MoneyHunt, NBIA Put Focus on Really Early Stage Companies
Contact:Tim Cifelli
610-642-8253
August 15, 2000
Norwalk, CT – You're the head of young company and you have a great idea. The only problem is, the persistent realities of paying for office space, an Internet connection and the electric bill make it hard to get that business out of the starting gate. Enter the business incubator — and the focus of a new episode of the hit public television series, MoneyHunt.
Incubators take that fledgeling company and provide office space, equipment, sometimes even health benefits. Better yet, incubators provide client entrepreneurs access to expert management plus exposure to critical business and technical support services. Incubator clients share those features with other young companies, all under one roof. The idea is to nurture these companies, then"graduate" them as viable businesses. Some incubators get a piece of the pie in return, in the form of equity or royalties.
MoneyHunt, billed as "the how-to show for entrepreneurs," recently performed screen tests at the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) conference in Cleveland, and experienced firsthand the impact of incubators on small business. Producers were looking for an entrepreneur to appear on the show as well as an incubator manager to appear on the show in the role of guest mentor.
According to NBIA, the leading organization in the industry, there are almost 3,000 incubators worldwide, with more than 900 in the United States. More than half of those have opened since 1992. Incubators in the United States have launched more than 20,000 successful new businesses, with a recent report indicating that 87% are still in existence. NBIA's executive director, Dinah Adkins, predicts that incubators will increasingly be the difference between entrepreneurs achieving success...or achieving it faster. "In this day and age, there is no reason for an entrepreneur to start a business in a garage when incubators provide concentrated business assistance resources in communities around the world," Adkins says.
MoneyHunt tackles this exploding phenomenon with a closer look at the criteria necessary for a start-up to be accepted into an incubator, as well as the pitfalls, expectations and payoffs. Co-hosts Miles Spencer and Cliff Ennico are joined by Susan Matlock, President of the Entrepreneurial Center in Birmingham, Ala., and a member of NBIA. Together, the panel grills two incubation-stage companies, each vying for an hour's worth of free advice and guidance from Matlock. Which one will walk away with her business card?
MoneyHunt co-host Miles Spencer chose the incubator theme for a very specific reason: "This is one of the most significant developments in the world of small business. Since MoneyHunt's focus is on giving similar expert advice, tools and resources to entrepreneurs, both at the start-up level as well as beyond, it was a natural fit. This episode sheds some light on the realities and challenges faced by the very early-stage company."
To watch this Incubator episode of MoneyHunt, consult the list of MoneyHunt television affiliates at www.moneyhunt.com/c_theshow/c_schedule/index.shtml or see a digitized version of the episode in MoneyHunt's broadband Video Gallery at www.moneyhunt.com/c_entrepreneurs/tentv.shtml. Digitized versions of the screen tests performed at NBIA's conference are available at the Video Gallery address as well. MoneyHunt Properties Inc. is an omnimedia portal for entrepreneurs comprised of television, print ( MoneyHunt's 27 New Rules for Creating and Growing A Breakaway Business; Harper Collins, 1999), radio ( MoneyHunt Minute), live events and the Internet (www.moneyhunt.com ).
