What is a Business Incubator?

Business incubator, incubator in English, means the special equipment for artificially hatching poultry eggs. Later, economic services were introduced, guiding these companies to successfully market their products or services without or with little help from other sources.

Business incubator

Business incubator, incubator in English, means the special equipment for artificially hatching poultry eggs. Later, economic services were introduced, guiding these companies to successfully market their products or services without or with little help from other sources.

Business incubators are also called in China

A business incubator should generally have four basic characteristics: one is to have an incubation ground, the other is to have public facilities, the third is to be able to provide incubation services, and the fourth is to target specific service objects-newly created

(1) Project investment promotion department: investment promotion, project negotiation, enterprise entry and approval, collection of various scientific and technological information, economic information and market intelligence, recommendation of investment cooperation projects, document translation, business registration services for foreign-funded enterprises, etc.

(2) Department of Industrial Services: full-process services for enterprise production, scientific research, marketing, financial management, intellectual property, standardization, etc., one-stop services for domestic-funded enterprises' industrial and commercial registration, tax registration, graduation accreditation of assisted enterprises, assisting high-tech enterprises, Apply for products and various types of projects, study the development model of the enterprise, guide and train the enterprises stationed in modern management, and do a good job of enterprise data statistics and management of science and technology intermediary agencies.

(3) Comprehensive service department: external publicity, reception, secretarial, archives, internal financial management, information research, internal management, etc.

(4) Property management department: water, electricity, equipment, environmental sanitation and security of the incubation base. A series of property logistics supporting services such as corporate planning.

(5) Information Department: computer network management and related professional technical information services of the incubation base.

A successful incubator is inseparable from five major factors: shared space, shared services, leased enterprises, incubator managers, and preferential policies for supporting enterprises. Help emerging small businesses to quickly grow to scale and train successful businesses and entrepreneurs for society.

China's first PhD in incubator

According to research data from the American National Incubator Association, successful incubator services include: network support; Internet or information technology services; consulting; contacting strategic partners; business plan support to assist in obtaining angel or venture capital; contacting university research and development institutions; Student internship or employment; management team development; financial management support; intellectual property support; legal services; provision of professional experimental facilities; human resource management support; product or technology development support; technology-related process support; international trade support, etc. Dr. Li Songsong of Northern Jiaotong University sorted the services provided by Chinese business incubators into the following four categories:

(1) General services, including venues, business facilities, etc .;

(2) Management consulting services, including general business agency services and formulating strategies, management systems, human resource management systems, market analysis, professional knowledge training, etc .;

(3) Investment and financing services, including assistance in obtaining government funds, applying for secured loans, investing directly in enterprises, and combining with venture capital:

(4) Professional technical services. Investment service is one of the core service functions of the incubator

The operation of the business incubator revolves around the systematic process of establishing goals, setting incubation standards and graduation standards, selecting incubation companies, providing incubation services, facilitating the successful graduation of the resident enterprises, and assessing the results of incubation. In the incubator operating system, the input volume is the incubating enterprise and the output volume is the graduated enterprise. The incubator target, incubation standard and graduation standard are the three constraints (see Figure 1). The goals of the incubator determine what kind of company to stay in and what conditions the company graduates from. The gap between the graduation standard and the incubation standard determines the space for the incubation service. The effectiveness of the incubation service is a reflection of the degree of incubation. Whether the goals of the incubator are reasonable, whether the incubation standards and graduation standards are scientific, and whether the incubation services are effective have played a decisive role in the results of the incubator operations.

China's science and technology incubator has a good foundation in mass innovation and entrepreneurship. At present, there are more than 1,600 high-tech business incubators nationwide, 115 in university science parks, more than 80,000 incubating enterprises, and more than 1.7 million employed people.

There are more than 1,000 active venture capital investment institutions nationwide, with a total capital of more than 350 billion yuan, Internet access more than 630 million, and the penetration rate of fixed networks has reached 50%. Technology transactions are also very active. In 2014, the national technology transaction turnover reached 857.7 billion, which has increased at a rate of 15% in recent years. ^[2]

1. Specialization

Judging from the current development situation of incubators, Chinese business incubators are bound to operate in a specialized direction, which is the trend of the reform of the production or marketing system of enterprises. In general, business incubators are designed to incubate three types of high-tech achievements, technology-based enterprises, and entrepreneurial enterprises. Such enterprises are in a leading position whether they are scientific research results or technical achievements. Adhering to professional operation is indispensable. Personnel meeting professional standards should be arranged to participate in incubation activities.

2. Further network and socialization of incubator organization and management

The establishment and improvement of the network is the key to the construction of the incubator. For the better development of incubators in any country and region, they must be obtained through the network management and incubator associations. The exchange of experience, various collaborations and personnel training are standardized. Management reflects the degree of demand for the network. The incubator network can be divided into two types: associations and non-associations. The work is to guide and support newly established enterprises. The European and American incubator networks have emerged as industry associations. The American technology business incubator association provides more detailed and comprehensive services. There are two models of domestic incubator networks, with Beijing and Shanghai being the most representative. Beijing Venture Incubation Association is a cooperative establishment of various consulting, investment and financing, scientific research institutes and high-tech industries in Beijing. The Shanghai Incubator Network Association is a collection of entrepreneurial plans, resource sharing, and investment financing. The former makes better use of the rich resources of the society to provide support for the incubator, while the latter has a relatively close relationship with government agencies, which can better give play to government guidance, and enterprises have a more concentrated advantage.

3.Diversity of incubator operation mode

The establishment of incubators in each country has different purposes, some are to better promote regional economic development and expand employment, and some are to better cultivate high-tech enterprises and expand their development. No matter what method is adopted, the fundamental purpose is to Through the model of incubator to better and more effectively cultivate science and technology enterprises, and thus play a role in adjusting regional industrial structure and promoting regional economic development.

The "China Business Incubator Development Research Report 2014" divides technology business incubators into four categories: one is funded by the government; the other is hosted by universities; the third is private and private investment; the fourth is jointly established by the government and individuals. Although the founding subjects are different, they all gain their own benefits through this model of incubator. The school supports the research of technology by selling products for profit; the government has not only expanded employment, solved regional economic development, but also helped increase taxes. The construction of Chinese science and technology business incubators also shows a diversified development direction. Local governments, high-tech parks, universities, private enterprises, and foreign capital have all invested in lighteners.

4. Internationalization of incubator development strategy

With the development of economic globalization. Going international is the direction that the incubator wants to continue to develop. At present, China has established international incubators in Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian and other cities, and has passed the certification of the Ministry of Science and Technology. This type of incubator can directly absorb foreign successful experiences and operating models, and provide professional technical, financial and other service systems for returnees who return to China to start a business.