“We know that incubators create jobs, but they also reduce the risk of small business failures. That’s extremely important today. We have to foster local entrepreneurship and help start-up companies grow right and grow strong,” said County Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr.

The new 14,000 square foot facility will launch a new era of economic development in Osceola County, according to Gordon Hogan, director of operations for the UCF Business Incubation Program. Eventually, the UCF Business Incubator-St. Cloud could accommodate as many as 20 client companies.

Osceola County is funding $675,000 over a 5-year period for the incubator, which will be managed by the University of Central Florida. The UCF program has been recognized for the past few years as one of the most effective and well-operated incubation systems in the nation.

Incubators are a great place to start a new company. They significantly increase the chances of success. In fact, research has shown that 87 percent of incubator graduates are still in business five years after graduating from an incubation program.

For more information about this release, contact:

  • Maria G. Toumazos, Osceola County Economic Development Administrator, 407-742-4200, mgru@osceola.org;
  • Gordon Hogan, Director of Operations, UCF Business Incubation Program, 407-882-1577, ghogan@mail.ucf.edu;
  • Dr. Tom O’Neal, Executive Director, UCF Business Incubation Program, 407 882-1120, oneal@mail.ucf.edu.

    • Source: ChooseOsceola.com