Incubation Nation

In the early 1990s Eric Collins and Robert Gray had a business idea they were tinkering with in Collins' garage.

Both engineers at GE Aviation, the government contract they were working on was about to end, and their names were on a list of employees to be laid off.

"Rather than take new jobs we knew we wanted to go into business," says Collins. But the logistics were tricky. The composite material they were developing for the aviation industry would take months of testing before it could be marketed and the men needed a location to work from that wouldn't cost them an arm and a leg while they applied for research grants to complete their testing.

They found the lifeline they needed in the newly created Hamilton County Business Center, one of the area’s most successful business incubators, which opened in 1989.

Collins and Gray worked out a deal with HCBC to renovate part of their unfinished office space in exchange for a reduced rent. Their new company, Maverick, gained credibility through its address at the center and the two men were able to focus their efforts on the pressing challenge of getting their high temperature polymer tested and approved for use in GE Aviation's engines, their first customer.

Today, Maverick operates out of its Blue Ash headquarters, employs 120 and has offices in China, Great Britain and Switzerland. It is one of HCBC's big success stories, says Pat Longo, director, and shows how giving a small start-up a helping hand can create prosperity for many down the road.

Nationally, business incubators have increased in number rapidly over the last 30 years. In 2006 there were 1,400 in North America, compared with 12 in 1980, according to the National Business Incubation Association.

The nurseries of the small business world, incubators take entrepreneurs and their ideas at the seedling stage, and grow them into strong trees that add new life to the local economy with jobs and money.

Since it opened HCBC has graduated 110 small businesses. It averages a 70 percent success rate, compared with a 10 to 15 percent success rate for small businesses that start up without assistance.

"They get a great foundation here, and then they graduate and do some ramping up," says Longo. "They have all found niches that have done very well."

In addition to flexible, low cost office space, young companies at HCBC get administrative support, coaching and access to a network of local connections who can help with the details that often cause new business owners stress, such as where to find an accountant or an attorney. The support of other entrepreneurs is also a plus.

Tom Sharp, co-owner of SDL, a consulting and software firm in signal intelligence such as radar, says he and his business partner, Stu Shelley, liked the idea of being a part of HCBC because of the access to other business owners like themselves.

"What initially attracted us was the community of like-minded people," says Sharp. "It made it easy to find a network of people to answer some of the questions we had."

Sharp's company has graduated and moved into office space owned by HCBC next door to the center. They now have 14 employees full time.

HCBC prefers to focus on technology ventures, but there are other incubators in the city that cover a range of business efforts. BIOSTART assists bio technology start ups. Cincinnati Business Incubator lends a hand to businesses in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. There are also many local chambers of commerce that reach out to small retail businesses.

The Over The Rhine Chamber of Commerce has boosted the local business community by offering small retail shops an opportunity to receive grant money to get started, says Brian Tiffany, president.

Business First Grants through the OTR Chamber have helped launch 13 new small businesses in the OTR shopping district using $250,000 in seed money, says Tiffany. At least 80 new jobs have been created in the process.

"It normally takes three or more years to fill a community with (retail shops)," says Tiffany. "We wanted to accelerate that. We saw the business space fill up faster than the residential space. I think the grants helped that."

Helping small businesses get a footing gives the whole region a leg up, says Longo.

"Most job growth occurs in small business," he says. "We need to have a thriving entrepreneurial economy. We have the tools and the talent here to achieve that."

A little help can make the climb from small start-up to thriving venture less daunting, say entrepreneurs.

"When you're very small you have to be resilient," says Sharp. "Having a network and a support group is a good way to cultivate success."

Photography by Scott Beseler

Eric Collins and Robert Gray, through the reactor

Eric Collins and Robert Gray, Maverick

Pat Longo

Tom Sharp