By Andrew Rawson
Last Thursday, 11 June, 20 members of Europeos Por España (EporE) were given a guided tour of Parc Bit by Innovation Technical Director, Antonio Viader, and Business Incubator Advisor, David Bustos.
Parc Bit is a regional government funded business incubator next to the Balearics University, north of Palma.
The idea of the incubator is to help people with their business proposals, and nurture them while they grow from fragile beginnings into a healthy and profitable company.
The process starts with a feasibility study to test the business idea.
Secondly, the entrepreneur is given access to a subsided work space until the business is healthy enough to survive. Entrepreneurs can rent work spaces and meeting rooms for a small cost while they have access to the internet, a cafe and other office facilities. Finally, subsided offices are offered as is help to get funding and investment.
Assistance with business contests, marketing skills and networking is provided.
There are also opportunities to attend relevant events, compete in business competitions and practice presentations, sharing experiences with other entrepreneurs and mentors.
Start-ups are dealt with quickly through online applications and all nationalities and ages are welcome, as long as they have a viable business proposal. While some are young entrepreneurs starting their first venture, others are older people looking to kick-start a new career.
Hundreds of entrepreneurs have contacted Parc Bit since 2002 and while some do not get past the incubation stage, over 75 per cent of those that do were still in business three years after leaving the process.
At the moment there are 38 projects and the only limitation on numbers is the available office space. Many ideas are based on software production and online marketing, particularly in the tourism and media industries.