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ORLANDO, Fla. (April 20, 2009) - The University of Central Florida
Business Incubation
Program, which currently serves more than 70 full-time clients in
five
Central Florida facilities, plans to expand to include programs in
Leesburg
and St. Cloud.
Dr. Tom O'Neal, associate vice president for the University's Department
of
Research & Commercialization and executive director of the UCF
Business
Incubation Program, said he expects to open operations in St. Cloud
and
Leesburg by next spring.
Currently, the UCF Business Incubation Program operates two facilities
near
the University of Central Florida campus in Research Park, and three
more -
on Orange Ave. in downtown Orlando, in east Orlando on East Colonial
and in
Winter Springs at S.R. 434 and the 417.
"Effective incubation programs have proved to be the most cost efficient
ways to stimulate local economic growth," O'Neal explained.
O'Neal, who founded the UCF Business Incubation Program and ranks
as one of
the leading U.S. experts on business incubators, said successful
incubation
programs offer several common characteristics including: stable,
sustainable
program funding; a strong market position; entrepreneurial management;
affiliation with a major research institution; a blue-ribbon board
of
directors or advisors; the ability to attract quality client companies;
a
strong client screening process; measurable goals and objectives;
strong
value-added services; and access to investment capital and community
partnerships.
For more information contact:
Tom O'Neal. Ph.D, UCF Associate Vice President for Research and
Commercialization and Incubation Program Executive Director, 407-882-1120,
oneal@mail.ucf.edu,
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142 Lvershelco@aol.com
About the UCF Incubation Program:
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Incubation Program has helped
more than
100 emerging companies (including nearly 70 current clients) create
over
$500 million in annual revenue and more than 900 new jobs with an
average
salary of $59,000. With five facilities across the metro Orlando
community,
the Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development
between
UCF, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City
of Winter
Springs, and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. For more
information,
please visit http://www.incubator.ucf.edu.
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