Troy law firm opens North Woodward Tech Incubator

--This article originally appeared on June 11, 2009

Not all business incubators are government run. The North Woodward Tech Incubator is the latest example of one, stepping into the limelight with the likes of the Russell Industrial Center.

The new Troy-based incubator is geared much more toward high-tech, new economy start-ups so raw they can't afford the reduced rental rates of the likes of Ann Arbor SPARK and TechTown. The North Woodward Tech Incubator offers free office space to start-ups and all it asks for is the right to invest in the company later on down the development line.

The incubator is the brainchild of Andrew Basile, president of the North Woodward Tech Incubator. He also lives in Metro Detroit and runs the Silicon Valley office of Young Basile Hanlon MacFarlane & Helmholdt. The 1,200-square foot incubator is in the law firm's Troy office.

"I see so much potential in Michigan but I became frustrated with how it wasn't being realized," Basile says. "I just wanted to help."

The incubator has room for 4-5 start-ups and has already signed one firm, Leftos.com, the developer of a relationship website, run by one of the Technow09 organizers. The idea is to give them room and expertise to grow for 6-12 months before finding permanent space.

Basile would eventually like to find a permanent home for the incubator in downtown Royal Oak or Birmingham. He thinks the North Woodward Tech Incubator needs a home in a strong urban core with high-density and transit-oriented development.

"We believe that strong urban communities are essential to the formation of Silicon Valley-style companies," Basile says.

Source: Andrew Basile, president of the North Woodward Tech Incubator
Writer: Jon Zemke

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Troy law firm opens North Woodward Tech Incubator

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