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GREEN OPPOURTUNITIES
 
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  Business Incubators Increase Your Success  
 
 

John Korpela
Manager, Business Innovation Network
Department of Economic Development
Division of Business Empowerment
Maryland Technology Development Center
9700 Great Seneca Highway
Rockville, MD 20850
240-453-6348

John.korpela@montgomerycountymd.gov
www.smartmontgomery.com

 
 
  Interview Highlights:
 
An Incubator is a place where businesses get help to grow.
The county government funds incubators to help entrepreneurs grow and create jobs in the county.
Entrepreneurs come to them with an idea and....
 
They help them prepare their business plan.
They coach them
They have space but they are not about space.
They space is a little below market rate.
They have lab space for scientific entrepreneurs.
They provide training programs.
They look at the viability of the entrepreneurs to have a viable business idea.
They have about 150 companies in the program, including:
 
Bio Companies
IT Companies
Service Companies
Marketing Companies
Accounting Firms
Government Contractors
International Companies
Green Tech Companies
The companies pay $300-$400 a month for office space and all the services are free. The companies also get use of the conference room, copiers, faxes and about 100 free training programs a year.
The training can include anything from basic accounting to how to do an IPO.
Most come in with very little financing and need more money. They help teach about financing.
They have serial entrepreneurs. Some people come back and use the services to start a new business after they sold their first business.
There are different kinds of incubators around the country. They are probably the biggest or at least in the top 5.
Companies stay from one year to 5 years.
The companies can get out of their incubator agreement within 60 days.
Small Business Administration data shows that about 80% of businesses fail. In their incubator program, about 85% of them become a success.
You have to apply to be accepted by the incubator program.
They offer free legal help with Copyright Law, Patent Law and Business Law. This can be worth $10,000 to the incubator business.
There are 22 incubators in the state of Maryland alone.
National Business Incubator Association (NBIA) is the place to look for incubators around the country.
They have graduated over 90 companies in the past 10 years and 83 are still in the country.
There are about 60 women and minorities in their programs.
You can come from anywhere and they will help you start a business in Montgomery County.
They have companies from overseas come and use their program to start a bsusiness in the United States.
They also have a network of venture capitalists and angle investors that keep coming to them looking for businesses to invest into.
They help their companies with presentations when looking for money.
You can move in and take over one office, but then grow into having more offices in the program.
The economic downtown creates more entrepreneurs.
 
  To Find An Incubator Program Near You Contact:
National Business Incubator Program