Cloud Incubator HUB. How do they do It?
The project started at the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (Spain) at the end of 2011 in order to facilitate the creation of technology startups as a way to improve economic development and reduce existing unemployment. By creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem within a space with high technological level, this HUB provides tech entrepreneurs a stimulating environment where they can start a successful business and also achieve growth of their startups in an area with such high labor demand and Internet of Things.
Always pending on the needs of entrepreneurs, the diversity of activities performed are managed by mentors, coaches, investors, researchers and experts in different areas, both technological and business.
The ecosystem is built around a series of programs incubation phase seed for beginner entrepreneurs, or acceleration of startups established and consolidated, provided the necessary services to successfully overcome the difficulties in the evolutionary process from the beginning of a startup.
The installations located in the Technology Park Fuente Alamo, situated in the southeast of the Region of Murcia, where the University has a building dedicated to technological development and innovation, allows for a high-quality infrastructure in housing and technological equipment oriented business development. In contrast to the location of other incubators and accelerators which are mostly centered around key regions, Cloud incubator HUB develops their entrepreneurial projects and acceleration online, being a virtual accelerator open to the world.
The on-site program is divided into two phases: the first two months of incubation value the viability of the idea; once they overcome the first phase, they gain access to a second acceleration phase over the course of six months. Learning and success is not composed of applying a unique methodology, but it has been checked that the use of the approach Lean Thinking contributes towards accelerating the development process of startups´ efficiency. The tech startups grow very quickly and their evolution is structured with custom methods for each of them through a variety of activities: training, workshops, searching for sustainable business models, prototype development, networking, demo days, etc.. All of these are necessary to advance the success of startups and adapt to the mentality of tech entrepreneurs who are accustomed to the utilization of scientific methods.
Regarding the virtual programs, Cloud Incubator HUB has been developing since 2015, two programs of technological acceleration at a European level funded by the European Commission under the “Startup Europe” initiative and under the H2020 program, both for beginner entrepreneurs (EU-XCEL) and for consolidated startups (STARTUP SCALEUP):
EU-XCEL: Cloud Incubator HUB is involved in the EU-XCEL European project, European virtual accelerator, during 2015 and 2016, gives an interesting opportunity for all tech entrepreneurs who have an idea and want to turn it into startup, as they have the opportunity to get basic training in technological entrepreneurship in one of the following Universities: University College Cork, Technical University of Denmark, University of Munich, University of Poznan, Athens University and Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena. They will continue the acceleratation over a 5-month period through a virtual platform and then participate in a challenge facing international investors (first year in Cork and the second in Brussels). The costs of travel and accommodation are funded by EU-XCEL in the context of STARTUP EUROPE.
STARTUP SCALEUP: Cloud Incubator HUB leads the project of the European IoT accelerator. This acceleration program for tech startups is aimed at facilitating internationalization and access to investment and is performed in two editions, over the course of 2015 and 2016, allowing 400 European startups to accelerate. The selected startups can continue working as normal however they will be provided with additional service that they wouldn´t normally get. It is a unique opportunity for participating startups to grow and expand across Europe and have access to:
- Groups of international investment and specialized in Internet of Things and Services.
- International visibility through the initiative “Startup Europe”.
- Mentoring and specialized in issues related to internationalization, marketing, technology and business on the Internet of Things and Services.
- International mobility across a European network of business incubators and accelerators: Spain (Cloud Incubator HUB), Netherlands (Crosspring Lab), Lithuania (Open Coffee Club Vilnius) and Ireland (DCU Ryan Academy), together with the largest social network for startups in the European Union (F6S) and the Spanish consulting firm which specializes in supporting innovation and strategic development entities internationally (BluSpecs).
Along the years, Cloud Incubator HUB has evolved, creating a collaborative environment of co-working with virtual and physical infrastructure necessary to help entrepreneurs improve their skills and attitudes in both technological and business areas.
Cloud Incubator HUB is a thematic accelerator, focused on IoT, to attract startups and entrepreneurs with more talent than acceleration programs. Even though it is a new initiative that has been developed in a region of Europe that has not had similar experiences, our success rates are very similar to those in other more consolidated accelerators.
With these initiatives, Cloud Incubator HUB transfers its experience promoting entrepreneurship to new and innovative future stages for entrepreneurs and startups.
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