Entrepreneurial Counseling

A key ingredient for a successful incubator and its companies is on-site entrepreneurial counseling. YBI's Entrepreneurial Expert, Jim Cossler, works closely with the Portfolio Companies to evaluate technologies, establish benchmarks, develop strategies and facilitate meaningful introductions. Drawing upon extensive experience in working with entrepreneurial ventures, Jim engages the necessary resources to help companies prosper.

Networking Opportunities

One of the most important services that YBI offers is the introduction of fledgling, promising companies to our prominent network. Over the years, YBI has carefully cultivated a vast network of highly placed individuals and leading organizations from not just throughout Northeast Ohio, but through the rest of the country as well. Top business people, government leaders, university presidents, noted researchers, economic development officials and successful serial entrepreneurs can all be found in our highly prized network. Its purpose? To open doors to the potential customer, beta test sites, investment opportunity, business consultation session, management team recruitment, or technical assistance opportunity our Portfolio Companies might need.

Managed Cluster

A unique characteristic of YBI is the Managed Cluster. Because YBI is primarily focused on software application development, and the integration of information technology solutions, all of our Portfolio Companies share a common language. The result? A diverse group of entrepreneurs and companies with experiences, resources and contacts that can support their peers, problem solve and collaborate.

Software Library

YBI recognizes the need of high-tech startups to freely experiment with the latest software technologies. To help defray the costs involved in staying at the forefront of their industries, YBI has created a software library.

YBI maintains a subscription to the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN), a premier software service that provides priority access to over 1,000 continuously updated product downloads, DVDs or CDs, with the latest tools, platform, and server technologies. YBI also maintains subscriptions to the Corbis, Cyberstock and Artville collections, providing world-class digital commercial art for use in presentation, web pages and multi media displays.