Founders Awards

Nothing is so fragile as a good concept. It can easily take flight, but to last it must take root. Its earliest caretakers are responsible for the difference.

Although many people have made the business incubation industry a flourishing economic development tool, the pioneers are responsible for its very existence.  They put down tenacious roots that no political wind, no drought of funding, no storm of latest fads could disturb.

NBIA created the Founders Awards to honor those who have influenced business incubation most.  We are proud to introduce you to the 14 remarkable people first honored at an inaugural awards ceremony during NBIA's 12th International Conference on Business Incubation in 1998.  The unusual diversity of their backgrounds seeded an industry so rich it could adapt to any circumstance asked of it.  That is why today there are incubators of countless types and sizes, creating economic change in every corner of the globe.

We did not confer the honors lightly. They were meant to underscore the lasting impact that extraordinary vision, wisdom and dedication can produce. Click on the links at left to read more about our industry's founders.

Dinah Adkins
President & CEO
NBIA