From the Mayor's Desk: Business Incubator a Boom for Economic Development

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Note: The following is Peachtree Corners Mayor Mike Mason’s “From the Mayor’s Desk” column in the monthly Inside Peachtree Corners newsletter.

I’m excited to announce the City’s plans to work with Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) to launch a business incubator study in Peachtree Corners. Incubators provide real payback for communities by creating jobs and are a driving force in economic development.

Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy but typically nine out of 10 start-ups fail. The success rate is much greater if these entrepreneurs have a support system. And that’s where an incubator steps in by offering a support system for entrepreneurial companies to help them survive and grow during the early start-up period.

Facts:

• Incubators reduce the risk of failure: 87 percent of all firms that graduate from their incubators are still in business.
• Research shows that for every $1 invested in an incubator, approximately $30 in local tax revenue is generated.
• Young start-up companies that get their start in the community, tend to stay in the community.
• They add jobs and stimulate economic development.

Business incubators have been around since 1959 but only in recent decades has the concept really advanced. According to the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA), there were nearly 1,400 programs in the U.S. as of 2006, up from just 12 in 1980.

They come in all shapes and sizes but most north American business incubators (about 93 percent) are nonprofit organizations focused on economic development with 37 percent focusing on technology business according to the National Business Incubator Association (NBIA).

To lay the ground work for a business incubator, the city and ATDC are conducting a community assessment to help determine if there is a solid market and find out if there is financial and community support. In the coming weeks, the study will begin by working with community stakeholders and others to learn whether the community will support an incubator.

To help roll out the initiative, we’re inviting entrepreneurs, investors, community leaders and academics for an evening of conversation on how we can cultivate an environment that allows entrepreneurs to grow and thrive.

You are invited to attend An Evening of Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Peachtree Corners and Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute have come together in an effort to determine the community’s readiness for a business incubator.

We are excited to announce our kickoff event will be May 14th at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast in Peachtree Corners. The evening will begin with a 6:00 p.m. networking reception which will be followed by a presentation on the business incubation process as well as a Q & A panel with local entrepreneurs.

Please click this link for more information and to register for An Evening of Entrepreneurship & Innovation. We hope to see you there.