Companies typically took three to five years before being leaving the nest. Reflecting the philosophy of doing business at Internet speed, incubators are evolving. Now, in many quarters, they're called accelerators. Rather than merely incubate a company, accelerators strap on the jet packs with the goal of blasting new companies through the start-up phase in less than a year. Fairfax County's eIncubator is an example.
Companies get free rent and free business services for six to eight months.
After that, they're on their own. In exchange, eIncubator takes a piece of its clients' equity. We want to focus on that acceleration. Private-sector firms often partner with venture capital funds and seek 30 percent to 50 percent in equity, says Tom Weithman, director of finance and entrepreneurship at Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology. But it's unfair to single out the accelerators for wanting a piece of the profits, says Roger Yee of Herndon-based LaunchFuel, a venture service provider that works closely with both incubators and capitalists.