Incubator Grows Small Business

Woodbridge, Va. –– The high-tech firm, Vectare, in June outgrew its office space at the Mason Enterprise Center at George Mason University.

The small company gained 10 employees and chose to move out of its incubator space fostered by the center and into their own office. The Enterprise Center calls it “graduating.”

Vectare was located at a business incubator office in Fairfax, one of several Mason Enterprise Centers in Northern Virginia. There’s also one in Woodbridge, and it, like the others, is open for small business owners looking to transition from a home office to a workplace setting.

“George Mason University focuses on education, research, and outreach – to include economic development initiatives in the surrounding communities. The Mason Enterprise Center serves as a significant interface supporting local and community-based entrepreneurship initiatives,” said GMU Associate Vice President for Economic Development Keith B. Segerson.

For a fee anywhere between $49 for a virtual membership and over $1,000 for an actual office, small business owners can utilize conference space, and get professional consulting to help them solidify their business plan, create a marketing strategy, and find all important sources of funding.

“Most clients utilizing the incubator office space are early stage companies with under 20 employees,” said Segerson.

These incubators are not new to the region. The Virginia Business Incubation Association was founded in 2000, and has fostered small businesses across the state. The Mason Enterprise Center in Woodbridge comes after the federal government in March decided they were no longer going to fund a telework center just a few blocks over from the incubator center. 

Forming partnerships with the community, Mason Enterprise Center also works with area chambers of commerce, government offices and other community organizations to further their goals of business expansion.

In addition to its location in Woodbridge, there is another Mason Enterprise Center in Prince William County outside Manassas.