There’s something about a playground slide in the middle of an office building and an energetic group of seven entrepreneurs that just seem to go together. The slide is located on the main floor of The Center for New Enterprise Opportunity (NEO), a business incubator near Lansing’s north side. The slide is consistent with the mission of the NEO Center, which encourages entrepreneurs to collaborate, share ideas, do well, make money and, of course, have fun.
“We want the environment to be fun,” said Paul Jaques, one of NEO’s founders. “We want people who work here to remember the joy they had as kids.”
The NEO Center and the Technology Innovation Center (TIC) in East Lansing are two prime examples of a growing trend in the region towards providing more resources, support and encouragement for entrepreneurs and start-up companies as successful business ventures. These incubators are designed to spawn new and viable small businesses by providing business support services and flexible office space. They also encourage collaboration between entrepreneurs who often share common sets of challenges.
“We hope people will evolve and grow their relationships during their time here,” said Robin Miner-Swartz, another of NEO’s founders. “It’s much better than trying to grow your business from a coffee shop.”
"We’re trying to foster creativity,” said NEO co-founder Tom Stewart. “Now, a start-up doesn’t have to go to Chicago, Grand Rapids or Silicon Valley. They can
receive the support they need right here in Lansing.”
The NEO Center, which opened in November 2011, is somewhat unusual as business incubators go in Michigan in that it is a private enterprise venture financed by its seven co-founders; Jaques, Miner-Swartz, Stewart, Erik Larson, Jennifer Middlin, Dan Ryan and Chris VanWyck. The group continues to secure additional financial support from sponsors which already include; MSU Federal Credit Union, Arialink and Farm Bureau Insurance.
Incubators like the NEO Center and TIC offer flexible work options which can be as simple as a desk with a work station to a fully equipped private office. Prices for permanent space at NEO range from $180-$450 monthly. NEO currently has 17 of its 21 available spaces leased.
The real goal for business incubators is for its clients to become successful and then relocate to a permanent office setting. Leases are typically six months. Start-ups work from the incubator setting for up to three years. Businesses that “graduate” from the incubator then become tenants for developers in the area, and continue to grow and create more jobs. The NEO Center is emphasizing growth in the City of Lansing first, and then spreading to the Greater Lansing region.
“We want graduates to put down stakes in our region and stay for a long time,” said NEO co-founder Chris Van Wyck.
Incubators are not intended to serve as a place for cheap office space. The main benefit for a start-up working from an incubator is to develop a growing business in an environment that fosters creativity and collaboration. To people in the incubator industry, it’s all about the environment.
“It’s not every day you get to work in an environment where the most incredible people are working alongside you,” said Jeff Smith, who serves as co-director of the New Economy Division of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP), which jointly manages TIC with the City of East Lansing.
TIC was launched by the City of East Lansing and its Downtown Development Authority in October 2008. TIC’s focus is in developing companies in the technology sector, with many of its clients having connections to Michigan State University. In four years, TIC has successfully helped many companies move into the mainstream marketplace, many of whom are growing rapidly.
“You’re helping someone start something that hasn’t existed before,” said Ken Szymusiak, who joins Smith as the co-director of LEAP’s New Economy Division. “It’s key to growing our economic base.”
Among TIC’s many graduate success stories is Phenometrics, which makes machines used in algae research. Phenometrics was recently named as Incubator Client of the Year by the Michigan Business Incubators Association. Other notable success stories include Good Fruit Video, a Lansing-based video production company, and Nicholas Creative, a boutique website creative agency. Two other companies, NamesforLife and Retia Medical, have successfully secured government grants.
Though TIC has been solely focused on technology, there are plans to expand to other industries. The fashion industry is one that Smith and Szymusiak see as a high potential high-growth possibility. The ability to market and sell online has become a game-changer in that entrepreneurs with designer clothing lines have affordable access to world-wide markets and no longer have to worry about the expense of a brickand-mortar location.
“You have a person like former MSU basketball star Lauren Aitch, a hometown hero with a line of designer clothes,” said Smith. “We want people like her who
decide to start a business in the community, to buy a house and remain here long-term.”
The folks at the NEO Center and TIC agree that a broader lesson can be applied to economic development efforts in the region, and that is that the incubator strategy can be used as a strategy to grow the overall economy.
“We’re talking about part of the economy that has been missing,” said Smith. “We’ve learned how to leverage our resources and build a support network for new
industries in ways that haven’t been done before.”
What is clear is that entrepreneurial spirit and innovation is being nurtured and is flourishing in entirely new and exciting ways in the Greater Lansing region.
Incubators like the NEO Center and TIC are offering greater chances for success for entrepreneurs and start-ups. More incubators are opening, including one planned for the fall of 2013 in the renovated Knapp’s building in downtown Lansing.
“Lansing is now a place to start a business,” said Stewart. “If you want to do so, we have the resources to help it happen.”
