Appendix H
First Flight Venture Center: A Business Incubator in Research Triangle Park
The First Flight Venture Center (FFVC) is a business incubator serving the initial location needs of research-based entrepreneurs. The Center's mission is to increase the number of successful technology-based small companies originating in or relocating to the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina. The Center provides office and lab facilities, along with business equipment and information services, to help accelerate the investigation and validation of innovative technical and commercial concepts by early stage ventures. By expediting the demonstration of technical and commercial feasibility, FFVC members are positioned to compete for the management and capital resources required for growth.
The FFVC is a 28,500 square foot facility available for short-term leasing. The Center's offices and wet labs range for 115 to 345 square feet. Flex-Spaces up to 1,000 square feet, suitable for proto-type development and manufacturing are also available. The facility can accommodate approximately 20 early-stage companies engaged in a diversity of research and product development efforts.
Membership in the Center is open to both tenant and non-tenant research-based entrepreneurial companies. Members have access to the Center's shared common area, conference rooms, classrooms, AV equipment and business services (receptionist, phone answering, postage metering, fax, copier, etc.) on a usage fee basis. Members are also entitled to attend seminars, workshops and informal gatherings held at the Center, and they are eligible to participate in any Center-sponsored programs.
The Center is managed by the North Carolina Technical Development Authority, Inc. (NCTDA), a non-profit corporation established in 1983. Since its inception, NCTDA, has assisted the growth of technology-based entrepreneurial companies through early-stage equity investment in more than 60 new ventures and through the establishment of 23 business incubators across North Carolina.
Source: North Carolina Technological Development Authority, Inc.