Great ideas do not always lead to highly successful businesses as many a failed start-up can testify to. The market unfortunately often swallows up a large proportion of inexperienced entrepreneurs.

The increase in incubation units being set up in the Republic at the moment seem to have at last recognised the need for guidance for infant Internet firms.

It also offers the opportunity for their consultants, through taking equity stakes, to hitch a ride on the Internet escalator.

The entry of well-known names like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Andersen Consulting has drawn more attention to the market demand for such facilities and services.

PricewaterhouseCoopers said last week it was investing $500 million (€512 million) in a new incubation programme for start-ups in Europe aimed at taking advantage of the rise of dot.coms.

Mr Pat Wall, e-business leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said the company will work with Internet start-ups through its incubator, in many cases taking an equity stake instead of fees. It will also work with ventures outside the incubator on a fee-paying basis or with a mix of both.

The start-ups will spend around a year in the incubator which according to Mr Wall is a long time and any venture would be expected to start to produce some results by that stage.

The main advantage of a company being involved in an incubator is the reassurance it gives to prospective investors that the start-ups are being guided by experienced people.

Mr Wall said the involvement of a company such as PwC makes new dot.coms far more attractive to investors.

He said the fact that PwC has taken on a company means they are willing to share the risk, giving a company credibility in the eyes of potential investors, which is often a problem for new companies trying to raise financing.

PwC has 50 Irish companies in its programme which has been operating since last summer. Mr Wall said they are not trying to replace venture capitalists but act as a magnet for them.

Although it is too early to judge what the success rate of companies in the incubator will be, he said PwC cuts down the odds, by helping them avoid the most common mistakes of young companies.

Not only do new Internet companies come to look for advice from the firms but venture capitalists also bring in PwC to go over the businesses they have invested in and smarten up their business plan.

Mr Wall said PwC was talking to up to five different companies each week and saw the incubator also as a way of building valuable clients of the future for the company.

Andersen Consulting has set up 17 post-incubator or launch centres worldwide, including one in Dublin for a total investment of $1.2 billion.

The centres are targeting adding value to Internet companies operations and accelerating their rate of progress so that companies get to market before the competition does.

Ms Vivienne Jupp, leader of the dot.com launch centre at Andersen said the company gives start-ups access to the Andersen's global marketplace as well making the assets and expertise of the company available to their clients.

Getting involved at an earlier stage than other consultants are willing to is what sets specialist dot.com incubator, HotOrigin, apart from its competitors, according to the company.

One of HotOrigin's founders Mr David Dalton, said the firm will work intensively with new companies in the first three months to concentrate on getting them launched.

HotOrigin is seeking to attract "entrepeneurial-driven startups", as well as targeting the increasing market phenomenon of corporates setting up separate Internet businesses. Fyffes recently launched such a venture called www.worldoffruit.com.

By creating the right management team and equity structure for start-ups, as well as identifying suitable technology solutions and business strategies, the start-up becomes more attractive to potential investors, says Mr Dalton.

HotOrigin which is working with four early-stage dot.coms is targeting companies that are beyond the first round financing or seed capital stage but have not yet secured major financing.

Mr Dalton said it will work with the companies for 12 to 18 months while taking equity stakes instead of fees in many cases.

Gorann, an Irish venture catalyst which was established two years ago, was one of the first businesses to focus on early-stage dot.coms.

Gorann, which has four companies under its tutelage at the moment, spends an average of 150 hours a month working with each company, and is in the process of signing up a fifth.

In return the company takes a management position on the board of the start-up, as well as a mix of fee charges or taking equity stakes in the infant businesses.

Although it is a risky business, Gorann's chief executive, Mr Phillip Matuschka, said he thought the one in five start-ups who do not make it under its guidance is far lower than the market norm.

In venture capitalists' eyes, Gorann is a safe pair of hands and start-ups involved with it then find it easier to attract investment.

The typical company will spend 12 to 15 months with Gorann, but Gorann will retain a shareholding and a position on the board for three to four years thereafter.

Although the establishment of incubation and other services for Internet start-ups is badly needed this is no great urge of philanthropy on the part of consultancies.

Incubators are aimed at harnessing the coming Internet cyclone by offering traditional business know-how in return for riding the coat tails of the new frontiersmen.