To Incubate, or Not to Incubate...
Startup Companies are all the rage right now, with the online age opening a variety of new ways for companies to sell their wares and get established. The products themselves are increasingly tied to the online world, with the booming Applications market starting to mature into a general demand for âsoftware as a serviceâ. In such an environment, the time to get a business going seems ripe. However, starting an entire company, at any scale, is usually not a totally painless process. Thereâs a lot to take care of and one of the biggest questions is where your company is going to work from. While you can go for the traditional garage (or parents basement), the concept of scaling up is a more difficult one these days, especially in a weaker economy and especially in cities with high rent costs. It would seem to many that the gap to cross is difficult. Working from home saves you money, of course. But for many, itâs not an ideal workspace and can leave them feeling isolated from the business community. As well, as independent and hip as one wants to feel, working from home does carry a bit of tarnish; there is a sense of unprofessionalism. However, simply deciding to purchase a full office space isnât always the most practical option â or, more importantly, the cheapest one.
There are a few options that startup companies can make use of, two of the best known being a Business Incubator and a Coworking Space. For many these are rather interchangeable â most Business Incubators offer a space to work anyways. So, many assume that an Incubator is the way to go, especially considering the benefits involved, which can be many. And how does a Business Incubator stand up against a âplainâ coworking space? Well, each Incubator is different, but thereâs some. The perks vary from incubator to incubator and are usually tailored to the space in question. Common to all, however, is the incubation aspect itself â a team of mentors and a series of events to help you develop your business and show you the ropes of managing a startup. Often the incubators have a staff larger than the mentors that you are attached to as well â company lawyers and accountants, all forming a large safety net for starting businesses.
However, while these are all benefits to a business incubator, they can end up being a drawback as well. This depends heavily on the company in question and their policies, of course. But the fact of the matter is, for some startups, all this support is going to be a blessing â but for others, itâs going to feel like its smothering their business management. Getting a support structure like an incubator provides can be a stabilizing factor, but it can also be restrictive or, worse, intrusive. Indeed, from discussions amongst start up companies moving towards coworking spaces, many have mentioned a dislike of the structure of Incubators, wanting to have more room to make their own choices. This will of course depend on the incubator â but âhelicopter mentorsâ are a distinct possibility  Iâve heard many coworking tenants who have experimented with incubation complain about the levels of control, direct and indirect, that a mentor can have on their startups. Beyond the regular annoyances of having to play tug-of-war with someone else, thereâs also the psychological aspect â it can be disheartening to have your âspecial projectâ be affected by the whims and opinions of someone else, even if it is only their intention to help.
The point being, an incubator can quickly start to feel like a double-edge sword. So does this mean that itâs not worth the investment? The answer is the same as that to many of lifeâs great questions â a firm âmaybeâ. Whatâs important to realize is that an incubator isnât the only option â nor does it need to be a permanent option. A mental trap that overeager start-ups often find themselves in is disregarding notions of scaling â itâs a nice thought to imagine that youâll get everything together in an incubator and then burst onto the scene as a resounding success. In reality, the path to where you want your company to go is usually longer and less steep. coworking can exist not as the only option, but as a place to head once you start to feel that youâve outgrown the Incubation â with the economy and rent pricing of today, itâs definitely a welcoming destination. Starting off in a coworking space isnât an unreasonable beginning either â it will likely cost the same or cheaper as an incubator, after all and itâs up to you to make the call as to how comfortable you feel with the business world. Perhaps starting at an incubator and moving to Coworking then finally a home of your own is your best bet. Coworking itself can be more flexible and allow more personalization of space and the team, especially with your own space - hot desking can get old fast. In the end, managing a business often comes down to adaptation â so donât be afraid to set up shop somewhere you can be your most flexible.
The Cranium is a co-working office for technology growth companies based in Vancouver, Canada. Building a start-up is a marathon, with a series of climbs and descents on the path to a vision. Surrounding your team with the right entrepreneurs, advisers and partners is the difference between scaling the next peak or losing traction on descent. The people and their experience is what makes The Cranium great.
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