Boyan, executive director of the Hammond INnovation Center, said a year and a half after opening, the businesses at the incubator occupy about 75 percent of the available office space. While he's pleased with the "above average growth" with 15 businesses now occupying offices in the center, attracting entrepreneurs and convincing tech businesses to have a Hammond office remain challenging in the current economic environment.
Hammond isn't Silicon Valley, but Boyan said the state has placed a strong emphasis on attracting technology firms, because they have the promise of creating wealth in the region with hiring more employees at a higher income. But the center is about developing business opportunities in any sector, he said.
"Ultimately, it (the incubator) is an economic development tool," he said. "It is an engine to help start up companies."
The city of Hammond maintains the 5209 Hohman Ave. site, and Purdue University Calumet manages the operations at the center, which opened in June 2008. The center has 8,100 square feet available for businesses, but Boyan said more can be developed if there's demand for it.
Businesses flourishing
Indiana Tech, which has an office and a computer lab at the center, may be ready to look for a bigger space after moving in July 1. Cleveland Anderson, an Indiana Tech admissions representative, said the school already has a campus in Merrillville but is looking to open a new Northwest Indiana campus site by July.
Mark Pharr of Chicago found out about the INnovation Center through a referral from another organization. Pharr founded MLP Investigative & Security Services in April 2009 and moved into the INnovation Center last November after being impressed with the services and opportunities the center offered. Pharr's business will specialize in information technology security and physical security, and he said he plans to market aggressively this year.
Pharr, who met with center officials last year, said he was impressed with the quality of office space and services and the opportunity to partner with Purdue University students on projects. He called the center and opportunities the city of Hammond is offering as "remarkable."
"The entire area is consumed with bringing in businesses, helping businesses out and helping the residents of Indiana," Pharr said.
Business incubators surviving
Indiana Economic Development Corp. spokeswoman Blair West estimated there were 28 business incubators operating in the state. The IEDC is a state agency.
Boyan said the three largest challenges Hammond's INnovation Center faces are making sure the incubator companies stay viable, finding new businesses to join the center, and ensuring there's enough funding to continue operations.
The incubator is nearing the second year of a three-year operating grant. The search for grants continues, while rent and hosting events shore up revenue. Incubators aren't created to be cash cows, but self-sufficiency is a goal
Boyan would like to meet.
The center may have opened in the midst of a recession, but Karl LaPan, president and CEO of Northeast Indiana Innovation Center in Fort Wayne, said the center's growth level in less than two years of operation is good compared to national benchmarks for incubators.
LaPan, who serves on the National Business Incubator Association's board of directors, said the national occupancy average of businesses for well-established incubators is about 80 percent.
"To get there in that time frame speaks to the quality of programming he's developing," LaPan said.
Networking and making presentations to business associations -- including those in Illinois -- are ways Boyan attempts to generate leads, but they've also come from walk-in inquiries. Boyan said people can also make appointments with staff to get an hour of free consultation on business plans in technology-related or other fields.
"You got an idea, come on in," Boyan said.
Two other Northwest Indiana business incubators -- Entech Innovation Center in Valparaiso and the Purdue Technology Center in Merrillville -- also send referrals. Boyan said the centers aren't in direct competition, because the other two have laboratory space and have slightly different target sectors.
Graduation and retention are two topics often associated with education, but they are just as important to incubator operations. Boyan said typically businesses are expected to "graduate" from an incubator in about three to five years, but there are exceptions.
LaPan said the Fort Wayne incubator, which opened in August 2001, has about 150 people working for 25 companies in the technology park.
While it's important for incubators to have a plan, LaPan said the community must be patient with job-creation promises, and incubator officials have to seek the community support.
"This is an evolutionary, transformational process," LaPan said. "The results don't happen overnight."
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