University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program Celebrates Five Years of Business Startups in Kissimmee, Osceola County, FL

Tom O'Neal

Kissimmee, FL --- Five years ago the nation was still feeling the effects of a global recession and local economies throughout Florida were struggling.

The University of Central Florida, the City of Kissimmee, Osceola County and The Corridor decided not to wait for new businesses to move into the area.   The partnership opened the UCF Business Incubator at the City Center, 111 Monument Drive in downtown Kissimmee to jump-start their economy.

Now five years on, the Incubator has helped 47 new client companies get their start in the Osceola region. Eight of them were “Soft Landing” clients---companies that wanted to establish a presence in the U.S. or in Central Florida and needed a support base to open an office.

Thirty-nine companies that were accepted into the program received help from UCF Business Incubation Program coaches, and counselors like the SBDC (Small Business Development Center) and the HBIF (Hispanic Business Imitative Fund).  The Incubator focuses on assisting companies that are industrial, commercial and institutional in nature; that tend to be higher wage jobs.

The result?  Over 60 new local jobs have been created by Incubator client companies while they were located in the incubator. More than 200 local jobs sustained. Eleven companies that got their start at the Incubator have graduated and moved out on their own, according to Jim Bowie, site manager for the UCF Business Incubator - Kissimmee.  The facility has 20 offices with meeting and conference rooms for companies to grow.

UCF College of Business Administration

“Business startups tend to fail at alarming rates and tend to grow in measurable and predictable patterns,” said Dr. Tom O’Neal, founder and executive director of the UCF Business Incubation Program.

“By studying the startup process, we can assist a startup business define its scope, identify its market potential and organize its operation to reduce the potential for failure and enhance and accelerate its rate of growth,” O’Neal explained.

“Technical assistance plays a big role, and so does networking. We’ve created an environment where new ideas can take hold and grow, and we’re improving that environment and accelerating that growth every day,” said O’Neal.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com