The Florida Business Incubation Association provides the unified framework and resources required for our state's entrepreneurs and support organizations to scale.
A look inside how Florida's entrepreneurial support organizations collaborate, share best practices, and grow the state's innovation economy.
── Trusted by leading Florida entrepreneurial support organizations ──
Florida's prosperity depends on the institutions that turn ideas into enterprise. FBIA exists to strengthen those institutions — uniting incubators, accelerators, and innovation hubs under a shared standard of practice, evidence, and impact.
From hands-on operating playbooks to shared advocacy in Tallahassee, FBIA gives incubators and accelerators the tools to compound their impact across the state.
Connect with incubators, accelerators, and innovation hubs across every region of Florida.
Workshops, certifications, and peer learning built for incubator managers and ESO leaders.
Unified voice for entrepreneurial support organizations with policymakers and partners.
Operational playbooks, benchmarks, and tooling proven across Florida's leading programs.
Direct lines to corporate, university, and government partners actively investing in startups.
A statewide funnel of vetted founders ready for capital, mentorship, and growth resources.
Reported annually across FBIA member organizations. Figures reflect cumulative impact since the association's founding in 1998.
Entrepreneurs coached, housed, or mentored through FBIA member programs since inception.
Equity, grants, and non-dilutive funding raised by ventures in the network.
Direct and indirect employment generated by portfolio companies across Florida.
Five-year survival of companies graduating from accredited member incubators.
Join a statewide community of incubator and accelerator professionals. Access exclusive research, tooling, and peer networks.
Browse vetted incubators and accelerators across Florida — matched by industry, stage, and geography.
Interested in partnering with FBIA? Connect with our team to discuss sponsorship opportunities, strategic collaborations and ways to support Florida's innovation ecosystem.
Membership gives your team a direct line to the operators, data, and partners shaping Florida's startup ecosystem.
If you're an entrepreneur, an entrepreneurial support organization can be a lifesaver — place-making organizations help business builders transform dreams into reality. But who looks out for the people running the ESO?
Established in August 1998, the Florida Business Incubation Association shares information and develops programs that support the successful growth and operation of entrepreneurial support organizations throughout Florida.
Members receive up to 3 complimentary registrations per dues-paying location to our statewide conferences, plus unparalleled access to top-flight management training workshops.
Two in-person convenings each year (typically February and September) for members to network, share programs, and surface the latest research and trends.
FBIA identifies affinity vendors and codifies best practices so every member can deliver greater value to their clients.
One centralized mechanism for Florida ESOs to speak as one — a sounding board for shared concerns, needs, and goals.
FBIA champions inclusive prosperity, shines a light on ecosystem builders statewide, and helps members measure and report their results.
Build an inclusive, diverse membership representing every program type, size, fiscal sponsor, and region.
Get "better together" — share and diffuse knowledge in a true community of practice.
Lifelong learners investing in ourselves, because best-practice programs require best-practice leaders.
Unlock value for our business builders with integrity, transparency, and best-in-class programs.
Build trust between regions and programs so Florida's ecosystem thrives end-to-end.
FBIA operates in formal partnership with federal, state, academic, and international bodies — anchoring Florida's incubation network within the broader innovation economy.
Karl leads both of UF Innovate's award-winning incubators — Sid Martin Biotech in Alachua and The Hub in Gainesville — giving emerging companies a place, a program, coaching, and the connections to succeed. Before UF Innovate, he served as president and CEO of the NIIC in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where entrepreneurs launched 499 products, applied for 196 patents, created 2,351 jobs, and attracted more than $100M in grants and capital.
klapan@ufl.edu
Assistant Director of Sid Martin Biotech, UF Innovate | Accelerate's award-winning life sciences incubator. Elliott also serves as President of the Alachua Chamber of Commerce, Treasurer of startGNV, and advisory board member for the Santa Fe College Perry Center for Emerging Technologies and the Institute of Biotechnology at Santa Fe High School.
ewelker@ufl.edu
Jennifer is the driving force behind one of the largest single-use incubator facilities in the US. Since joining The Hub in 2016, she has maintained occupancy and revenue goals, implemented innovative client-centric programs, and helped The Hub earn the 2018 InBIA Global Mixed-Use Incubator of the Year award. Certified InBIA Incubator Manager and Entrepreneurial Mindset coach.
harrellj@ufl.edu
Program Director at the University of South Florida CONNECT incubator and Director of Business Development with Synapse. Shannon has built a career creating imaginative, professional business development and marketing initiatives that deliver outsized benefits to both businesses and the consumers they serve.
spastizzo@usf.eduDownload the 2026 Fall Conference one-pager.
A curated digital library of books authored by FBIA members and ecosystem leaders.
Operating templates, benchmarks, and shared best practices from leading Florida programs.
Recordings from past convenings, director roundtables, and partner sessions.
Become a member, sponsor the network, or partner with FBIA on the programs that shape the next decade of Florida innovation.
