Session 2: Stages of Incubation

Stages of Incubation

There are several stages of incubation that ventures may pass through in their journey to becoming established social innovators depending on their level of maturity.  Incubators can be set up to provide support for all these stages or focus on one or two of them.  These stages are not necessarily linear, ventures may need to refer back to a previous stage at various points in the process.  The venture may also ‘graduate’ from the incubator at any stage depending on the venture’s needs and goals.

 

 

Ideation

For those at the conceptual stage, the first incubation stage is that of ideation.  Here, a venture possesses an idea, but has no working prototype.  Even where ventures have an idea, they may need additional help and support with the sustainability aspect of their vision.  At this point, ventures often have limited funds and a simple organisational structure as well as not being able to generate revenue. 

They may need assistance in identifying opportunities, generating and selecting ideas as well as in understanding the market or potential customer base.  Support focuses on generating, cultivating and refining ideas as well as bringing these ideas through to develop a full business plan (O’Reilly & Binns 2019).  It requires developing a comprehensive understanding of the problem to be addressed, importantly, this understanding should be developed with the aid of those actually dealing with the problem (Pecarz 2018). 

 

Incubation

Once the idea has been firmly developed and a solid understanding of the situation has been grasped, the next stage is incubation.  Here, the ideas and proposals are taken forward and conceptualised into a viable business venture.  The venture’s product/service aims to undergo intensive development.  If relevant, a working prototype is developed at this stage. 

At this stage, support is needed in translating the idea into a viable business, one that is both financially sustainable and contributes to sustainability.  This support often takes the form of training and knowledge exchange, research and development and support in accessing networks, finance and overall prototype development. 

 

Acceleration

The acceleration stage comes next, where support is given in applying for funding and market penetration.  This stage focuses on the market viability of the venture and building community acceptance for the venture’s product/service.  Support offered includes market testing and cultivating and accessing networks and finance. 

 

Growth

Finally, in the growth stage, the venture has an operating business model and is cash-flow positive but needs assistance in scaling up, for example, from the national to the international level or into new markets.  Once again, support through access to networks and stakeholders is particularly important for ventures at this stage. 

 

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