More programs are offering funds, advice to help new companies get off the ground
BY JONATHAN BRINCKMAN
The change signals the metro area's increasingly diversified and innovative economy, expert observers say. But, they add, the region has a long way to go before it ranks among the nation's best cities to start a business.
Governments, universities or other nonprofit organizations finance incubators to help new companies survive, although the two newest metro-area incubators are for-profits seeking a fee or an equity stake.
Some incubators only offer guidance, advising young companies on, say, creating a business plan, marketing products or raising money. Others offer cheap rent and a place for people to share ideas. Successful startups generally graduate after two or three years and go out on their own.
Portland has not made it onto the national map of the best places to start a company, said Steve Morris, executive director of the Open Technology Business Center, a Beaverton incubator formed in 2005 that has 15 companies. For one thing, the metro area's take of venture-capital investing -- a common source of startup capital -- is nominal...[Full Article [1]]