a22of incubators.

Oh no after three years of incubation it is not over yet?!

Giordano Dichter
Head of Quality and Technical Assistance
European Business and Innovation Centre Network

TAIEX Workshop
creation and development of Start-ups in Technology Parks and
Innovation Incubators
Chisinau, Moldavia, 21 June 2013

General Mission:
innovative, innovative and
innovative local and
sustainable entrepreneurship!!!

TAGs:

Professional

R&D

SMEs

Innovation

Technological innovation

Regional/local

Sectors

Territory

Incubation

BSO

Entrepreneurs

Economic development
Competitiveness

Growth

The EC-BIC Criteria

Organization:
visible, adequate, ppp,
represented, sustainable,
independent!!!

TAGs:

Catchment area
Private sector

Public sector
Coordination

Financially Sustainable
Autonomous

Staff

Premises
Adequate

Strategies
Positioning

Visibility

The EC-BIC Criteria

Services:
To SMEs, to entrepreneurs, to
start-ups... Signposting!!!
TAGs:

Incubation

Start-ups Pre-incubation Business plan

Business model
Coaching

IPR

Financial planning Training

Networking

Hosting

Mentoring

Access to finance

Post-incubation Follow-up

Innovation profiling Signposting

Diagnosis

Projects

Activity measurement and

evaluation of performance:
Tracking, Benchmarking,
continuous improvement
TAGs:

Review

Common indicators

Observatories

Self-evaluation questionnaire Benchmarking

Reputation

Quality:
Giving to the community of

entrepreneurs and BICs to get

positive returns!!!
TAGs:

TQM

Compliance

ProcessQuality system

Self-evaluation questionnaire
BQMC

On-site visits

Customer satisfaction surveys

Management information systems

A perspective from whos on the field

2012 Data Mean

263

10,6%
conversion rate!

79
45

44
28

ENQUIRIES

FEASIBILITY STUDIES

ENTERPRISE CREATION
PROJECTS

BUSINESS PLANS

START-UPS CREATED

But someones got to take care of it.

2010 Data Mean

2011 Data Mean

2012 Data Mean

64,2
60,0
56,9

43,6

JOBS CREATED IN START-UPS

43,5

JOBS CREATED IN SMES

42,3

And we are good at what we do!

2010 Data Mean

2011 Data Mean

2012 Data Mean

93,6%
93,1%
92,6%

90,7%
90,1%

88,3%

ENTERPRISE SURVIVAL RATE WITHIN INCUBATION PERIOD

ENTERPRISE SURVIVAL RATE 3 YEARS FOLLOWING GRADUATION

And we do it quite efficiently

2010 Data Mean

14.624

14.409

2011 Data Mean

2012 Data Mean

14.534

10.430
9.700

COST PER JOB CREATED

9.196

PUBLIC FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION PER JOB CREATED

Are entrepreneurs sailing through troubled waters?

YOU BET!

Life is not easy!

Its tough out there

What NOW?

EU Incubation Process

Question #1: Do I want to engage in the postincubation process?

You have graduated from my incubator!
JOB DONE! Its time that my efforts go to support someone else.
Im using public funding, man, there are others on the line! Dont be too
greedy!
It will cost me too much to engage, so good luck!

Mission NOT Accomplished!

All right, all the above is true but, 3 years of support will not give you the
highest chances of success.
It is a total different game out there now!

Question #2: Sustainability, how?

EASY! I have public funds and my government pays for all my
costs! Nothing to worry about!
Lucky chap! But.. Are you sure? Resources are getting scarcer!
The Public sector has other alternatives for job creations
what is your real added value?
what is your value for money?
What is your ROI?
What is your PBP?

Are you SURE you are good enough to have government

continuing to pump money in your system for ever?

Question #2: Sustainability, how?

Hard enough, thank you, life is not easy! What do they expect from me, to
turn into gold everything just by touching stuff?
My local government provides me with nothing!
It has provided funding for the building, but running costs are not paid for,
or are paid for, but not enough for me to make an impact!

Then, my friend, you may want to take some time to analyse your business
model! You do it for others, time to look at yourself!
We cant continue to rely on public sector funding for ever! EU local
governments support to BICs has passed from 73 to 60% (-7% only in the last
2 years!).

The most common scenario:

1. I need to rely on creative business models to achieve self
sustainability
2. YES, follow-up after graduation is a goal of my incubator
QUESTION #3
How can I engage in post-incubation support without going bankrupt?

The three phases of incubation

Usually, pre-incubation is totally subsidized: It is a COST Center.
Commonly enough the incubation period is partially subsidized: it is a
COST center although we can see places where incubation is a profit
center.

The post-incubation period instead has no common thread but wisely

enough most incubators have managed to transform it in a positive
revenue source.

What are you offering?

Entrepreneurs
Alternative life style
From idea to company

SMEs
Acceleration program
Soft-landing programs
Innovation
diagnostics/upgrading
I18N and C15N
Industrial spin-offs

Government
Social/cultural/mentality
change
Job creation
Wealth creation
International standing

Donors
Smart enablers of your
strategies
Advise on your long-terms
strategies
Strategic partner

Universities
Attractive route to work for
students
Commercializing IP in IT?
Spinout
Entrepreneurship program

Private sector
Visibility of tech/businesses
first
CSR
sponsorship

Investors
High quality deal flow

Diaspora
Possibility to return home into
interesting business
Personal Social Responsibility
Investment/outsourcing
opportunity

NGOs (local and International)

Partnership
Subcontracting opportunities

Who can provide you what?

Entrepreneurs

o Fee for services

o In-kind services from
incubates or other incubatees

SMEs
o Consulting fees

Government
o official approval
o Trust by association
o Possible subsidies

Donors
o Project
o Cash

Private sector
o Cash from sponsorship
o Fee for services
o Access to facilities

Universities
o Deal-flow
o Better prepared
entrepreneurs
o Access to IP to look for
opportunities

Investors
o Incubates to next stage of
development
o Success fee

Diaspora
o CSR
o Success fees
o Value for incubates
(investments)

NGOs (local and International)

o Dealflow
o Cash

Uni / CoE

Investors

Diaspora

NGOs

PS

PR
Project MGT
C15N I18N
Training
Match Making

Donor

Incubation
Acceleration
Marketing strategy

Govt

Pre-incubation

SMEs

Entr.

Key Activities

Post incubation phase how to make it profitable?

Consulting Fees
Build your fee structure
100% paid
Reputation!
Not only to ex-incubatees!

But also: free expertise, free mentorship programs the former

incubatee is one of the most valuable assets of an incubator!
PAYBACK Time!

We believe the EU incubation industry can help a few statistics

2010 Data

Delivery of Training

2011 Data

Startup Services
100%
80%

Assessment of
Training Needs

60%
40%

2012 Data

Identification of
Target Clients
Template for Risk
Analysis

20%
Rental of Incubation
Space

0%

Entrepeneurial Skills
Assessment Tool

Provision of BP
Template

Fund Raising Support

Financial Planning
Support

Business Modelling
Support
Business Planning
Support

2010 Data

2011 Data

2012 Data

Services to Existing
SMEs
100%

80%
60%
Training Sessions for
SMEs

40%
20%

Defined Local Priorities

for SMEs

0%

Programmes for
Innovation

Innovation Diagnostics

Services for SMEs delivered by BICs

25,0
23,3
22,0
20,0

21,1

20,5

19,5
17,1
15,0

15,8
14,0
13,0

12,4
11,1

10,0

12,0

11,6

10,8
7,9

5,0

0,0
Design and Implementation
of Innovative Projects

Innovation Diagnostics
2010 Data Mean

Internationalisation
2011 Data Mean

Commercialisation
2012 Data Mean

Access to Finance

Questions?
Thanks for the patience!
Giordano Dichter
Head of Quality and Technical Assistance
European BIC Network
T: +32 2 7611083
E: gdi@ebn.eu
S: g.dichter
W: www.ebn.eu