Posted on July 10, 2012

By Courtney Symons

Thirty-two companies have moved into Invest Ottawa’s still-unnamed business accelerator.

The centre hosts space for 75 chairs, but could expand to 90 if necessary. CEO Bruce Lazenby said he expects the seats to be filled by the end of the summer, and that Invest Ottawa has been overwhelmed by the number of startups that have applied.

Resident companies don’t pay rent, but do pay $150 per person, per month to participate in a mandatory accelerator program that includes access to and mentorship from entrepreneurs in residence.

While no specific requirements exist for access to the incubator, Invest Ottawa looks for firms with high growth potential in knowledge-based industries such as clean tech, life sciences, gaming and digital media.

The incubator will likely be almost full by mid-summer and fully occupied by the fall, Mr. Lazenby said.

Kevin Carroll, the agency’s managing director of innovation, said he aims to turn the accelerator into a world-class facility and help innovative companies get from prototype to product to revenue.

Later this summer, Invest Ottawa will announce details about its two main accelerator programs, one for a fixed-length time period with cohorts graduating together, and another for an unspecified period of time punctuated by milestones achieved.

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