Startup incubator

I’ve been thinking more about Raleigh’s need for a startup incubator lately. I did a little research last night on the available warehouse spaces around town, wondering if any might be good candidates for housing techies. A few on South Wilmington Street look good as does the old Alcatel plant on Wake Forest Road near Costco. A really good location is the old Winn Dixie warehouse at the corner of Whitaker Mill Road and Atlantic Avenue because that warehouse is close to a future transit stop. I think an incubator needs to have good public transportation in order to be successful.

On a related note, someone pointed out to me that there already is a small business incubator in Raleigh: the Raleigh Business and Technology Center, which was news to me. The RBTC targets “less advantaged” businesses and has a fine facility close to downtown. However, the organization has been around for 11 years without making any apparent waves and I have yet to discover any businesses that owe their success to the RBTC.

I’m hoping Raleigh’s next foray into the startup business is more successful.