Business Growth Incubator

West Coast Startup is a joint business incubator of Vaasa University of Applied Sciences and the University of Vaasa. At the heart of our operations is supporting early-stage startup teams and companies through agile development methods. We provide support for developing and testing business ideas as well as for establishing a company. We work with both new and already operating businesses.

From Idea to Business

West Coast Startup (WCS) promotes entrepreneurial readiness as well as the success potential and growth capacity of start-up companies through design methods. Service design, product design, and business design function as complementary elements and as the cornerstones of our operations. Our core activities are based on team coaching and facilitative development.

Incubator Services

Idea Coaching and Mentoring

West Coast Startup provides support for establishing a company, as well as for developing and testing business ideas.

The incubator offers services for both new and already operating businesses.

Rapid Testing and Validation

Rapid prototyping, challenging initial assumptions, and testing and validating ideas are also a significant part of the incubator’s operating principles. Genuine understanding of customers builds confidence in implementing the idea.

Spin off services

Support for commercializing research-based activities or refining a new idea from the business sector into an independent business.

Business Design

Design helps to structure a business concept at both the strategic and operational levels. Business design—business development utilizing design methods—is ideally suited for planning and testing business ideas and models, as well as for the agile development of new service and product concepts.

Hackathons and Workshops

  • Co-creation is familiar to us.

  • Hackathons provide an excellent opportunity to engage students from our higher education community in developing new innovative solutions through co-creation methods.

  • Facilitated in-house workshops are well-suited for rapid development actions and experiments.