startups

How Business Incubator is changing under Brenau leadership


Under Brenau, the incubator especially will be key in providing students with real-life experiences, Shippey said.

As a teaching tool, it will allow “students to come in and learn what it’s like to start a business, to maintain a business, to build an employee base and get to the point where you have a return on investment.”

The whole intent, Shippey said, is “to allow our students to benefit from (Turner’s) expertise — along with these businesses — and then get these businesses to stay here in the community and contribute both to the skilled workforce and the tax base.”

“We see the incubator primarily as a facilitator for economic growth in Gainesville and Hall County,” Shippey said.

The incubator is part of Featherbone Communiversity, a sprawling complex off Chestnut Street and near Athens Highway/U.S. 129 that also houses University of Georgia and Georgia Tech offices and Interactive Neighborhood for Kids, a hands-on activity center for families.

The operation has had one bump in operating out of the aging Communiversity — parts of the former Warren Featherbone Co. baby clothes factory are 100 years old — since July 1.

A sprinkler incident flooded part of the building earlier this month, indefinitely closing INK.

A genetics company, Pro-GeneX, is building a lab at the incubator.

“The flooding … has set (that) back a little bit,” Shippey said.

The incubator houses 11 businesses but could house up to 30, Shippey said.

Lanier Tech President Ray Perren has said the transition to Brenau “will grant the center the opportunity to continue to expand its reach beyond the foundation we’ve laid during its time at Lanier Tech.”

“We are eager to see the center solicit new clients who are ready to make a lasting impact on our community. It has been an incredible project.”





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