Resource:How to create an off-campus incubator

This article is constructed based on an interview with former UI fellow, Fletcher Richman, on his experience of starting an off-campus incubator, SparkBoulder near University of Colorado.

Contents

Introduction

Spark Boulder is a student designed and created coworking meets incubator space, designed to foster creativity, progress talent, and accelerate innovative ideas. Spark Boulder is a student entrepreneurs playground that will allow boulder and the University of Colorado to remain at the forefront of student innovation and entrepreneurship.

Spark Boulder is designed to provide a place for students to innovate new ideas, and work in an environment dedicated to forward progress. Spark was created by the very students that needed it most, ensuring Spark meets all the criteria required to give students the tools and opportunities they need to design, create, and innovate ground-breaking ideas.

Spark Boulder is more than just a coworking space, it is a hub of innovation. With top grade professional services such as Archer Bay and Tuition Specialists, combined with some of CU's most talented and aspiring students. Spark Boulder offers its own server services, complete with SDK's, Master Suite, monitors, iPad's, iPhone's, and Android devices to give developers every tool they need to develop their projects.

Throughout the duration of the Spark project, we're made sure to stay true to our mission of helping students. Students have done everything from the business plan and finances, to the branding and marketing, and the design of the space itself.

Need and Goal

Need and goal (what you did to assess the need and how this space would fill that need)

Academic Permission

Academic permission (what kind of permission and proposals were needed)

Academic permission is difficult. School administrative process usually goes very slowly and hard to get project approved. One of the problem that Richman went into was getting support from University of Colorado, although students and low level faculty are in need and love to have a student incubator space to work on their entrepreneurial projects.

However, Richman

Support

Support (what types of support were necessary — faculty, student, leadership, alumni, community, etc)

Cost

Cost (what funding was necessary to create and maintain the space, and how that funding was found/raised)

Location

Location (where the new space is located and why it was located there)

Activities

Activities (what activities occur in the space)

Materials

Materials (what materials were needed to make the space successful, and how you gathered those materials)

Management

Management (how you selected who would manage the space and how it would be managed)

Launch

Launch (how you promoted and launched the new space)

Lessons & Tips

Lessons learned and tips for others (what worked and what didn’t, and your recommendations for others)