Osceola County Partners to Open UCF Incubator in St. Cloud

Osceola County, Florida - Osceola County officials participated in the grand opening of the UCF Business Incubator-St. Cloud on Wednesday April 28, 2010.

Osceola County partnered with the University of Central Florida, the City of St. Cloud and OUC on the facility that

is expected to generate jobs and help start-up companies.

"We know that incubators create jobs, but they also reduce the risk of small business failures. That’s extremely important today. We have to foster local entrepreneurship and help start-up companies grow right and grow strong," said County Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr.

Gordon Hogan, director of operations for the UCF Business Incubation Program, said the new 14,000 square foot facility will launch a new era of economic development in Osceola County. Eventually, the UCF Business Incubator-St. Cloud could accommodate as many as 20 client companies.

Osceola County is funding $675,000 over a 5-year period for the incubator, which will be managed by the University of Central Florida. The UCF program has been recognized for the past few years as one of the most effective and well-operated incubation systems in the nation.

Incubators are a great place to start a new company. They significantly increase the chances of success. In fact, research has shown that 87 percent of incubator graduates are still in business five years after graduating from an incubation program.

Media Contacts

Maria G. Toumazos
Osceola County Economic Development Department, Department Administrator
407-742-4200
mgru@osceola.org

Goron Hogan
UCF Business Incation Program, Director of Operations
407-882-1577
ghogan@mail.ucf.edu

Dr. Tom ONeal
UCF Business Incubation Program, Executive Director
407-882-1120
oneal@mail.ucf.edu