What’s in it for the startup?

For the startup, incubation programmes are equally rewarding. By partnering with an incubator, they stand to gain:

Networking opportunities, partnerships and access to professional resources.
Low-cost access to expensive and sophisticated equipment and low-cost space.
Exposure to industry leaders and mentorship.
A structure within which to maintain a business focus.
Critical access to funding.
Opportunities for accelerated growth.

For Airsiders CEO Yavuz Karadag, the upside of being part of Beam’s incubation programme is clear:

“The major benefits of the incubation programme are the access to know-how from a company specialized in our industry and the warm introductions we receive to potential clients as well as partners,” he said. “Having a well-known corporate as a backer is also a significant key enabler, especially in the airport and airline industries.”

Given the many benefits that they provide to startups and businesses with a growth mindset, it’s not hard to see why incubators have grown in popularity in recent years.

Steps to making an incubator a success

Successful incubation is a win-win situation both for startups and incubators. But success does require taking some key steps. If your company is thinking about establishing its own incubation programme, here’s what you might want to consider:

Establishing a clear purpose for the incubation programme: What’s the end goal and why does your company need an incubation programme?
Defining the range of the incubator: How far do you want to branch out from your core business? Are you looking at core innovation, adjacent innovation or radical innovation?
Building the incubator team: What kind of expertise will you need? Do you have the knowledge base within your company or do you need to source external expertise?
Defining the potential additional activities of the incubator: Do you need to find new ways to expand your portfolio by investing in and partnering with startups that fit within the focus of your incubator?
Focus on the right criteria to select your venture ideas: You should be considering criteria such as problems, solution fits, company strategy fits, market validation, the team and the business case.
Set up a timeline and milestones for the incubator programme: Ensure you have detailed outlines illustrating the duration, process flows, milestones and deliverables of your incubator programme.
Allocating resources wisely: Will you need additional services (such as entrepreneur or startup networks, advisory boards) or to set up any strategic partnerships?
Motivating startups with the right incentives.
Positioning the incubator strategically within an innovation ecosystem: Dr Johannes Stemmer, Director Digital Transformation at BEUMER Group, says of its incubator, Beam: “In Berlin we are right in the heart of the start-up scene, we can benefit from events, give presentations ourselves and arrange offline events to get people’s attention. It is the perfect platform for us for networking and elevating visibility.”
Planning past the incubation phase: What type of investment will you be making or needing in the next phase of your venture? Are you planning on establishing any partnerships? Will you become a spin-off company?

The success of a startup incubation programme will be measured by quantifiables such as successful investments, spin-off ventures that generate revenue, commercial partnerships and very deep understanding generated by trend and market intelligence teams.

The Satair Takeaway

The long-term success of established companies in the aviation industry will depend not only on their ability to leverage their current capabilities and improve efficiency but also on taking risks and exploring unknown areas. To meet this challenge, companies are increasingly relying on incubation programmes to fuel innovation and growth.

Incubation programmes can help aviation businesses stimulate the development of new value propositions, tap into new markets and solve problems faster, more cost-effectively and at a lower risk. By supporting incubation programmes, companies can help shape the future of global aviation.

The many cases of successful incubation programmes in the industry prove the possibilities for turning new ideas into reality. In this era of global upheaval and entrepreneurship, the time has never been better for aviation incubation programmes.

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Why incubation programmes are so beneficial to the aviation industry