incubator Archive

The New York Technology Council held an incubator showcase for several NYC-based incubators last summer. Joly MacFie from WWWhatsup NYC posted a video of the event – you can watch the 90 minute event below. Here’s the presenter list:

• Bruce Niswander, Director, Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship, NYU-Poly
• Daria Siegel, Director of the Alliance for Downtown New York’s Hive at 55
• Natalia Arguello, Director, NYDesigns
• Matthew Shampine, Co-Founder, WeWork Labs
• Charles Kemper, Managing Director, ER Accelerator

From what I can tell, Hive and 55 and WeWork Labs are more coworking/shared office space than a traditional incubator where a group trades services for equity. Since the list does include coworking, I must include the first coworking space in NYC, New Work City.
Continue reading “NYC Tech Incubator Showcase (video)” »

When I attended a hearing at City Hall in NYC last year, the discussion was centered around how the city government can help tech startups grow and prosper in NYC. While I moved my startup out of NYC this summer, it’s still great to see progress on NYC growing as a place for technology. Most of the discussion revolved around creating “incubators” where startups can begin their life and grow until the point when they need their own larger office space.

Today NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s office has announced the upcoming launch of a new incubator in the Bronx located at the BankNote Building at 890 Garrison Avenue. The location appears to be a bit of a walk from the 6 train at Hunts Point Avenue.

Reading the announcement, the incubator feels more like an office sharing than a Y Combinator-style incubator. The space will hold bi-weekly networking events and the city has partnered with Baruch College to provide mentoring and other business support services.

Continue reading “Sunshine Suites Gets NYC Deal To Create Bronx Startup Incubator” »

We’ve covered the startups from the DreamIt incubator several times over the past couple of years. Based in Philly, the DreamIt startup incubator helps people with ideas move the ideas forward into full startups. The group provides mentoring, connections, startup community and cash up to $30,000 (most receive $15-25,000).

Applications are accepted from companies and from individuals looking to join a new startup. DreamIt explains how to the process works, “Successful applicants do not need a pre-established business plan, just a great idea and the core members of their team. By the end of the summer program, companies will have a working, fundable version of their product. The program begins in mid-May and ends with the companies presenting their products to leading investors on Demo Day on August 6.”

Some of the NY-based startups that graduated from the DreamIt program include Postling and Seatgeek.

DreamIt is accepting applications through March 22. One of the DreamIt founders presented at the NY Tech Meetup this month and noted that the application should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.

It sure seems more and more that 2010 is the year of the startup incubator with a variety of programs across the country. And if you add in startup coworking and shared office spaces, the segment is growing fast around the world.

Yesterday I visited the NYU-Poly incubator in NYC as part of the First Round Capital Startup Trek. The space is basically brand new and is very open. A desk costs $250/month but apparently the space is completely booked. Director Bruce Niswander noted that companies basically have to reapply every six months and their total stay is limited to 18 months. Here’s an overview of the space from The Observer.

Somewhere between 28-33 companies currently share the 16,000 sq. foot space in the incubator. One of the companies in the space you may have heard of  is ChubbyBrain. I will post a video overview from the founders later today. The NYU-Poly incubator houses a diverse set of companies including tech, food, clothing, and energy.

It’s interesting to look at all of the different options available for shared office space. There is a wide range available from coworking where all companies typically share one main work area, to incubators where companies have cubes to full shared offices. I am starting to dive deep into investigating which type of office space is right for my startup. As commercial rents appear to be on the decline, does it make more sense to go directly into a full office and maybe share with only one or two other companies?

Here are some photos from the tour (view the full set):

Large office space

Continue reading “Inside the NYU-Poly Incubator in NYC” »