Pasco Economic Development Council has opened a new entrepreneur space in Holiday called the SMARTstart incubator.
The space will be co-located in the AmSkills Innovation Center, a manufacturing-focused development and training initiative. The incubator focuses on supporting entrepreneurs in the area through education, workspace, collaboration, funding and guidance, according to a release.
SMARTStart is a business incubator that began in 2012 through seed funding from the Florida High Tech Corridor; it formed with Pasco County in 2016. It provides an inexpensive workspace and resources for local entrepreneurs. The program also offers low-interest loans to businesses not considered bankable by standard financial institutions.
The incubator space joins the Wesley Chapel and Dade City SMARTStart incubators, and members can access all three locations. The centers have a commercial kitchen, digital media studio and private office space. The new location will have manufacturing equipment like machinery, robotics, VR simulation and 3D printers because it shares the space with the AmSkills Innovation Center.
“There’s going to be a lot of synergies between the two centers,” said Dan Mitchell, the SMARTstart program director with the Pasco EDC.
The mixing of resources was the main reason for selecting the innovation center. The three programs offer the same education and coaching, but the new program will also be defined by who shows up and the new amenities available — the “flavor and spice” of what will happen there.
“There’s going to be a lot of exciting things when you take innovators and inventors and entrepreneurs and stick them in a room with inspiring equipment and training and other talents. It’s really going to be incredible to see what might come out of it,” Mitchell said.
The center also hired a new program coordinator, Don Anderson. He will work out of the center and use his background in finance and business to support the initiative.
“I have worked with numerous nonprofits and for-profit companies throughout my career, and I look forward to working closely with the SMARTstart entrepreneur community,” Anderson said in the release. “This program has grown tremendously over the last decade, and I am thrilled to now be a part of the team.”
