Incubation
Overview
Incubation involves hosting new start-ups and providing them with a series of value-added services to help develop the businesses and get them firmly up and running.
Timeframe
Maximum 3 years.
Cost
Costs are charged to tenant enterprises on the basis of:
- how long they have been in the Incubator: service charges start off very low and are then raised each year. By the third year, costs are charged just short of market rates;
- the office space requested by the enterprise: office space is available in lots of 15m2, 20m2 and 40m2, and more than one lot may be requested. Rents start at €3,500 per year.
SERVICES AVAILABLE
Promotion
- Market visibility through the introduction of enterprises to local businesses and trade and industry associations.
- Media visibility through the attention catalysed by I3P.
- Territorial visibility through participation in local and national events and fairs.
Mentorship
- Tutoring and business management assistance through:
- support for the ongoing review of the original business plan;
- strategy and management analysis for enterprises with at least one year's business experience. - Advisory services are provided on tax, legal, security, HR management and intellectual property matters by experts from the Politecnico di Torino and the employers' association Unione Industriale di Torino.
Financing
- Assistance in outlining a financing strategy for the business.
- Direct access to enterprise start-up support initiatives promoted by local institutions and bodies.
- Thanks to the support of Unionfidi and Fondazione Michelin Sviluppo, special agreements have been made with banks for medium-term loans of up to €10,000, without collateral, and at soft interest rates of up to 2% below market rates.
- Preferential relations with the Torino Wireless Foundation for access to its SME Project.
- I3P is a partner of the seed capital fund Piemontech, with experts from Piemontech and the capital fund Innogest involved in the business plan appraisal process.
- Links to a trusted network of angel investors interested in backing tenant enterprises.
- I3P is headquarters to the “Venture Capital Hub” – a new initiative bringing some of the best early-stage funds to Torino.
Networking
- Favourable contacts with departments at the Politecnico di Torino for the use of labs.
- Synergies created with other tenant enterprises.
- Network of contacts in local public institutions, associations and businesses.
- Informal meetings with leading figures in business and finance.
A Helping-Hand towards Internationalisation
- Availability of support and guidance in the drawing-up of a business plan.
- Opportunity for enterprises to be hosted in European partner incubators at the same conditions extended to local tenant enterprises.
Centralised Logistics Services
- Fully functional and furnished offices.
- Internet at 4 Mbps.
- Shared office and working spaces available 24 hours a day.
- Centralised secretarial services.
- Fully-equipped meeting rooms.
- Air conditioning, security and cleaning services.
Benefits
Incubation represents numerous benefits to enterprises. These include:
- guaranteed visibility on the market and in the media, lasting well beyond the incubation period itself;
- ongoing tutoring and advisory services on management and administration;
- streamlined access to credit channels;
- a guarantee of business strength (less than 10% of enterprises that have taken part in the incubation programme have closed);
- preferential relations with the Politecnico di Torino, associations and businesses;
- assistance in launching the business onto foreign markets;
- a single services contract at favourable prices;
- some services, in particular networking services, last beyond the three-year incubation period.
Enterprises