“Only 50 percent of small businesses that start are still in business five years later,” Gern says. “Businesses that have gone through business incubation—85 percent are still in business.” Figures like that are what launched the Wyoming Technology Business Center (WTBC), a 30,000-square-foot facility in Laramie, Wyo., in 2006.
“Our mission is to support the growth and development of early stage entrepreneurial and technology companies—not only in Laramie but throughout the state,” says CEO Jon Benson. “The idea of a business incubator is that you combine space with access to shared services and business and management advice.”
The WTBC helps businesses throughout the state with outreach counseling and entrepreneur to entrepreneur (e2e) workshops. The WTBC is also expanding to run incubators in other cities such as the Casper Area Innovation Center and one planned in Gillette, Wyo.
Thus far, the Laramie incubator has worked with 17 companies, including five graduates of the program. The incubator’s first graduate, Falcon Technology Systems, is still based in Laramie and produces ultra-fast computers for stock and commodity traders. “A significant part of our business is international,” says President Scott Tafel. “We have about 13,000 computers out there that are being used to trade. … We hadn’t run a business before, so we got advice and resources from [the WTBC].”
Tiger Tree Land Management, another incubator graduate still based in Laramie, won the UW College of Business entrepreneurship competition in 2007. Much of their business involves spraying for pine beetles. “We’re probably the largest regional tree spraying company,” says co-owner Jeff Smith, and it continues to grow. “A lot of what the business incubator helped us with was a formulized sales process. Every year we’ve expanded, and they helped us put together a plan for that growth.”
Tiger Tree also took advantage of the SBDC for its original business plan and of MRC for market research.
