Inclusive Growth and Incubators
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 12:18 — nsrcel
.
Inclusive Growth and Incubators
On the lines of web 2.0/3.0, I believe we should be having Startups 1.0/2.0/3.0 and so on - the primary reason being the upgradation of the startup ecosystem from what it was when, say the DowJones was created to the time when Apple and Microsoft were getting born, moving on to the birth of Google and looking at now, when we have 'incubators' for startups. There was no such word like a startup 'ecosystem' being thrown around when Walt Disney wanted to go on his own, nor was venture capital such a common word for people who are involved in the edge-of-technology work. I am not sure if someone has already put version numbers to this ecosystem, but we sure have upgraded fast enough!
.
When we discuss the concept of inclusive growth, the thought processes involved cater to a wider process which sustains all elements in an ecosystem. It is compared with a garden where every plant strives for nourishment, and the whole garden grows beautiful. Applied to many aspects of the economy, inclusive growth stands for support and sustenance. And applied to the arena of startups, it is an important aspect of nurturing new ideas and leading them to success. This way, the concept of incubators for startups and that of inclusive growth are intertwined. Business incubators nurture the development of entrepreneurial companies, helping them survive and grow during the start-up period, when they are most vulnerable.
.
The methodology of incubators is basically same across the globe and even across the noteworthy ones in India, there is a similarity in approach to incubation. They accelerate the process of business growth, allowing founders to focus more on their core competencies than on things such as taxation for employees. They support them for office services, rent out space to them, and advise them on organizational structure - all with the aim to exit from a successful business. Once the business gains grounds, they move on to make space for newer players. NSRCEL has been involved in all these and goes beyond conventional incubation in organizing events that bring together relevant magnates to guide these fledgling companies. The feasibility studies done by NSRCEL help determine whether the proposed project has all the factors crucial to an incubator's success - a solid market, a sound financial base and strong community support. Skill and activity linkages, predicting and devising methods to face pitfalls in starting up, and training the incubatees to tackle the hard realities in entrepreneurship are some of the core areas that get focused at.
India being a growth economy, entrepreneurship is a very critical element. Let us realize the truth of break-neck competition in today's startup environment - in such cases, incubation is something that all startups need to look at and take advantage of!