|
Software Business Cluster Selected as Incubator of the Year
SAN JOSE, Calif., June 26, 2000 /PRNewswire/ — The Software Business Cluster has been selected as the National Business Incubation Association’s Incubator of the Year for 2000. The award was presented before a crowd of 400 business leaders at the Tech Museum of Innovation where the Software Business Cluster held its 5th Anniversary Celebration.
Three companies that graduated from the Software Business Cluster went public in 1999, and more than $350 Million in venture funding has been provided to companies at the Cluster in the last 4 years. Created in 1994, the Software Business Cluster focuses on software and Internet businesses. The first of its kind in California, it now has 20 client businesses and more than 50 graduate companies.
“I was excited and surprised to win the award,” said Jim Robbins, Executive Director and cofounder. “I remember five years ago when the SBC was being started, and our concerns were attracting the first clients and staying solvent. We have come a long way and have worked with some very successful companies. It is a great honor to be selected for this award by one’s peers.”
About 85 percent of companies that enter the incubator get venture funding or institutional investment. The Software Business Cluster requires them to complete and polish their business plans and “[Then] we work with them on presentations for investors,” Robbins said. “We make sure they have the kinds of things investors care about. Once incubator firms are ready to present, the incubator‘s Venture Capital Referral Program can provide referrals to investors.”
Software Business Cluster clients credit Robbins with making things happen. Krishna Subramanian, CEO of client company Kovair Software Inc., spoke for herself and others when she said: “Jim has always been there for us from day one-working with us on the business strategy, spending countless hours helping us refine ‘the pitch,’ helping us identify our key messages, and being a sounding board for us on our business plan.”
The incubator became a formal partner with San Jose State University and the City of San Jose in 1996. The incubator operates under the auspices of the San Jose State Foundation, the university’s fund-raising arm. “They’re a well-known organization that brought credibility to us,” said Chuck Erickson, Managing Director of the SBC. “Even more importantly, the Foundation gave the incubator access to the resources of the university, including students, faculty and services such as accounts receivable and payable and payroll.”
About the Software Business Cluster
The Software Business Cluster identifies entrepreneurs with good technology who are starting software and Internet companies and provides them with business support and services. The city of San Jose now has more than 75 software/Internet companies downtown, compared to fewer than 10 when the incubator was formed in 1994. Thirty-five or more have graduated from the Software Business Cluster.
About the National Business Incubation Association
The National Business Incubation Association is the world's leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. It provides thousands of professionals with the information, education, advocacy and networking resources to bring excellence to the process of assisting early-stage companies.
Business incubation programs catalyze the process of starting and growing companies by providing entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful. Incubation programs diversify economies, commercialize technologies, create jobs and build wealth.
 |
|
|
