Dr. Amy Vanderbilt

CEO & Chief Strategist

The TrendPOV Show

http://DrAmyVanderbilt.com

Dr. Amy Vanderbilt is the Founder and Chief Strategist at TrendPOV.com, next generation social omni-media that over 600 thousand executives call GPS for your business strategy. She is an award-winning author, show host, executive coach, speaker, and commentator.Her career has enjoyed a fast climb through the ranks of academia, large business, small business, and even the Government by harnessing the power of emerging trends and her unique ability to understand where they are going, and how to use them for competitive advantage.

Incubators have enjoyed a long run over several decades rolling casually through the first five stages and are now in stage six; that is, they are retooling for longevity. The trend is experiencing its biggest pullback yet as the business community tries to figure out what incubators will look like for the long haul. Private incubators, those attached to investors or venture capital firms, are meanwhile increasing in popularity and profitability. Business incubators have been providing much needed support for fledgling businesses since the 1950s and have grown from being merely office spaces with onsite support to include niche market incubators, virtual incubators and accelerator programs that offer expert mentors, legal counsel and sometimes seed money in exchange for a percentage stake in the business. Long-time techie, Jeff Bone, said in an article on capitalexploits.at, “The trend of late has seemed to be towards smaller, faster-iterating, and bootstrapped or minimally-seeded teams.” Young entrepreneurs who are in higher education should make the most of non-profit incubators located in academic institutions where services are free, mentorship second-to-none and time is plentiful. As 93 per cent of incubators are operated by non-profits, competition for access to the best private accelerator programs is stiff and has been likened to securing a place at an Ivy League university. Jeff Crown of Lycos Labs believes that with venture capitalists there is less synergy between partner firms whereas with incubators there is a greater drive to help create something. One of the major risks with incubators is that they too are entrepreneurial ventures that may fail and, because of their vested interest, incubator owners may try to micromanage your business. Studies show that incubator-supported firms may shine in terms of employment, but tend to fail sooner. Although the risk never disappears, businesses should seek support from incubators focused on their specific field for a greater chance of success and experts suggest incubators should consider micro funding via equity sales. To turn this stage six trend into an advantage for your organization, consider the following. Business incubators are a stage six trend. Having enjoyed several decades of evolution and growth, they have pulled back to retool for longevity. Incubators will reach stage seven in the next couple of years. Private incubators are the stage seven version of this trend. The potent combination of available capital, advice and incubation services keep founders focused on growth and significantly increase success rates. Venture firms and investors should add incubation to current efforts. It is a simple add and one that stands to more than double successful exits. Now is the time to act on private business incubators. No matter if you are an investor, a business founder, or just a business junkie, this is the time to get involved. I am personally putting a significant amount of time and effort into private incubators, and I recommend taking the opportunities that arrive for your business in this area.