- May 10 2021
- 5 mins
Scale Up with an Incubator Innovation centre
Applying to be a part of a scaleup innovation program is a significant decision for any startup with an MVP in the early stage. The startups need scalable and sustainable business models with limited bandwidth of time. Innovation centres can help in this requirement of doing more in less time, with high impact and velocity. The founders should not believe that the team is too good to sit with mentors and take guidance. Also, it is wrong to assume that an innovation centre is a fast track to stardom or becoming a unicorn immediately. The startups that get into a reliance innovation/incubation centre ecosystem get hugely benefited with
- Cost and time saving: Time is the most precious asset of startup founders in their journey to build something meaningful. Innovation centres like Mirainxt come with support systems such as digital media management, technology development, law firms, patent attorneys, fund-raising material development, to name a few. These services are needed by all early-stage startups and cost high in the open market. The startups enjoy these services pro-bono or at optimum rates when being a part of the incubator.
- Minimizing errors: Being a part of an innovation centre allows startups to access the best industry experts and advisors from research to launch. The incubators put money and effort to onboard the relevant subject matter experts to help the founders minimize errors and maximize outcomes. It is a fact that often, the first pilot or paying customer for a venture comes due to soft introduction by the incubator and/or the mentors involved. In effect, companies with incubators/innovation centres can enjoy infrastructure, support and training that can be time and money consuming for startups.
- Inspiring environment: A no-brainer, incubators provide an environment that encourages and inspires. In this environment, there is much potential for the cross-pollination of ideas and possible alliances and synergies. Alternatively, co-working spaces and other sandboxed environments can offer an inspiring environment.
- Derisking the funding process: Imagine a startup not knowing how to pitch to investors and, more importantly, to whom? The startups start to spray and pray, which adds to their efforts and increasing frustration levels. Incubators/innovation centres derisk the startup and the investor by curating the right venture to meet the relevant investors. This ensures that both ends get the best out of the time and discussions, eventually leading to a thorough evaluation of the business propositions.
- Brand Recognition: Being a part of the incubation/innovation centre ensures that the external ecosystem takes the startup seriously. The incubators/innovation centres have the right PR and Marketing strategies to showcase their cohort to the world. With the backing of an incubator/innovation centre, the startups can have a better chance of putting their foot in the door.
A meaningful and impactful incubator/innovation centre focuses on its strength and associated ecosystem development sectors. They offer many benefits, however not every startup can make it through the robust application process. Both the incubator/innovation centre and startups take equal time to evaluate mutual benefits and commit to one another from onboarding to a successful exit.
MiraiNxt, a state of the art innovation centre, offers a strategic high-intensity program to scale up health, education and deep tech companies. Startups are welcome to leverage MiraiNxt for realizing their vision to be a world-class venture. MiraiNxt is housed in an engineering institution with access to ecosystems, funding and resources to support technology development. It can be a startup’s best opportunity to succeed.
