1ST OF INCUBATED COMPANIES WILL FLY : T.O. ENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS CLUSTER NURTURED ENTREPRENEUR FOR A YEAR.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

The first of the businesses that have incubated in the Thousand Oaks Environmental Business Cluster is about to spread its wings.

After a year of development and growth, Adapt Consulting Inc., a firm specializing in management of nonhazardous waste, moved out of the city's nonprofit business incubator to a Victorian house in Ventura occupied by a law firm.

``I'm getting hatched,'' said Yvette Berke, president and chief executive officer. ``I definitely recommend the incubator experience for companies that need to sort of have a very supportive environment where they can bounce ideas off other tenants or community members.''

Modeled on a similar public-private venture in Northern California's Silicon Valley, the Thousand Oaks Environmental Business Cluster gives entrepreneurs a low-cost place from which to launch.

In Thousand Oaks, the emphasis is on firms specializing in environmentally oriented products and services.

About 10 businesses are incubating at the center, said Karen Livesay, developer, co-founder and board member of the business cluster.

On average, businesses remain at the center about 18 months before they're ready to move on, she said.

``But businesses can go quicker if they get clients and make good alliances,'' Livesay said. ``That seems to be what happened in this case.''

Adapt Consulting isn't entirely new, Berke said. The company, which helps businesses and government agencies set up recycling programs, has worked with a variety of companies, including Ikea and Sierra Distributing, Berke said.

She started the business in late 1993 after leaving Walt Disney Co., where she had been senior buyer in the purchasing department and handled environmental issues.

She has been working out of an office at her Van Nuys home but decided that a move to Ventura County made sense. She opened in the business cluster in August 1995.

``The specific reason was to provide a better exposure base for my company,'' Berke said. ``They offer in Ventura County a lot of incentives for environmental businesses to relocate here.''

She said there are several advantages to developing her Ventura County operation in the Thousand Oaks Environmental Business Cluster. First, the company has saved a considerable amount of money by having free access to the video conferencing center and use of high-speed data transmission lines, copiers and faxes.

``The opportunity for shared resources was tremendous,'' she said. ``It was a lower cost than if you buy the equipment yourself.''

Also, she made valuable contacts with other environmental firms, and, in November, was selected to chair the Ventura County Environmental Technology Cluster.

Her business stands a much better chance at survival than it might have had she tried to go it alone in Ventura County, Berke said.

She said 80 percent of companies that developed in similar incubators were still in business five years later. ``It proves that with community support and the government support, you grow a stronger business,'' she said.

Adapt Consulting will be sharing space with the Chestnut Street Law Firm. The firm, which is committed to environmentally sound policies, will provide Adapt with leads on companies that may need Berke's services, she said.

``Hopefully, we'll get so big we'll have to move to bigger quarters,'' Berke said.

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Photo: (color) Yvette Berke, president and CEO of Adapt Con sulting Inc., holds a recycling symbol.

Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News