Incubation at CU-TBI

CU-TBI's one published intake. It is a residency: you get office space in Block 3A, computers, connectivity and shared facilities, plus mentoring, investor introductions and routes into government loan and grant schemes. Selection runs through a questionnaire and then a full business plan reviewed by experts from outside the incubator. The form stays open and no cohort dates are published.

What you get

• Company-specific office space, up to eight computers depending on team size, internet and two phone lines, with rentals and bills on you.
• Shared file server, printing, scanning, copying, teleconferencing, a conference room with projection, a library and a pantry.
• Mentoring from entrepreneurs, corporate mentors and faculty, on product development and on turning a product into a company.
• Investor meets, networking and showcase events, and access to visiting alumni, investors and industry professionals.
• Mudra loan and grant connects, and support for product and prototype development.
• Access to the university's campus labs through its University Centre for Research and Development, with the department's permission, on payment.
• Possible seed money, structured as a milestone-linked loan to registered companies and subject to funds being available. Admission does not entitle you to it.

Who can apply

• University faculty and staff members.
• Current students and alumni.
• The university's research and development partners holding an MoU for collaborative research and consultancy.
• The university's partner institutes holding a collaborative research MoU.
• Any independent incubatee, which is the route for a founder with no university connection.
• Companies that are registered but unlisted. If you are not incorporated yet you can apply on behalf of the founders, and register within three months of acceptance.

How selection works: you submit a pre-application questionnaire with details of the founders' involvement in other firms, and the CU-TBI team screens it internally. If it clears, you send a full application with a business plan and details of the intellectual property behind the company, plus a letter of approval from the university if that intellectual property was developed there. External expert members then review the plan for financial and technical feasibility and may ask you to present it. The six criteria are the strength of the product concept, the intellectual property and its scope to develop, the extent of university involvement, the strength of the core team, the funding required and the realism of raising more, and time to break even. CU-TBI's decision is final and it is not obliged to explain a rejection.

How to apply: use the Registration or Apply Now link on the incubator's site, which opens a six-page incubation form asking for your company, team, stage, entity type, sector and a short description of what you do. Enquiries go to tbi@cumail.in.