Many local businesses have had a rough go of the last two years thanks to pandemic-related circumstances.
In Kissimmee, some of those local businesses have had the backing of a UCF-based partnership to help keep them afloat, and some even saw great success during the COVID-19 shift.
Over the last 20 years, the UCF Business Incubation Program has provided earlystage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to make it through the challenging early days of their businesses Since 2010, Kissimmee has had its very own Incubator to make success stories of Kissimmee entrepreneurs.
To help accelerate growth — and growing companies provide high-paying jobs and a tax base — the Incubator provides things like mentorship, workshops and education, sales, marketing and financial strategic planning, assistance with accessing financing and investment capital. It also provides stable, flexile office space with business services and equipment.
Two years ago, the Kissimmee incubator moved from a location in CityCenter on Monument Avenue into an Osceola Countyowned building on Emmett Street across from the Kissimmee Police Department.
The county provided that facility, and the city of Kissimmee provides operational dollars, along with a healthy relationship with the Incubator. In turn, the Incubator helped pilot the city’s “Operation Business Boost,” a series of stackable business assistance programs to help companies navigate through and recover from COVID-19’s impact.
To show the Incubator’s impact, Kissimmee Site Manager Esther Vargas said that, overall, their clients made progress during the pandemic, including two recent graduates of the program.
“The cool thing is they’ve both launched office in Kissimmee, so they’ve followed the blueprint and stayed here in town,” she said at an Open House event Friday held for member companies to show off their offerings.
The UCF Incubator in Kissimmee is tailored to top local markets: aerospace (maximizing connections with Gateway Airport), medical technology (the city’s Medical Arts District) and microelectronics and sensors (nearby NeoCity). Kissimmee is one of seven Central Florida communities UCF has partnered with.
“I feel like we’re back to something that feels like normal sooner than I anticipated. Our clients are back to go to trade shows locally and even internationally,” Vargas said. “The mission is to create growth of scalable businesses that will create high-wage jobs. That elevates the quality of life of the local community, and this is a community that can desperately use that.”
The Incubator has started working with a program called GrowthWheel, which helps new businesses focus their priorities. It’s one of the many reasons why new business owners who don’t think they need help, or don’t know where to go to ask.
“I tell them, some of our clients have had multiple business. They have the experience, they join because they want the objective advice and coaching we provide, and the extensive network of connections,” Vargas said. “That’s really valuable — and we learn from them, too. Clients also do a lot of peer-to-peer learning.”
