Keys to Business Acceleration: Ultimate Entrepreneurial MythBusters Presented By:Created by WIN©: Presented In Partnership With WINcompanies.com (949) Virtual Business Acceleration

 How an accelerator significantly increases the chances of a successful business launch.  What frequent missteps entrepreneurs make that lead to business failures.  What resources are available to start- ups?  Questions taken any time via chat!

NURTURING ENVIRONMENT  Provides education, free resources, shared resources  Provides mentors  Often has a shared spaces with other start-ups  Network of contacts  Increase the likelihood of success of a start- up FINANCING & COSTS  Pay for services utilized  Does not take an equity position in your company  Can often make introductions to a variety of investors for entrepreneurs

FOUR TYPES OF INCUBATORS  Traditional  Virtual  International  Accelerators  Combinations and Variations Thereof are Abundant!  Most important is a good fit for your business, good chemistry, and a good track record!

 Cost Effective, Takes No Equity  Offer no (or little) permanent on-site space for clients:  Conference rooms to meet with clients  Project work rooms  Private offices on a shared basis  Training center(s)  Virtual incubators may or may not be located in the same geographic area as their client companies:  May already have established offices elsewhere  Need access to specialized equipment or facilities not present in the incubator  Coordinate team worldwide  Requires:  Having strong networks,  Providing an environment that facilitates peer-to-peer learning,  mutual support,  collaboration,  as well as camaraderie  All of the above are critical to client success.

 Provide the same set of entrepreneurial services as a typical incubator, but concentrate on providing a “soft landing” for international firms that want to access U.S. markets, partner with U.S. firms, or access other resources.  Some specialized services offered by international incubators that are above and beyond typical business incubation services include translation services, language training, help obtaining business and driver’s licenses, cultural training, immigration and visa assistance, and housing assistance.  Immigration services are often extended to trailing spouses and children, making it easier for foreign entrepreneurs to settle into their new location.

 Broadly defined either as: (1) a late-stage incubation program, assisting entrepreneurial firms that are more mature and ready for external financing; or (2) a facility that houses a modified business incubation program designed for incubator graduates as they ease into the market.  A third definition – which is both more expansive and less measurable – is similar to the virtual incubator model.  Finally, some industry professionals use the terms business incubator and business accelerator interchangeably.

 Businesses start and fail in the United States at an increasingly staggering rate.  According to Gerber, over a million people in this country start a business each year.  Statistics say that by the end of the first year, at least 40% of them will be out of business.  Within five years, more than 80% of them – 800,000 – will have failed.  And the bad news doesn’t end there; more than 80% of the small businesses that survive the first five years fail in the second five.  On average, it takes slightly more than three years to successfully incubate a client firm – and perhaps up to six years or more for that firm to realize significant growth.

 Business incubation is designed to buffer start-up enterprises from stiff market forces by providing access to capital, managerial expertise, and marketing assistance.  Business incubators increase the survival rate of new businesses from an average of 20% to 80%.  In addition, 84% of businesses that “graduate” from incubators remain in the same region ten years later.

1. The company is surviving and growing profitably. 2. The company is surviving and growing and is on a path toward profitability. 3. The company is surviving but is not growing and is not profitable or is only marginally profitable. 4. Company operations were terminated while still in the incubator, but losses were minimized. 5. Company operations were terminated while still in the incubator, and the losses were large.

 Unclear goals/no written business plan  Impatience/giving in too early  Refusing help  Incomplete business idea/not viable  No/poor/under-budgeted marketing plan  No/poor financial management  Undercapitalization/underestimate of resource requirements  Failure to gain complete understanding of the business  Not seeking or following expert advice

 Irvine Chamber of Commerce  Small Business Development Center/Tri-Tech  Small Business Association – SCORE  Networking Groups  TCVN  Octane  SCVN  Incubators Hosting Educational Events  One-Stop Centers

Keys to Business Acceleration Presented By:Created by WIN©: Presented In Partnership With WINcompanies.com (949) Virtual Business Acceleration Thank You for Attending Ultimate Entrepreneurial MythBusters