Obstacles in Finding Incubators in the Washington DC Ecosystem

Obstacles in Finding Incubators in the Washington DC Ecosystem

1. Difficult to Determine Information About Clients at DC Locations of Incubators

-It is difficult to determine information about clients at DC locations due to many incubators being located in multiple locations across the DC area, the U.S., and other countries. Moreover, many of these incubators do not provide a list of clients for each location, but, instead, list all of their clients across locations on one page.

2. Complexity of Determining the Revenue and Funding Offerings of DC Incubators Due to Prevalence of Government-Backed Incubators and Many Being A Part of Larger, National Incubator Groups

-It is difficult to determine the revenue and funding offerings of DC incubators, partially as a result of: 1. the prevalence of government-backed incubators; and 2. many being a part of larger, national incubator groups. The prevalence of government-backed incubators complicates determining the revenue and funding offerings of DC incubators since these incubators often do not directly provide funding for incubators,but, instead, connect clients to existing government funding resources (i.e. Montgomery County Innovation Network). The prevalence of incubators that are a part of larger, national incubator groups complicates determining the revenue and funding offerings of DC incubators since these incubator groups are located in multiple locations across the DC area, the U.S., and other countries. Moreover, most of these groups do not provide revenue information for each of their locations, but, instead, combine their revenue across locations into one total revenue number.

3. Small Presence of Privately-Owned DC Incubators Not A Part of A Larger, National Incubator Group, Partially due to Complexity of DC Geography

-DC has a small presence of privately-owned DC incubators that are not a part of a larger, national incubator group. Privately-owned incubators have difficulty succeeding in Washington DC due to a variety of factors, including: the complexity of arranging funding from public and private sector partners due to the metropolitan area spanning two states and the District; the difficulty of meeting target objectives for funding due to the complexity of determining metrics, such as job creation, in each state. More information.

4. Best Way to Identify Incubators in DC is Through Checking Local Economic Development Councils' Websites

-Information regarding incubators in Washington DC can be found on the Economic Development Council websites for each of the cities within the Washington DC metropolitan area: Information regarding incubators in Washington DC can be found on the Economic Development Council websites for each of the cities within the Washington DC metropolitan area: Rockville; Bethesda-Maryland; Washington DC; Arlington.