Date: 08/15/2005

Two downtown business incubators, supported by the San José State University Foundation and the San José Redevelopment Agency, recently celebrated 10 years of operation. Located on North First Street, the software and environmental incubators provide entrepreneurs with resources to ensure their success, including affordable space and start-up services. According to Mary Sidney, chief operating officer for the Foundation, more than 300 companies have graduated from the two clusters, and 70 percent have remained in San Jose. The firms raised more than $500 million in equity and generated more than $9 million in sales tax revenue for the city, Sidney says. For more information, see http://www.sjsbc.org/ (Software Business Cluster); http://www.environmentalcluster.org/ (Environmental Business Cluster).