According to the latest estimates by the National Business Incubator Association (NBIA), in 2005 alone, North American incubators assisted more than 27,000 startup companies. Here are 10 of them that caught our eyes and might help you get your business started.
- NYU-Poly Incubator
Part of a new program to help keep New York City’s business climate vibrant, this 16,000-square-foot space houses startups for only $200 per month, in addition to offering other assistance. - TechStars
Offering up to $18,000 in seed funding, advice and mentoring, and important connections, this Boulder, Colorado, hub is home to successful startups, including Socialthing (recently acquired by AOL). - Environmental Business Cluster
Voted as the nation’s top business incubator in 2008 by the NBIA, this San Jose, California-based incubator focuses on young, highly qualified clean-technology startups. - La Cocina
This San Francisco-based nonprofit incubator specifically works with low-income and immigrant women launching food businesses. - TechColumbus
This Columbus, Ohio-based incubator infused $4.3 million into 32 companies in 2008 alone. It also helped attract a 10 percent increase in VC funding for its companies last year. - Slingshot Labs
Based in Santa Monica, California, and founded by MySpace creators Josh Berman and Colin Digiaro, this new media-focused incubator launched in February 2008 and will nurture four to five startups per year. - Clean and Alternative Energy Incubator
An initiative of the University of Toledo, this incubator focuses on alternative energy and underwent a recent $2.2 million expansion. - STAR Technology Enterprise Center
Working out of a 30,000-square-foot space, this nonprofit incubator supports the growth of early-stage manufacturing and technology-based companies in the Tampa Bay, Florida, region. - Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise
This St. Louis-based incubator focuses on assisting life-science businesses and is home to about 20 companies that have raised more than $150 million in capital and investments. - Ben Franklin TechVentures
This high-tech work space and community in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, helps early stage companies grow with more than 11,000 square feet of dedicated wet-lab space.