Resident Clients

According to the SBA, 50% of small businesses fail in the first three to five years. Studies show that the top two reasons for failure are management inexperience and insufficient capital. Other reasons small businesses fail include:

• Inadequate planning
• Lack of market knowledge
• Failure to seek the advice of a professional
• Lack of financial planning and review
• Owners concentrating on tactical instead of strategic issues

Business incubators work with entrepreneurs to abate risk, to solve problems faster, to shorten the learning curve, and to improve their likelihood of success. And it works! According to a Department of Commerce study, 87% of all small businesses who had been through a business incubator were still in business after 5 years!

CBBI Center provides strategic guidance, access to investors, mentors, and a ready-made network of contacts, help in building the management team, specialized training, affordable space, and professional services at reduced rates.

For resident applicants your rental fee will be based on square footage requirements and ability to pay. Your ability to pay and amount will be determined at your admission interview. This will be adjusted throughout your stay as per your CBBI Center business plan. Along with your rental space you will receive (fees may be required):

• Secretarial Support includes receptionist, telephone answering, notary services, etc.
• Professional Counseling services
• Tailored Business Resource Team
• Access to student internship programs
• Access to Graduate Student assistance
• Access to PhD faculty guidance and consulting
• Shared Office Equipment including postage meter, copier, fax, LCD projector, over head projector, comb binding, paper cutters, etc.
• Classes and Seminars on site and free of charge to tenants on a variety of business topics.
• Conference and classroom available to tenants who reserve them for meetings, workshops, seminars, training or meetings with clients.
• Mail sorted daily
• Shipping, mail drop, daily UPS, FedEx and Airborne pickup.
• Janitorial services

The CBBI Center has both resident and non-resident clients. Non-residents, or affiliates, are companies who need strategic guidance and business assistance but do not need space. However, past clients have told us that there is great benefit to being a resident in the incubator, where you can share experiences and problems with fellow entrepreneurs. Sharing approaches and solutions to problems can be a great help and this sort of information gets shared around the coffee pot and break area every day. In fact, entrepreneurs have told us that being inside the incubator "lessened their fear and anxiety." They realized they were not alone. Most clients will start as affiliate’s transition to residents and then retain some sort of affiliate designation once they have officially graduated out.

Simply visit our online application to submit your application.

CBBI Center has resources available that can help you with your business plan.

CBBI Center is intended to serve as an interim facility to assist technology-based businesses in the early stages of development. The incubator must balance its desire to provide each tenant with sufficient resources to permit business success with the need to provide as many entrepreneurs as possible with an opportunity to incubate their businesses. CBBI Center will deal with each tenant’s situation in a flexible manner and retains the right to consider extenuating circumstances in each case.

We have an expectation that science and technology-based companies will require incubation periods of 3-5 years while companies in more market sensitive industries may require only 1-3 years. This is true because the former have longer product development cycles resulting from the need for clinical evaluations, field trials, regulatory approvals, etc.

During the period of residency in the CBBI Center, we will apply a process which continually monitors the tenant’s progress against its business plan and assists with certain matters of business development. This includes, but is not be limited to:

• A quarterly business reporting system of goals and performance against goals including historical and pro forma financial statements.
• Assistance with identification and creation of a business resource team within the first 3 months of residency.

Preparation for graduation will normally occur at the end of year 2. At this time, both parties will work to develop milestones, a timetable, and a list of action items that will enable the tenant to make a smooth transition from the CBBI Center.

As the time for graduation approaches, CBBI Center will assist in the relocation process by introducing the tenant to appropriate facilities and sources of support, such as commercial realtors, the Greater Corpus Christi Chamber(s) of Commerce, etc., along with city and state economic incentive programs.

At the end of the fifth year of occupancy, the CBBI Center may grant an extension for an additional year, if there are extenuating circumstances that would indicate that a company’s chances of viability would be significantly enhanced by remaining in the incubator.

The CBBI Center provides managerial and technical assistance, low office rental rates and shared access to basic office services and equipment. These services are designed to enable entrepreneurs to minimize the initial high costs associated with setting up the necessary facilities, equipment, and services for a successful business venture. With a nurturing environment already in place, entrepreneurs can devote more of their time to successfully developing their technology into a commercially viable business venture.

The CBBI Center offers an array of services and business support systems designed to increase the probability of success:

• A nurturing entrepreneurial environment for promising new economy startups
• Everything you need to get your business started
• Facilitates access to facilities and equipment otherwise unavailable or unaffordable
• Access to world class expertise and research in diverse disciplinary areas
• Expert mentoring from seasoned entrepreneurs and experienced management
• Operational and strategic consulting tailored to a company's needs and stage of development
• Access to business, university and economic development resources
• Administrative support services
• Additionally, tenants have access to conference rooms, shared office equipment including a copy machine and fax, an employee break room, and full access to the staff for any counseling and technical assistance they may need.

The program does provided to the university the following advantages:

• Gives students the opportunity to work with real companies as interns and employees.
• Provides for real life examples that can be solved in the classroom or lab setting rather than arbitrary book examples.
• Provides for co-sponsoring of research projects between commercial companies and the university.
• Is an avenue for commercialization of university research projects.

The bottom line though is that this is a community give back program, a way for the university to provided resources to the community and help pay back in some small way to a community that has supported higher education. In the end our final grade is given by the state of Texas on the jobs produced for the Coastal Bend Area.