Venturepreneur:

Business Incubators

Business Incubators: Comparison of Four Different Models

Local Economic Development Incubators

Academic and Scientific Incubators

Corporate Incubators

Private Investors’ Incubators

Goal

Non-profit

Non-profit

For profit

For profit

Main Activity

Generalists

High-tech

High-tech

High-tech

Objectives

• job creation

• re-industrialisation / revitalisation

• economic development

• support to particular target groups or industries

• development of SMEs and clusters

• commercialisation of technologies

• development of entrepreneurial spirit

• civic responsibility

• image

• new sources of finance

• to develop entrepreneurial spirit among employees – keep talents

• monitoring - access to new technologies, business models, and new markets

• profits

• profits by selling stock from a portfolio of companies allowing to risks to be spread

Targets

• small commercial craft or service companies

• in some cases, high-tech companies

• projects internal to institution prior to company creation

• external projects

• internal and external projects, generally related to the activity of the company

• technological start-ups, generally ICT and/or biotechnology related

Offering

• hosting and shared services

• administrative assistance

• consulting

Eventually:

• coaching – training – networking

• access to financing

• concept testing

• technical advice and support

• intellectual property advice

• seed capital

• basic management advice

Eventually:

• access to business angels, venture capitalists, and corporate investors

• access to industrial networks

• strategic advice

• coaching

• hosting

• financial resources

• prototype and market testing

• access to commercial markets

Eventually:

• long-term strategic partnership

• access to multiple competencies

• management and strategy advice

• supply of one or several types of financing and search of complementary financing

• personal networks

Eventually:

• hosting and administrative assistance

• legal services, public relations, recruiting, etc...

Key Problems

• durability – lack of stability of resources

• quality of management and services provided – highly dependent on the quality of the manager

• governance, risk of conflicts about the objectives, bureaucratic red-tape, time spent in negotiating with different partners

• legitimate inside the institution

• legal status, governance, independence, and operational flexibility

• income sources

• management quality; lack of business coaching expertise

• access to external resources and network

• strategic position of the incubator for the corporate structure

• management independence and ability to mobilize internal resources

• durability of the mission of the incubator

• conflicts about the objectives between the owners / the managers of start-ups and the corporation

• sourcing of quality projects

• level and conditions of the incubator payment in comparison with provided services

• valorisation of the incubator's participation at the entry and the liquidation

• durability of the incubator

Trends

• regular development

• increasing territorial coverage

• rapid development under the aegis of public programs

• testing of the concept in numerous companies

• likely to develop

• high levels of consolidation and restructuring of the sector

• still looking for a successful model