FAQ

You can, but you are expected to work on your new business 40+ hours a week. It takes long hours, hard work, and commitment to turn any business into a profitable, successful enterprise. And that's what we are looking for in participants.

No. Only ideas for businesses that have not been incorporated yet can be incubated.

Yes, you must be a legal adult (18 years) to apply.

Yes, we only incubate Web-based businesses.

Yes, you have to reside in the Pittsburgh, PA super-region during the 12 week session. We expect our participants to work on their idea in our facilities 40+ hours per week.

We have two sessions a year. The upcoming application deadline is January 2, 2009. Our decision on which business we will incubate will be made by January 19, 2009.

We specialize in getting Web-based businesses up and running. While you can sell products or non-Web-related services, your primary business must be Web-based to be accepted.

No, we do not guarantee venture capital or angel funding. If your idea is good, we will use the resources at our disposal to help get your idea funded.

While you do not have to accept additional funding from investors at the end of the incubation session, securing additional funding could assist you in making your business a success.

In exchange for the resources, equipment, and advice that pairIncubator provides, we require a small percentage of your company. Most likely, you'll retain over 90% of your company. Relinquishing this small percentage of your company could be the difference between getting your idea off of the ground and just dreaming about it.

During the session, we will create the legal entity for your business (Inc., LLC, etc.); give you the use of office space, workstations, telephone and fax; high-quality managed dedicated hosting or co-location services; business advice and guidance; and put you in an environment that will move your business forward. In exchange, we expect you and the other participants in your group to work 40+ hours per week during the entire session and focus on the success of your concept.

After the 12 week incubation session, pairIncubator will review your progress up to that point and decide whether to extend the incubation period, contact venture capital or angel funding entities, or a number of other possible actions.

Yes and no. You don't have to be an expert coder; however, someone in your group must be a proficient coder if your project requires coding and you expect to succeed. It is possible to create a new Web-based service that requires very little in the way of software development -- we are aware of that too.

No. Think about it: if you started your own business, without our help, would anyone pay you? Of course not. We allow you to start your business with no up-front costs and the use of extensive technical resources -- that's the real value in what we are providing.

You must have other partners or "founders." We prefer to see applicants with between two and four founders. In a 12 week period, one person just can't make enough progress on his own.

pairIncubator will accept Web-based businesses with two to four partners.

You can only incubate one idea at a time with pairIncubator. We want all of our start-up companies to be 100% focused on making their proposed idea a success.

That's acceptable, but before you are formally accepted by pairIncubator, you must have the team of people you need together to work on your idea.

Your project may fail, and pairIncubator does not guarantee that the companies it incubates will succeed. However, pairIncubator will work hard to help you succeed. All we ask in return is that you work hard to make your idea a reality.

At the end of the 12 week session, we'll review your progress and determine if we'll continue beyond the initial term.

We expect your idea to change and become more refined as you develop it. However, any major change or shift in focus during the session will require additional approval.

Yes, you can quit the session at anytime. However, even if you do not finish the 12 week session, we still retain part ownership of your business if you decide to continue working on your idea.

No, we will not steal your idea. pairIncubator's incubation contract clearly states you and your founding partners will remain the majority owners of your new business. In return for pairIncubator's resources and efforts, pairIncubator asks for a small ownership stake in your company. It doesn't serve our interests to steal your, or anyone else's, ideas.

No. We have two sessions a year, and the submission deadlines are posted on pairIncubator.com. Please only apply if you can participate in the upcoming session.

Definitely. Rejection does not mean that you idea didn't have merit. We encourage you to refine your idea and reapply for a future session.

Contact us at info@pairincubator.com.