HOW IT WORKS Budding entrepreneurs at the University of Virginia’s business incubator, for example, are given a $13,000 stipend and coaching and feedback on their business plans. Participants can also attend lectures and workshops on topics like intellectual property and accounting.

GRADUATES SAY George Aspland, Scott Roberts and Adam Rodnitzky graduated in 2008 from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. Unlike many of their classmates who turned their M.B.A.’s into jobs on Wall Street or with big companies, they decided to start a business together and enrolled in the ARCH incubator. Within a year, their company, ReTel Technologies, had a plan to use crowd- sourcing to analyze surveillance videos. “Our time in the incubator helped us reorient and come up with a plan we could execute,” Mr. Rodnitzky said.

QUESTIONS TO ASK Does the program offer a stipend? What restrictions come with the money? Who are the professors and the staff members who will be advising you and what kinds of experiences do they have?

The Niche

PROGRAM Most niche incubators offer facilities and advice at a reduced cost to companies with a specialized focus — for example, food or social entrepreneurship.

COST Typically fee-based although some programs take equity stakes.

EXIT RULES Most operate like the classic model.

EXAMPLES Blue Ridge Food Ventures (Asheville, N.C.); Sparkseed (San Francisco).

BEST FOR First-timers who require specialized instruction or access to specialized equipment.

HOW IT WORKS Many aspiring food entrepreneurs think they can make a few dollars selling cookies made with their grandmother’s secret recipe, said Mary Lou Surgi, executive director of Blue Ridge Food Ventures, but most do not have the equipment or the wherewithal to build a business. At Blue Ridge, they can also take classes offered by Ms. Surgi: “Most people that come here have never even thought of things like food safety or how to market and distribute their product.”