First Scott Case came to the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center to about Startup America. A few days later Rick DeVos came to meet with local tech entrepreneurs at the Gatsby to talk about Start Garden.
Two very different crowds -- one largely a group of scientists, and some of those who have girded Kalamazoo's economic position for many years, trying to figure out how to navigate the new world of startups so they can fund their research.
The other skewed younger, there to learn about how Start Garden makes its decisions, to meet its team and connect with other tech entrepreneurs from Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids.
What they had in common was the desire to learn more about what's happening at a time when people left behind by the old economy are turning to entrepreneurism. More research is starting to show that startups are the drivers of job growth. A Kaufman
study says in their first year, new firms add an average of 3 million jobs to the economy. And during recessionary years, job creation at startups remains stable, while net job losses at existing firms are highly sensitive to the business cycle.
Start Garden meets
Startup Zoo was the less intense of the two events, but equally important in that it closed the gap that is U.S. 131 between entrepreneurial communities in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. About 125 people were there to exchange ideas.
Mayor Bobby Hopewell welcomed the
Start Garden team, saying the kind of work they're doing to encourage young businesses will "help Michigan come back and help folks recognize the financial opportunity these companies represent. Some people don't get that. This is not the traditional economic opportunity. This is the next grand opportunity. It really is."
In turn, Rick DeVos described how Start Garden works. Each week Start Garden invests in two ideas, each of them receiving $5,000. Start Garden judges pick one idea from a number presented in a public forum and the public picks the second.
All the companies that get money come back to Start Garden to talk about how the buisiness is going and what they have learned by pursuing their startup. Companies that move from idea phase to viable businesses may be found to be eligible for $20,000 in a second round of funding. A $50,000 round also is available for those who may be ready for funding at that level.
Funding for companies that are at the idea stage allows owners to to experiment and validate some part of their business model, DeVos said. Business plans are discouraged in favor of going to work to see what succeeds.
As important, what Start Garden provides is funding in an area that the investment community has no appetite for -- the earliest stage of a company's development. In return, the fund reserves the right to be able to invest in the business if it prospers.
"We fully expect most of these businesses will crash and burn," DeVos said. But others will benefit from the critique and feedback they get through Start Garden and those that succeed will become a resource for others.
As part of the event, Daniel Jefferies offered an update on Baby Book, which replaces the traditional baby's scrapbook, and was the winner of the spring Startup Kalamazoo weekend. He has taken the app to those in his network on the East and West Coast and received positive feedback. The group behind the app currently is seeking moms to try it out as it moves into Beta.
Joe Armstrong described TrakGear, a new way for athletic departments to keep track of the equipment they distribute. Andy Bentz of CrowdLanding explained the site they are creating that will aggregate crowd funding sites. And Bisera Urdarevik, owner of Lush Gourmet Foods described the growth of her business that uses family recipes for seasoned nuts.
Mingling ensued as the lightning descriptions of the companies concluded.
At the
Innovation Center on the Western Michigan University Campus, Case warmed up the crowd by telling them he dressed up for them: He put a shirt on top of his T-shirt. Case, a technologist and entrepreneur, made a name for himself as founding Chief Technical Officer of Priceline. Now he's heading up the private sector initiative launched in 2011 to encourage and support startups nationwide.
He talked about the importance of creating an eco-system that helps young companies and the various types of connections these businesses can make through
Startup America.
The organization also brings together startup organizations in states across the country, such as
Startup Michigan, which began earlier this year. Zakaria Shaikh, formerly of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. now leads Startup Michigan. He also addressed the group of about 25 to talk about the network of startups being formed.
One of the most interesting of Case's remarks came in response to a question on how Michigan compares to other states when it comes to creating a healthy environment for startup companies.
Case said that every state has it's own circumstances. "I don't see any challenges that are unique," Case said. "Right now, what I see in Michigan is there seems to be a lot of waiting for change. Don't wait."
With regard to the prospects locally, Case said: "I don't know when I've seen this much raw material and a place with a history that its as good if not better than most. You have a huge pool of talent."
To the concern raised that the huge amounts of funding needed by life sciences businesses are not the kinds of investments funders want to make, Case urged those in the room to develop a strategy and create an opportunity. "The solution is always driven by entrepreneurs. You can't wait for anybody else. Change happens when you get a critical mass of people who want change."
It retrospect, it's difficult to capture the excitement of either of these events. But it's there nevertheless. There is something about being there as as new ideas being born, new ways of doing business are formed and a new economy gets ready to put down roots.
Kathy Jennings is Managing Editor of Southwest Michigan's Second Wave. She is a freelance editor and writer.