The incubation path, offered to technology-based start-ups with high growth potential, is the flagship program of I3P.
Young entrepreneurial teams that have not yet founded a company, or have not yet fully defined their business project, can have access to a pre-incubation path, aimed at imparting the knowledge and skills needed to define the project, establish the company, and undertake the actual incubation.
The offer of the path
The standard incubation path at I3P lasts from a few months up to three years and can take place in-person, with the assignment of an office or a workspace in the coworking environments within the incubator's headquarters in Turin, Italy, or remotely, through virtual consulting available from anywhere.
Le startup innovative ricevono in entrambi i casi servizi di accompagnamento per lo sviluppo dell’attività imprenditoriale, tra i quali:
In both cases, the future innovative start-ups receive many accompanying services for business development, including:
- mentoring and coaching of the team by specialized consultants;
- direct connection with investors, business angels and venture capital funds;
- involvement in local and national innovation network;
- signaling of tenders and open calls for start-ups;
- opportunities for contact and collaboration with large companies through open innovation initiatives;
- training events, networking and meeting with industry players;
- communication support through the incubator's channels.
Young businesses incubated at the I3P headquarters can also take advantage of all logistical services designed to minimize internal organizational costs and needs, and maximize the operational time devoted to defining the business project. For example:
- access to the facility on any day and time, throughout the year;
- reception and secretarial office for mail, deliveries and contacts to start-ups;
- availability of equipped meeting rooms and locations for public or private events;
- document printing and copying services;
- smart locker for receiving and picking up shipments;
- access to the facilities of Politecnico di Torino, in its Campus and beyond.
I3P then provides incubated start-ups with numerous agreements with external partners to respond to various entrepreneurial needs with the expert support of qualified entities in their respective fields. These include national agencies, banking institutions, crowdfunding platforms, research laboratories, trade associations, digital technical service providers, hospitality facilities, creative agencies and various types of suppliers. The incubation path in I3P also provides access to contracted specialist consultants, on favorable terms, in tax, administrative, legal and notary matters; in intellectual property, technological development, labor safety and personnel management.
Requirements and perspectives
I3P offers its services to innovative start-ups with high technology intensity and growth potential, founded in Italy by university students and researchers, or by entrepreneurs from outside academia. Application sectors can range from industrial to digital, including aerospace, technologies for the biomedical field (medtech) and for reducing environmental impact (cleantech).
To enter a pre-incubation or incubation path, one must apply in the dedicated section of the I3P website, following the steps of the application process, in either Italian or English. All applications are evaluated by the incubator team, paying particular attention to the current composition of the team, the technology expected to be employed and the market prospects of the project.
I3P is a certified public incubator, established in the form of a non-profit consortium company, and its incubation path, while not free, is accessible at greatly reduced rates compared to private incubators. The cost of the incubation pathway is calculated according to the services required, in the logic of maximum customization of the program to the needs of the individual project and its stage of development, facilitating access to the services and opportunities of the innovation ecosystem even for young entrepreneurial teams with less starting capital. In some cases, through the various forms of support for new entrepreneurship funded by public entities or private sponsors, it is possible to follow a path of incubation and/or pre-incubation in I3P at symbolic or zero cost.
At the end of the pathway, the start-up is considered “graduated” and included in the I3P Alumni roster. After having reached this point, the relationship does not end, but rather evolves: the now mature company can stay in touch with the I3P team and continue to take advantage of opportunities for involvement in initiatives, participation in events, and application to calls and tenders in line with its own projects, as well as begin to put its own experience at the service of the new levers of innovation, sometimes taking on roles as mentors or sector experts, to make a concrete contribution to the growth of the ecosystem of entrepreneurship supported by I3P.
