Incubator Certification Program Overview
Business incubators nurture the development of entrepreneurial companies, helping them survive and grow during the startup period, when they are most vulnerable. These programs provide their client companies with business support services and resources tailored to young firms. Common goals of incubation programs, include: creating jobs in a community, enhancing a community’s entrepreneurial climate, retaining businesses in a community, building or accelerating growth in a local industry and diversifying local economies.
Incubators vary in the way they deliver their services, in their organizational structure and in the types of clients they serve. As they are highly adaptable, incubators have differing goals. Incubator clients are often at the forefront of developing new and innovative technologies – creating products and services that improve the quality of our lives in communities around the world.
Early incubation programs focused on a variety of technology companies or a combination of light industrial, technology and service firms (mixed use). Over time, new incubators have emerged targeting industries such as retail, food processing, medical technologies, space and ceramics technologies, arts and crafts, and software development. Incubator sponsors have also targeted programs to support microenterprise creation, the needs of women and minorities, environmental endeavors and telecommunications.
A business incubator’s main goal is to produce successful firms that will leave the program financially viable and freestanding, usually in two to three years. These incubator graduates have the potential to create jobs, revitalize neighborhoods, commercialize new technologies, and strengthen local and national economies. Typically, 30% of incubator clients graduate each year.
Oklahoma Business Incubators
In 1988, the Oklahoma Legislature passed the Oklahoma Small Business Incubators Incentives Act. The Act enables the tenants of a certified incubator facility to be exempt from state tax liability on income earned as a result of occupancy for up to five years. In 2001, the legislature amended the act to extend the tenant’s tax exemption from five to 10 years. The exemption remains in effect after the tenant has graduated from an incubator. For tax years starting before January 1, 2021, in order to qualify for the tax exemption from the sixth through the 10th year, the tenant must make at least 75% of its gross sales to out-of-state buyers, to buyers located within the state if the product or service is resold to an out-of-state customer, or to the federal government.
For tax years starting after January 1, 2020, the requirement for the sixth through the 10th year is not required. The exemption will be in effect for 10 years as long as the tenant graduates from a certified incubator.
Since the inception of the Act, the State of Oklahoma has benefited from increased revenues and increases in the number of start-up and expanding small businesses. These businesses have created jobs and enhanced economic activity in the Oklahoma communities in which they are located.
Oklahoma Business Incubator Association
The Oklahoma Business Incubator Association (OkBIA) currently has 36 members statewide. They sponsor the Incubator Tenant of the Year at the Oklahoma Venture Forum Awards Ceremony. The recipient for 2024 was Lindsey Miller with My Marketing Assistant, a resident tenant at AXIS at Francis Tuttle Career Technology Center.
Oklahoma Department of Commerce and Incubators
The role of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce in the incubator process is to certify the incubators pursuant to O.S. Title 74 Section 5071-79. It is the responsibility of the incubator owner to hire managers to manage and market their incubators and provide business services to their tenants.
Incubator Standards for Success
Characteristics of Model Business Incubation Programs
Commit to business incubation’s two core principles
Obtain consensus on a mission that defines the incubator’s role in the community, then develop a strategic plan containing quantifiable objectives to achieve that mission
Structure the program for financial sustainability by developing and implementing a realistic business plan
Recruit and appropriately compensate management capable of achieving the incubator’s mission and helping companies grow
Build an effective board of directors committed to the incubator’s mission and to maximizing management’s role in developing successful companies
Prioritize management time to place the greatest emphasis on client assistance, including proactive advising and guidance that results in company success and wealth creation
Develop an incubator facility, resources, methods and tools that contribute to the effective delivery of business assistance to client firms, as well as address each company’s developmental needs
Develop stakeholder support, including a resource network, that helps the incubation program’s client companies and supports the incubator’s mission and operations
Maintain a management information system and collect statistics and other information necessary for ongoing program evaluation, thus improving effectiveness and allowing the program to evolve with clients’ needs
Two Core Principles That Characterize Effective Business Incubation:
The incubator aspires to have a positive impact on its community’s economic health by maximizing emerging companies’ successes. 2 1
The incubator itself is a dynamic model of a sustainable, efficient business operation.
The Best Incubators Provide:
Flexible space and leases
Office services and equipment
An on-site incubator manager as a resource for business advice
Exposure to a network of outside business and technical consultants, often providing accounting, marketing, engineering and legal advice
Assistance with financing
Assistance with marketing
Oklahoma Incubator Program Growth
full-time jobs, 112 parttime jobs and 43 interns are provided by incubator tenants
certified incubators are operating in Oklahoma
small businesses are currently leasing space in Oklahoma’s certified incubators
Twenty-six certified small business incubators are operating in Oklahoma, with tenants ranging from small service companies to high-tech research and development operations and manufacturing entities and retail. The incubator managers reported a total of just under 500,000 square feet of available tenant space.
During 2024, Oklahoma incubator managers were asked to complete a questionnaire to document their activities for the current reporting period. Based on the information received from the responding incubator managers:
Number of incubators
Number of small businesses located in incubators
small businesses have located in certified incubators since the program’s inception 1,000+
small businesses have graduated from the program
are currently employed by former tenants of the 26 current incubators 389
$76,336,377
Incubator managers reported the total payroll for 2024 tenants at $76,336,377, with additional payments of $7,990,355 to subcontractors.
Number of jobs created by incubator clients
Current tenants reported sales
$76,336,377 and other revenue assistance (in the form of grants, loans or other assistance) at $10,801,071.
The costs of goods and services to the small business tenants was reported at $43,805,631.
The reported eligibility for the incubator tax incentive for the tax year 2022 was $2,248,036.
Past tenants reported sales of $27,310,452, and eligibility for the incubator tax incentive for the tax year 2022 of $3,721,196.
Certified Incubator Success Stories
Oklahoma’s incubators have many success stories. The examples below are just a few for 2024.
36 Degrees North Incubator
Tulsa, Okla.
iDENTIFY
iDENTIFY saw an opportunity where others saw obstacles. Joining 36 Degrees North in 2022, they tackled a critical challenge facing small community banks: outdated systems that prevented them from competing in the fintech era. Their solution modernized these legacy systems, enabling small banks to partner with fintech providers and offer competitive digital services. What started as a mission to help local banks has grown into a $2.2 million ARR operation, transforming how community banks serve their customers across the region.
Titan Intake
Titan Intake began when a Houston transplant met a Tulsa local, sharing a vision to solve healthcare’s patient processing bottleneck. Their innovation - AI technology that reads medical records with the accuracy of a nurse has transformed patient care access. Starting at 36 Degrees North,
they secured their first venture capital investment, which helped them expand to 22 clinics. Today, they process records for over 200,000 patients, with revenue exceeding $1 million. Their success isn’t just in numbers- it’s in the 100 million patients who now have faster access to medical care. Their story exemplifies how local collaboration and innovative technology can solve critical healthcare challenges.
WriteSea
After relocating from New York to Tulsa’s 36 Degrees North incubator, WriteSea transformed career development
through their AI-powered platform. Their comprehensive suite helps job seekers refine resumes, prepare for interviews, and negotiate salaries while enabling institutions to enhance their career services. With $2 million in funding and $1 million in annual revenue within two years, they’ve partnered with Tulsa Community College and various organizations, demonstrating how AI can revolutionize workforce preparation. Their platform serves job boards, higher education, workforce development agencies, and individual job seekers boards, higher education, workforce development agencies and individual job seekers.
Great Plains Tech Center Incubator
Lawton, Okla.
Honeycutt Culinary Concepts
Family-owned business Honeycutt Culinary Concepts won the inaugural 580 Pitch Competition in 2023, receiving a $10,000 prize. Because of this, Honeycutt was able
to expand their services by opening a storefront in Medicine Park, Okla., named Little Bear. Chef owners Curtis & Lauren shared, “The name Little Bear is named after our daughter, Caia Bear. We focus on bringing a variety of street foods to you via our wood-fired oven.”
KMZ Investments
KMZ Investments, a startup real estate investment company focused on acquiring and renovating properties in Lawton to operate as short-term vacation rentals, was named winner of this year’s 580 Pitch Competition. Owner Kimberly Morris is a realtor who started her own short-term rental company with listings on Airbnb and VRBO. Morris said she will use the $10,000 prize to fully furnish her next short-term rental property.
The Verge Oklahoma City, Okla.
LumenUs
LumenUs is bringing cutting edge earth observations, modern geospacial statistics and AI algorithims together to empower businesses to innovate and excel. They are dedicated to creating smart, sciencebased technology to help fight climate change by bringing together engineering teams and scientific experts to turn ideas into action. Sean Crowell, President and Principal Scientist of LumenUs, was impressed by the incredible benefits of using the incubator incentive. Not only
was he able to pump that money back into the growth of the business, he explained how it was specifically helping to maintain high-quality talent on his team. The Verge shared, “As we are still so new, this was our first tenant to utilize the incentive and it was excellent to see it put to use exactly as intended - to help the businesses continue to grow.”
The Strate Center at Autry Tech Enid, Okla.
Jaren’s Jerky
Jaren’s Jerky has achieved a notable milestone by becoming a USDA certified beef jerky processing plant in the Strate Center incubator. They believe it is the first USDA processing plant in a business incubator in the U.S. The business, founded in 2021, has two employees and hopes to expand in the future. Jaren’s Jerky is currently available in two grocery stores in Enid, with the goal of expanding into more grocery stores.
Project 3810 Incubator Oklahoma City, Okla.
Project 3810 celebrated three tenants accepted into the 2024 Fall Stitch Crew Latino Accelerator cohort: On-Point Fire Protection, Compliance Consulting Concepts and Cholebella Handcrafted. The competitive program accepted only nine businesses. This program, run in partnership with the Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City, provides a learning platform for the next generation of Latino-owned businesses in Oklahoma City to develop a path to grow their business to $1 million in revenue.
On-Point Fire Protection said, “The whole experience helped me realize how important it is to be active in your community and to share experiences with other entrepreneurs. I appreciate all the help and support I’ve received from my peers and great business owners. I’m
New Incubators Propel Innovation in Creativity, Sustainability and Technology
Sailor & The Dock, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Sailor & The Dock, a vibrant hub of creativity and commerce near Oklahoma City’s Film Row, achieved certification as an incubator program in March 2024. This milestone marks it as the first certified creative and retail business
incubator in Oklahoma, setting a precedent for innovation in the state.
Renowned for its dynamic community engagement, Sailor & The Dock hosts an ever-evolving lineup of events, including dance nights, art exhibitions, and more. Its dedication to fostering local connections has made it a cornerstone of the community.
In 2024, the Urban Land Institute recognized Sailor & The Dock as one of the Top 3 Projects in Oklahoma for Sustainability. The accolade celebrates its eco-conscious design, with over one-third of its interior crafted from repurposed materials, showcasing a commitment to sustainable development.
Rose State College Aerospace and Cybersecurity Incubator, Midwest City, Okla.
Rose State College has taken a bold step into the future of innovation with the launch of its Aerospace and Cybersecurity Incubator in June 2024. Designed as a hub for cutting-edge
technology, the incubator offers stateof-the-art facilities and resources aimed at empowering entrepreneurs and established businesses alike.
With access to expert mentorship, advanced research tools, and a collaborative environment, the incubator is poised to accelerate the creation of groundbreaking technologies and solutions tailored to high-demand industries. This initiative underscores Rose State College’s commitment to driving economic growth and fostering innovation in critical fields.
Oklahoma Certified Incubators Map
Number of incubators in the area
New and Recertified State Incubators 2024
New Certified Incubator:
Sailor & The Dock (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Certified March 11, 2024
Rose State College Aerospace and Cybersecurity Incubator (Midwest City, Okla.)
Certified June 4, 2024
Recertified Incubators:
The Forge (Tulsa, Okla.)
Completed first 10-year recertification
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