Transforming a groundbreaking idea into a thriving business in areas such as, life sciences, pharmaceutical or diagnostics requires more than just vision – it demands access to the right resources, guidance, and support. Missouri Innovation Center (MIC) operates the lone life sciences business incubator in Mid-Missouri, offering purpose-built innovation spaces, mentoring services and angel investment services which are tailored to help startups overcome challenges and accelerate their journey to success.
Occupying space upwards of 33,000 ft² and conveniently located in Columbia, Missouri, MIC’s business incubator facility is more than just a physical workspace. It is a full-service incubator for innovation and growth for life sciences researchers and entrepreneurs. Designed to meet the specific needs of high-growth startups, our spaces include advanced wet labs, shared equipment, private offices, and flexible conference rooms. Beyond the infrastructure, MIC provides collaborative spaces that foster idea-sharing and partnerships among startups with complementary goals. By creating an environment that adapts to evolving needs, the support environment at MIC empowers businesses to focus on innovation without being weighed down by logistical hurdles.
In this resource, we will look at several of the key benefits that a tailored space can offer a team operating a complex young business.
What Are the Benefits of a Purpose-Built Innovative Space for Business?
1. Customized Workspace Design
Renting or owning your own space can hold back a startup through a lack of physical space specifications. When operating in isolation, a startup team is responsible for accumulating the equipment they need and creating spaces for various parts of their business to operate.
In contrast, an incubator comes with flexible working areas and a technology infrastructure that adapts to emerging startup needs. At MIC, for instance, we have spaces that include conference rooms, wet labs, and shared equipment.
This provides our client businesses with a variety of space options to utilize depending on their current projects, activities, and operating needs. We also have collaborative spaces where client businesses with complementary objectives can cross over and positively influence one another’s growth (which we expound on in the next section).
2. Networking and Mentorship Opportunities
Taking an innovative idea and commercializing or industrializing it is always challenging. An incubator can bring together like-minded individuals and qualified staff who can help with this process.
MIC’s built-in mentorship programs offer guidance and coaching services. These programs can provide invaluable experience and knowledge that save life science entrepreneurs incalculable sums by avoiding mistakes and fast-tracking growth.
In addition to connections with experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts, a thriving incubator has plenty of peer-to-peer interactions. These cross-pollination moments can help rapidly scaling businesses collaborate and learn together as they blaze new trails in their industries. It also provides intangible but essential emotional support as those building businesses work alongside other like-minded individuals in similar situations.
3. Professional Development Support
Mentorship and networking offer important intangibles. However, there are more measurable benefits to having professional development support in an incubator, as well. For example, as already touched on, a tailored startup environment is often better equipped than anything you could create on your own.
A startup might be able to use seed money to create a wet lab, but if you access a similar setup at MIC, you get access to an incubator located within the larger context of the University of Missouri. This provides startups with preferred access to numerous services and resources. Your company can focus on the work necessary to achieve critical milestones rather than spending time trying to manage and maintain facilities.
There are also pre-established pathways for startup founders to go beyond startup activities and actually advance their capabilities as entrepreneurs. This invaluable (and difficult to find) education can equip them as leaders and make them effective both in their current and future ventures.
4. Cost-Effective Solutions for Early-Stage Companies
The financial factor is one of the easiest things to calculate when considering a purpose-built incubator environment. Silicon Valley Bank points to salaries, benefits, office space, and equipment as some of the biggest expenses for a startup. Part of the cost-effective nature of the incubator solution comes through shared resources. Spreading out the cost of labs and administrative spaces can have a dramatic effect on individual startup expenses.
In addition, businesses accepted into an incubator program gain access to discounted operational services. They also can tap into cost-saving corporate partnerships and discounts. As for fundraising, an experienced incubator like Missouri Innovation Center can help its resident entrepreneurs apply for grants and properly package proposals for independent investors and angel investment groups.
5. Community and Ecosystem Benefits
In contrast to the clear financial benefits, one of the more intangible (though arguably more important) elements of an incubator is the access to community and camaraderie that it provides to startups with less experienced leadership. The ability to work within a space designed to cultivate healthy entrepreneurial interactions is an easy-to-overlook benefit.
Nevertheless, it should play a predominant role in the deliberations of a startup team considering applying for a space of this nature. This gives them unique access to purpose-built spaces with a supportive startup ecosystem. The resulting crossroads of ideas and interactions provides refuge from the isolation that so many early-stage entrepreneurs experience.
Tapping Into the Competitive Advantage of Incubators
Incubators like the Missouri Innovation Center can play a critical role in supporting entrepreneurial success. The ability to access tailored entrepreneurial spaces comes with many benefits, from enabling startups to hit their benchmarks to accelerated scaling through reduced cost and enhanced infrastructure.
These purpose-built spaces are more than a workspace. They can significantly reduce operational challenges and increase a fledgling business’ chances of success. In a competitive field like life sciences or biotech, this can be a definitive advantage.
The Missouri Innovation Center offers the advantages of an incubator that functions on a comprehensive level, as well. Our program has deep roots that stretch back forty years, featuring partnerships with the University of Missouri, MO Department of Economic Development, Missouri Technology Corporation, and an alliance of local businesses and communities. Since opening the doors of our business incubator in January of 2009, MIC has continually invested in an elite space designed to equip entrepreneurs and nurture innovation, collaboration, and startup potential.
Today, MIC continues this legacy with a particular emphasis on creating and maintaining a cluster of high-growth technology companies that operate in mid-Missouri. The incubator is specifically looking for startups with high-growth potential in or related to the fields of:
- Radiopharmacy
- Animal Health
- Biowaste
- Renewable/Alternative Energy
- Diagnostics
- Medical Devices
- Drugs
- Nanotech
MIC is looking for ambitious startups in these areas that are motivated by good people with excellent ideas and who are interested in contributing to both the growth of Mid-Missouri and the betterment of humankind.If you’re ready to turn your vision into reality, the Missouri Innovation Center is here to guide you every step of the way. Together, we can transform ideas into impactful businesses and drive the future of innovation in mid-Missouri and beyond. We encourage you to request services from the Missouri Innovation Center. Our team will be in touch to review your startup and help you gain access to the services that can help you accelerate your growth.
