Mathieu Cavell, Leon County
Tonight, Leon County Government celebrated Domi Station’s One Year Anniversary. In just one short year, Domi Station has gone from a newly renovated space with fresh paint to a thriving business incubator with over 125 members and 35 companies. Those in attendance learned how, through hard work and by leveraging community partnerships and networks, the startup businesses in Leon County’s first business incubator have brought in outside investment, created new jobs, and generated almost a million dollars in revenue.
Attendees learned from incubator members who are refining and developing cutting edge technology and ideas, and new entrepreneurs learned how to connect with peers. Incubator members work on projects like hurricane modeling, wearable technology, data visualization, and electric bicycles.
“Domi Station is a great source of pride for Leon County,” said Mary Ann Lindley, Leon County Commission Chairman. “This is an example of what happens when the County government provides the spark, and creates an opportunity for a private sector partner to step up the way Domi has in the operation of this incubator.”
At the Leon County Commission Retreat in 2011, the Leon County Board of County Commissioners identified business incubation as a key missing piece in the County’s local economic offerings. Commissioners directed County staff to further explore the possibility of establishing an incubator; staff quickly developed a vision, engaged the private sector and leveraged existing resources. Nearly four years later, Domi Station celebrated one year of operation.
Domi Station helps entrepreneurs develop their companies through mentorship and business support resources. The development of the Domi incubator is a result of Leon County’s support of entrepreneurs. Leon County’s community-driven visioning process helped develop a former warehouse into the urban business incubator which has become a catalyst for idea exchange.
Leon County Administrator Vincent S. Long added, “This first year demonstrates real progress in our economic development efforts as a community. Capturing the ideas born here and keeping the jobs and the talent in our community is what it’s all about.”
Domi frequently collaborates with area businesses, organizations, and associations including the Tallahassee-Leon County Economic Development Council, the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, and more to host economic development events.
“This is just the first of many years of success. As a business incubator, we’ve still got a lot work to do, but we’ve made great strides,” said Micah Widen, CEO, Domi Ventures, LLC. “Our entrepreneurs are working on projects ranging from hurricane software to streamlining shopping with Google Glass. This demonstrates the abundance of human capital available and ready to turn their ideas into successful business ventures. These entrepreneurs could be somewhere else doing great work, but they chose Tallahassee.”
Domi encourages economic development based on scalable, technology-oriented businesses that will retain high-quality talent and businesses in Leon County. These companies have and will continue to build Leon County’s economy by attracting non-local investments and building Domi Station’s reputation as a successful business development and acceleration resource.
For more information, contact Ken Morris, Assistant County Administrator, at (850) 606-5300 / MorrisK@LeonCountyFL.gov or Jon D. Brown, Director of Leon County Community and Media Relations, at (850) 606-5300 / CMR@LeonCountyFL.gov.
To view Domi Station’s Year in Review, head to https://infogr.am/_/K3lI9CJ6pqq0p1CFZhUB.
To apply to the incubator and co-working space, contact Micah Widen, CEO of Domi Ventures, LLC, at (850) 688-0707 / micah@domiventures.co .
