The Hub Provides the Environment for Bridging the Skills Gap

(Mark Long, director of Incubation Services at UF, explains how UF Innovate | The Hub incubates startup companies and benefits local entrepreneurs.)

“There’s a reason a business incubator is called an incubator and not a microwave,” I often say. “That’s because growing a company takes time.”

Incubation brings to mind what a chicken does for an egg; the chicken keeps the egg warm so the baby chicken inside the egg can develop fully. What’s inside the egg, however, is as important as the environment surrounding the egg.

We think that a business incubator has to provide the environment for a startup to grow, but it also provides much more. The incubator’s program of coaching, advising, networking and exposure to investors is equally important. It builds the “inside” of the company as well, bridging the skills gap most entrepreneurs bring to the incubator experience.

Learn more about The Hub Provides the Environment for Bridging the Skills Gap.