Incubators: A Realist's Guide to the World's New Business Accelerators

A global overview from an objective authority

The first global incubators-environments that allow startup businesses to gather momentum and existing businesses to accelerate their growth-have let their fledglings fly solo. This fascinating new area of business is explored in Colin Barrow's Incubators, an in-depth analysis of the positive and negative aspects of the incubator phenomenon. Using his own hands-on experience at Cranfield Creates, an e-business incubator affiliated with Cranfield School of Management, the author provides a critical overview of the current global incubator space. Relying on real-life case studies, he provides insights on how entrepreneurs can get the best, and occasionally the worst, out of being in an incubator. He also provides authoritative guidance on what sort of options are available-like which type of incubator you should choose, or whether to incubate at all-along with coverage of less formal business incubators.

COLIN BARROW brings all his academic credibility, forthright style, keen insight, and business knowledge to bear on this new work. He is one of a rare breed of authors who successfully combines rigour with first-hand knowledge, whilst maintaining a global view. He holds senior positions in both industry and academia, and has more than once committed his expert knowledge to books, at a number of different levels. He is a thoroughly entertaining and engaging public speaker, and draws admiration and envy in equal measure for his honesty and principles. Colin maintains a full working schedule in his roles as academic, consultant, author and non-executive director. In the little spare time he has left, he is taking snowboarding lessons from his fifteen-year-old elder son, learning the butterfly stroke from his nine-year-old, and discovering the therapeutic effect of gardening courtesy of his wife.