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Plan hatched for Loudoun business incubator
A full-service university is not the only plan George Mason University has for Loudoun.Recently, officials at the Fairfax County-based school have been exploring locations in Loudoun to house a business incubator.
Incubators are facilities that house and train small startup companies looking to expand in size.
Mason already has several of these facilities in Northern Virginia, including locations on its campuses in Fairfax and Prince William counties.
“There is a strong desire to create one of these in Loudoun,” said Loudoun Chamber of Commerce President Tony Howard. “The idea is to support these companies so they grow and stay here in Loudoun.”
The school has already briefed the Town of Leesburg's Economic Development Commission on its proposal, and has looked at several properties in town, according to Keith Segerson, managing director of Mason's system of incubators. Several town officials were scheduled to tour the school's Fairfax incubator on April 20. The school plans to brief the county's Economic Development Commission later this spring, he said.
Segerson said the incubator needs about 5,000 square feet of office space, preferably near shops and restaurants.
It would also need “seed money” from the local jurisdiction to get up and running. The amount, he said, would depend largely on what type of lease deal the school reaches with a landlord. He also said the incubator does not have to be coupled with the university the school is proposing for Loudoun.
At Mason's Fairfax incubator, tenants pay between $400 and $1,200 a month for furnished office space, Internet and phone connections, and receptionist services, among other amenities. Tenants also get access to monthly business seminars. They are allowed to stay at the incubator for up to two years.
Segerson said plans for the Loudoun facility include room for six separate offices, as well as open office space for several more companies.
He said he envisions the facility being a “co-working environment,” and gave the example of a software company turning to a fellow incubator tenant for marketing help.
“Companies will work together to help each other grow,” he said.
To be tenants, companies must have a solid business plan, an innovative product or service, and high potential for growth.
The idea, Segerson said, is to nurture companies that can thrive outside the incubator and add jobs to the local economy.
“We want companies that can succeed,” he said.
Contact the reporter at jjacks@timespapers.com
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