With the nation”™s economy in a meltdown and banks failing at a rate not seen since 1992, October 2009 was a shaky time to start a business let alone a business incubator.
But it was in that month when the Orange County Business Accelerator in New Windsor”™s International Plaza Office Park opened its doors.
The role of incubators is to bring in startups with no-nonsense business plans that are led by entrepreneurs who have the business acumen down pat, but need time and space to develop their plan to bring it to the next level. The idea is then to “incubate” that business and bring the product or service to the marketplace; creating new companies and providing good paying jobs to the community.
That was the model Orange County Executive Ed Diana and Industrial Development Agency Chairman Jim Petro envisioned. Today, the OCBA has delivered what the county expected and then some.
The IDA last year put up $1.5 million, started building and furnishing its new business accelerator”™s space, bucking the mantra of “wait and see” by hiring former Pattern for Progress CEO Michael DiTullo as its managing director and putting up its sign. ?DiTullo soon signed OCBA”™s first client ”“ Continental Organics, who met the accelerator”™s criteria: a business model focused on one of three specific areas: renewable and alternative energy; high tech, web-based software; or life sciences/health care.
Continental Organics moved into OCBA”™s 20,000 square feet of Class A office space, with a location and atmosphere that soon brought companies from Connecticut to California to pitch their plans. In a few more months, DiTullo and enterprise development director Peter Gregory expect OCBA”™s two remaining spaces in the building will be filled.
Continental Organics”™ Michael Finnegan, who spent a year researching the idea of an aquaponic farm with co-founder, Tom Endres, is ready to leave the accelerator and start building.
Buying four acres on Mount Airy Road in New Windsor and leasing 36 acres of farmland behind the property ”“ with an option for 30 to 40 acres more ”“ the former military men and business leaders are ready with approvals in place and building plans in hand to start the operation.
What”™s holding up construction? “A chokehold on access to capital,” Finnegan told OCBA business partners at OCBA”™s anniversary celebration ”“ a stumbling block that Diana promised the county would work to overcome to get them the loan they need to start building.
Finnegan said he has no doubt the brain trust behind the incubator will make that happen sooner than later.
“We were chosen as tenants because we had a solid, sustainable business model that will create jobs and build industry,” he said. “Aquaponic farming is a booming business and the demand for organic meats, fish and vegetables and pesticide-free fertilizer is growing every year.”
Finnegan estimates Continental Farms, building in five phases, will employ nearly 120 people ”“ from scientists and technicians to delivery drivers and clerical staff ”“ producing well-paying, permanent jobs and bringing to market farm-raised fish, organic vegetables and organic fertilizer.
The incubator offers accommodations to client associates who do not need full-time office space. Two recent additions are Cognition Media, creators of a software program designed for school websites that eliminates the need for a webmaster and 4-E Productions, a multimedia production company that is confident its name will be right up there with Disney when they are finished working out their final business plan. The client associate companies are able to take advantage of the accelerator”™s physical and intellectual resources while they refine their business programs.
For IDA chairman Petro, the incubator that he, Diana and the county”™s business development team envisioned has had an “outstanding” first year. “This was just gravel and stone a year ago. Now, we have 20,000 feet of first-class space almost at capacity and with a business buzz that amazes everyone who comes through the door. It is putting Orange County on the map. I”™m extremely happy with its management team. I think both Mike and Peter bring tremendous talent to the table and have chosen clients carefully and culled out the best of the applicants who have approached it, giving us an impressive client list of companies we are confident will leave here and grow good paying, high-tech jobs in the county. To us and to those who visit, this accelerator is a model for the region and the state. It”™s gone above and beyond our expectations.”
