Big Isle business incubator launched
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — Efforts to bring more high-tech businesses to the Big Island got a boost yesterday with the official opening of the Hawai'i Innovation Center at Hilo, a former bank branch that was converted into a small-business incubator.
Bank of Hawaii in 1999 donated its former downtown branch for the incubator project, and the University of Hawai'i-Hilo spent about $2.75 million in state and federal money renovating and improving the building.
The finished product unveiled yesterday at 117 Keawe Street boasts 8,000 square feet of office space with high-tech wiring and wireless computer access, conference rooms and other facilities.
The two-story building has offices ranging from 137 to 307 square feet.
The incubator will be managed by the High Technology Development Corp., which will also offer tenants coaching to help them succeed. HTDC is a state agency that already operates incubators on O'ahu and Maui.
"There will be things that will go on in this building that none of us can even imagine today," said interim University of Hawai'i president David McClain at the official opening. "What we're doing here today is creating the future for the Big Island."
Philip Bossert, chief executive officer and executive director of HTDC, said the building has space for up to nine start-up businesses, which will be offered workshops in subjects such as venture capital and angel investing, state and federal funding, intellectual property issues, tax incentives and Internet marketing.
Two businesses have already expressed interest, and Bossert said he expects the building to be filled with tenants by June. The facility is open to general business start-ups, not just high-tech businesses, he said.
The base rent of $1.50 per square foot is considerably less expensive than comparable office space in Hilo, and even that rent will be subsidized for the first two years for the new tenants.
Bossert said another major benefit is that the facility will offer flexible month-to-month rentals so the start-up companies don't need to spend large sums on leases.
The idea is improve the odds for small-business start-up companies, Bossert said. Nationally only one out of five start-ups survives its first five years, but about 70 percent of the companies nurtured in an incubator make it through their first five years.
An estimated 95 percent of business in Hawai'i is small business, according to project supporters.
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.
