DJC.com

Last summer two Seattle entrepreneurs launched an online company called eVenues that helps landlords generate at least some income from their empty space.

It is built around the concept of co-working. Here's how an eVenues' press release defines it: "a global movement of... remote work communities that allow professionals to come together to share their independent work experiences." The company connects landlords and prospective tenants who want short-term space, as in by the hour or day.

The company operates now in 56 cities across the country, offering what it says is one of the only online platforms for finding and booking co-working, meeting and event space. Spaces range from a loft for two workers in Chicago - yours for $5 an hour or $20 for the day - to a San Francisco conference room that goes for $119 an hour or $700 a day.

It's free to list properties. If they're rented, eVenues takes a 13 percent cut.

Co-founders Nic Peterson and David Jennings initially wanted to go national. Now, Peterson says, they're taking a step back. "We want to focus on our home town, Seattle, and hone the model before branching out."

They have a handful of venues locally, including Meadow Creek Professional Center in Issaquah, where customers can rent a four-person office by the hour for $10 and a boardroom for $30.

The goal is to go from eight to 100 venues here in the next couple of months. The challenge, according to Peterson, is finding fully equipped offices.

"The way eVenues works is we provide furnished rentals... Who pays for furnishing it? We are in the midst of talking and trying to trouble shoot that," he says. "It's a huge opportunity" for commercial office space owners.

Last night I saw a commercial by Priceline that made total sense to our business and industry. The concept is that your unused space is a perishable item and leaving it empty is not helping with your overall bottom line. Fact is that by pricing your venue to move, you'll immediately contribute to creating an additional source of revenue that can help pay administration costs and add substatially to your bottom line.

Always remember, a few $$ is much better than no $$.

Most planners want to do the right thing for the environment when organizing their meetings and events: They hire "green" vendors, use products that are friendly to the environment and book eco-conscious facilities. But are these suppliers, and your events, truly green?

Fortunately, there are some simple actions you can take to promote bona fide green practices at your meetings, trade shows and events. To ensure that your good intentions -- and dollars -- are well-placed, consider the following advice.

Everyday green
• Hire a green team. You have a true advantage when you know your vendors are working clean and green, too. The best way to source eco-conscious vendors is via a prequalified national list of certified green companies such as the Green Business League. On the site, planners can find essential vendor partners such as decorators, production firms and transportation companies.

Another terrific resource is thegreenbrideguide.com, which, along with all of the wedding advice, lists green suppliers for special events. For both conventional and unconventional vendor needs, check out theultimategreenlist.com for information on the best, brightest and newest green specialty companies.

• Beware of "greenwashing." This refers to a marketing ploy that positions firms with poor environmental records as ambassadors of green. Some notorious greenwashers are energy firms; in the meetings industry, transportation companies and food suppliers might employ the practice. Thegreenlifeonline.org (formerly Earth Day Resources) lists a number of firms that fall into this category.

• Buy local, seasonal produce and products. By purchasing local produce, you get fresher, more healthful options, and you eliminate wasteful transportation from distant sources. By sourcing in-season products, you avoid wasteful energy used for storage, packaging, handling and temperature control.

• Cut out all bottled water. Instead, supply nontoxic, reusable bottles, or encourage attendees to bring their own reusable bottles.

• Choose a green facility. Meet in a venue that leverages local resources and has a robust recycling program. San Francisco's Moscone Center (moscone.com), for example, is a pioneer in green convention center practices. To find other like-minded facilities, the Environmental Protection Agency lists green meeting venues at epa.gov/oppt/greenmeetings.

• Reduce or eliminate signage. You can certainly do without vinyl banners, in particular. If you do use signage, make sure it is general enough to be reused for future events.

• Rethink site visits. Do you need to travel to inspect a property? If two people were going to go, can the task be handled by one? Find ways to lower your carbon footprint -- the amount of carbon emitted by a person, business or event in a given period. To calculate your footprint, go to calculator.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx.

• Limit printed materials. Do you really need to publish a lengthy program guide or directory of exhibitors? Even if you use soy ink and recycled paper, the documents might not be necessary. Better yet: Allow attendees to download the program from your website before the show or at on-site kiosks.

Another idea: Load the program onto USB flash drives and distribute them at registration. You can even get drives made of bamboo to green the process further. Companies such as Imprint Items or Everything USB carry green thumb drives that can be customized with your company logo or event name.

Article By Louise M. Felsher, CMP, CMM via meetings-conventions.com