Several companies aimed at increasing the success rate of entrepreneurs and their companies have sprung up around Athens in the past few years.

Entrepreneurial startup companies Four Athens and Tree Fort are both “incubators,” or companies that work with entrepreneurs and their new companies to get their name out into the community, provide them with networking opportunities and help them succeed.

The national average rate of business creation is 0.38 percent of the population per month, said Jim Flannery, director of Four Athens. And in Athens, with the amount of bright students, faculty and opportunity the entrepreneurial possibilities are massive.

“The university town, in general, is a lot of creative folks,” said Derek Eberhart, director of the Technology Commercialization Office at the University of Georgia and mentor for Four Athens. “You have top notch students that are coming here that have a lot to offer. All of these factors come together and make it attractive to start a business.”

Incubators are not only designed to help entrepreneurs, but to help the economy of their communities as well. And in Athens, where the poverty rate is 34.9 percent and the per capita income is $19,700, co-creator of Tree Fort Daniel McBrayer said incubators can be a large asset to the region.

“From a city and state perspective, it brings jobs and it brings wealth,” McBrayer said. “Especially with students, this is talent that would be leaving the area after they graduate, but if we start things here then they’re more likely to stay here.”

Tree Fort concerns itself with tapping into this student talent. Led by one undergraduate and two graduate students, it’s looking for ten student entrepreneurial startup companies to help and collaborate with.

“At the school you get sectioned off, whether you’re in Franklin [College of Arts and Sciences] or in Terry [College of Business], you get into this vacuum of ‘everyone thinks the same,’” said Alex Edelstein, co-creator of Tree Fort. “And nothing good comes of that. When you’re sitting at a table you want people with different ideas because that’s what gets you excited.”

One of the primary services that incubators like Four Athens and Tree Fort provide to new businesses is the opportunity to network. By putting together weekly happy hours, monthly seminars and various other social events, new businesses are provided with numerous connections in the community to help spread the word about their products as well as to ask for help from.

“Companies aren’t built on ideas, they’re not built on technology,” Flannery said. “They’re built on people. People do business with other people, and if you don’t know people that can help you then it’ll take you six times as long to figure things out.”

While Tree Fort works with students, Four Athens works with tech companies and has upwards of 60 companies that it provides service to.

“We have 60 plus companies, we have four office buildings and hold 8 events,” Flannery said. “It’s the volume of activity that’s driving everything.”

Whether it be through Tree Fort or Four Athens, the goal of these companies is to better the entrepreneurship ecosystem and overall community of Athens.

“Entrepreneurship, in general, is surrounding yourself with people that are smarter than you and hopefully you get to learn a thing or two from them.” Edelstein said.