The objective of this research was to carry out an examination of a sample of both incubated and non-incubated startups with the aim of discovering which is the impact of the incubation process. In particular, the study aimed to discover the characteristics, behaviors, and performance metrics that differentiate these two categories. Additionally, the research wanted to verify whether the observed behaviors and outcomes align with or deviate from the established state of art and prevailing trends within the startup ecosystem. The first phase of this research was the collection of contact information of a list of about 14.000 enterprises. The following step was the creation of a survey to be sent to firms to understand if they were incubated or not.