Meet Our Current Affiliated Partners
If you are a company seeking an incubator or accelerator, please contact an affiliate partner directly. If you are not sure which type of incubator will meet your needs, complete this form.
Incubators and Accelerators
You Might Think Of Business Incubators As Buildings
While that can be true, to us incubation really means providing tech entrepreneurs with services necessary for growth. Most business incubator clients are technology startups with significant potential to scale but whose capabilities are still incomplete. Innovate 518 provides connections to services to help entrepreneurs and ventures thrive.
Affiliated partners in Innovate 518 include Capital Region incubators. Each partner has a unique industry focus, expertise, clientele, and culture. At each incubator location, a client plan is developed as determined through their intake process. Company needs are documented, a strategy for addressing them is developed, and then Innovate 518 and regional resources are mobilized to implement the plan.
Co-working spaces and community & entrepreneurial service providers are also an integral part in supporting the local startup ecosystem.
We live within a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem and our mission is to connect startups with resources that may include:
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Access to angel investors, private equity and venture capitalists
Connections to banks
Access to various forms of grant resources
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Onsite spaces that allow you to focus on running your business
Shared services including libraries, reception, copy machines, mailrooms, and high-speed internet access
Connections to strategic partners and higher education institutions
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Assistance with business functions including accounting, finance, marketing, strategy, legal issues and regulatory compliance
Mentoring and advice from successful entrepreneurs and subject matter experts
Technology transfer and commercialization
Presentation skills and pitch practice sessions
Intern and student support
Networking events
Recruitment of executive leadership and employees
Approved vendor list (discounted services may be available)
Incubators
An incubator is a specialized program or organization that nurtures and supports early-stage technology startups and entrepreneurs. It provides these fledgling companies with resources, mentorship, and infrastructure to help them develop their innovative ideas into viable businesses. Incubators often offer access to funding, shared office space, networking opportunities, and expert guidance, accelerating the growth and success of the startups they host.
Accelerators
Startup accelerators are fixed-term, cohort-based programs that include seed investment, connections, mentorship, and educational components and culminate in a public pitch event or demo day to accelerate growth.