What exactly is a business incubator? It is an institution, business, or organisation that provides a safe business environment and helps startup companies. It is a space provided to new small businesses at an affordable rent, notably with support equipment and staff.
Competition exists not only among incubators but also between consulting companies and property specialists. They compete for leadership based on the estimated value of the businesses they house. Hence, the more investment an incubated firm makes in the incubator’s ecosystem, the more attractive the venture and the higher the incubator’s rating becomes.
Business Incubator variations
Incubators differ and can be classified based on the type of work they do. So, we have a distinct competitive strategy, as well as a distinct service offering. There are four focus areas for incubators in five categories. They provide five types of services.
Four focus areas
Business incubation activities or competitive factors fall into four focus categories. These focus on lineage, vertical, industry, and regional coverage.
Lineage focus: Incubators may take a different approach and focus on the roots of start-ups. For example, university incubators prefer their student entrepreneurs and faculty innovators rather than outsiders. Similarly, company-owned incubators would prefer entrepreneurs from among their staff members rather than outsiders. A few independent business incubators depend on business incubation consultants or a group of startup concept creators for selecting startups. Other incubators remain open to a wide range of entrepreneurs.
Vertical focus: Incubators like angel investors, venture capitalists, institutional investors, and consulting firms focus on providing administrative and financial help to new businesses. Incubators attempt to separate themselves from venture capitalists, business angels, and other investors by offering training and mentoring. They concentrate on new businesses in the early stages of development.
Sometimes venture capitalists become external partners. Or, they could be customers of start-ups that have successfully completed incubation programmes. Thus, incubators serve as startup management companies that manage investing firms and venture capitalists.
Industry focus: Software services, biotechnology services, and information technology services are common industries for incubator startups. Incubator programmes target businesses that are large enough to justify the expenses and efforts. The selection of an industry specific speciality or industry focus is typically based on the expert skills of incubator supervisors, with the goal of partnering up among startup founders.
Regional focus: Regional focus is an innate competitive differentiator because the goal of regional business incubators is to promote new businesses regionally. Because networking here is in short supply, access to it is critical to successful grooming. Many incubators strive to have meaningful local involvement.
These four competitive strategy factors explain why incubators differ from other startup advocates, like angel investors and VCs. As an incubator, strategic goals make a difference when it comes to supporting startups.
Five categories
Again, the above four focus areas give way to the following five categories of incubators, of which the first two are nonprofit oriented while the other three are profit oriented incubators.
1. Incubators for Regional Businesses
2. Incubators at Universities
3. Independent Business Incubators
4. Internal Company Incubators
5. Virtual Incubators
These different types have different competitive priorities, alternatives, and opportunities. The competitive focus illustrates sector, geographical region, and segment as the three key competitive perspectives. Professional orientation reflects the strategic goals of the incubator’s areas of expertise.
In a for-profit incubator, efficiency is prioritised, making it the primary goal. Similarly, for a not-for-profit incubator, achieving a public mission becomes an initial goal. Regional incubators set and plan goals that are only slightly related to operating margins, such as employee retention, entrepreneurship capacity building, or equity evaluations.
Incubators can be one of the five types listed above. Yet, some incubators can have characteristics of two or three types listed above.
Services Provided by Incubators
There are 5 types of core services provided by incubators.
Infrastructure: Incubators provide workspaces, office equipment, recreation centres, a computer network, 24-hour security, and other basic infrastructure and real estate facilities. Incubators can compete with technology and science parks in this space.
Office services: Incubators provide office services such as a reception desk, secretarial, internet, and accounting services.
Financial services: Incubators also provide direct access to venture funding, which is typically a combination of venture capital and external investments made by angel investors, venture capitalists, or local businesses and institutions.
Startup support: Incubators advise startups on the steps they must take, such as help with administrative, legal, accounting, and taxation issues, to help them develop business plans.
Access to an incubator’s network: Entrepreneurs can easily gain access to an incubator’s network of connections, which would otherwise take years for an entrepreneur to build. Incubators can introduce key individuals into a startup, such as a potential customer, a skilled software programmer, an investor director, or a venture capitalist willing to take part in investments.
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We are currently looking for Partners in India to set up a Business Incubator in Sri Lanka.