University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program Marks 10th Anniversary Creating 1,653 Jobs

ORLANDO, Fla., --- The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program, which operates incubator facilities in the Central Florida Research Park and the UCF campus in Orange County, in Orlando, Winter Springs, Sanford and Leesburg and plans to open new incubators in Osceola County early next year, recently marked its 10th anniversary

The UCF Business Incubation Program helps young companies become successful. These successful companies in turn create new jobs and generate local economic expansion and development.

UCF Business Incubation Program’s founder and executive director Dr. Tom O’Neal, who also heads the Office of Research and Commercialization at UCF, said the decade-long business incubation effort has helped more than 130 client companies create 1,653 new jobs and generates more than $190 million annually in local economic impact.

For more information about this release contact:

Dr. Tom O’Neal, Executive Director, UCF Business Incubation Program, 407 882-1120, oneal@mail.ucf.edu;

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 or LvershelCo@aol.com

About the UCF Incubation Program:

Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 130 emerging companies (including nearly 80 current clients) create over $500 million in annual revenue and more than 1600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With six facilities across the Greater Orlando community, the Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, The City of Sanford, Lake County, the City of Leesburg, and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. For more information, please visit http://www.incubator.ucf.edu/.