JumpStart: IdeaExchange Blog

Some of the most exciting days at JumpStart are the days when the wire is sent to a new or existing company in which we are making an investment. They’re days where the energy is a little bit higher, there’s more constant checking of email to read the news coverage, and people hover closer to the JumpStart Ventures’ office area to hear the celebratory bell we ring for good news.

We had a day like that last week with our investment in Catacel. If you didn’t see the media coverage of it (thank you, media partners!) or hear about it on Twitter, you can learn more about the investment on our website. This investment in Catacel was particularly exciting because it was JumpStart Ventures’ 52nd investment in its 40th company, our first investment in a Portage County company, and another investment in a clean energy company.

This one investment delivered on many factors we at JumpStart (and in this region) find substantially helpful in the development of an early-stage company. Catacel is led by a world-class entrepreneur with an idea and technology that promise to be venture-fundable, operating in a clean energy cluster that is second to none nationally, and receiving the seed capital and technical assistance necessary to accelerate its growth.

We are very excited to continue to work with this promising company.

The investment closed on what seemed to most, a ‘regular day’. It was a day without much pomp and circumstance, not a holiday, not a special anniversary of a founder, not even a Friday! But, this is the world of early-stage entrepreneurship…every day, companies attain milestones and grow. Every day, someone is closing a new investment, gaining  a new customer, completing a clinical trial, hiring a critical new addition to the team, or finishing their product’s development. Many times, these seemingly small things happen without many people noticing, but they are really the things that matter to growing, early-stage companies. Here at JumpStart, we make it a point to celebrate each and every one of these milestones of growth.

Congratulations, Catacel, and welcome. We can’t wait to celebrate many more ‘regular days’ on your high growth path.

Cathy Belk is the Chief Marketing Officer of JumpStart. She specializes in branding, marketing communications, and business management. She brings 16+ years of experience in a variety of marketing and business roles, but gets her energy from working daily with entrepreneurs and their growing companies.

I’d never heard of Marc Canter until yesterday, when I read that he’s moving to Northeast Ohio to help us become a hub for multi-media companies. According to his blog, he’s already connected to a bunch of influential Northeast Ohioans, including some of my colleagues here at JumpStart. His idea is big, bold and audacious — just what we need more of here in NEO - but will not be accomplished overnight nor by just wishing it so. It will take a city of people with the same vision and motivation all pulling in the same direction, so I hope he has the stick-to-itiveness to deal with the day-to-day blocking and tackling that it takes to change a culture.

While only a small part of the change trying to happen in NEO, JumpStart, since its founding in 2004, has been about trying to change a culture, primarily as it relates to the merits of a high growth business model funded by venture capital. Northeast Ohio has not generally been viewed by venture capitalists as a place to find high growth companies. Solid, slower growth manufacturing companies, yes, but high growth, high tech, get-in-early-and-sell-in-five-years companies, no. And, for most of the companies that are created here, the entrepreneurs who run them seem to be averse to venture investors who are viewed more as “vultures” rather than helpers.

Part of what JumpStart has been attempting to do over the past five years is help our clients understand that while very good things come from building a high growth company (personal wealth creation, jobs) these type of businesses can rarely get where they need to be, as fast as they need to be, without an infusion of capital from someone else. And, typically, this type of risk capital is only available from venture investors. So, while we’re often accused of “pushing” our companies toward raising venture capital, we’re really just focused on encouraging our entrepreneurs to pursue high growth business models that lead them to a logical exit (sale of company, IPO or recap). In so doing, we find ourselves trying to change a culture that, historically, has tended to view venture capitalists as the bad guys. The bottom line for us is this: if growth can occur without the use of someone else’s money, that’s great…it’s just that it’s more the exception than the rule.

But, don’t just take it from me. There are others out there reciting the same sonnet. There are a number of good articles out there on when to take VC money including: 5 Milestones to Reach Before Raising Venture Capital, and Should I Take Venture Capital Money?

Lynn-Ann Gries is the Chief Investment Officer of JumpStart Ventures. She previously worked in the investment banking departments at both McDonald Investments and Smith Barney (now part of Citigroup), and in the sales and trading area at Morgan Stanley. She received her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and her BA in Economics from Smith College. She currently serves on the board of the Fund for the Future of Shaker Heights, the Great Lakes Science Center and Summer on the Cuyahoga (SOTC).

For those of you interested in working at an early-stage, technology oriented/innovative business on the North Coast, here are a few job sites that are worth visiting:

1) www.ventureloop.com – This is a site that lists jobs at venture capital backed companies around the country. JumpStart uses Venture Loop, so if you go to our web site, our portfolio company job postings you see are hosted by Venture Loop.

2) www.startuphire.com – This site is now supported by the National Venture Capital Association, and there are a number of postings at Northeast Ohio venture backed companies.

3) www.theladders.com – This site lists high paying jobs in a variety of sectors, including technology, by geography. The company is venture backed itself.

4) www.ohiomeansjobs.com – There are several Northeast Ohio startup company postings on this site. Neotechjobs merged its information into this site, and I think it’s pretty good.

5) www.careerboard.com – This has some good engineering and IT jobs at early-stage companies.

6) The Weatherhead 100 fastest growing companies is a great place to look. There aren’t any job postings, but find a company you like and check out their site for any openings. Similarly, The Venture Capital Report for the Cleveland Plus Region lists angel and venture-funded companies in Northeast Ohio. Find some companies that look interesting, and check their web sites for job openings.

As far as networking to get more involved with people who are at innovative, high growth companies throughout the Emerald Necklace territory, here are my picks:

1) Become a member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE). This is a nationally respected organization that promotes entrepreneurship in general and whose roots are in celebrating Indian entrepreneurship.

2) Attend FoundersCafe events. Serial entrepreneur, Dan Moore, started this, and his general mantra is that it’s for people who hate their jobs and have always wanted to start a company.

3) Become a member of the Ohio Venture Association (OVA). It’s not cheap, but it’s a good place to learn more about early-stage, venture backed companies.

4) Attend a Gorilla Group meeting. The Gorilla Group crew are funny and fun, and you can drink at their “meetings”.

Stay tuned for the next post, which will be a totally uncomprehensive — and yet useful (of course) — post about crafting a resume that “speaks” to early-stage companies. Until then, enjoy some good clean fun with these April Fool’s Day office pranks as told by Entrepreneur Magazine. (Thought of the day: maybe the Rick Wagoner forced resignation is just a early April Fool’s office prank Obama is playing on GM — what a prankster…Obama to Wagoner: “Just kidding, buddy, you actually get a trillion dollar bailout, and a free Chevette, you big Teddy Bear, you!!!! They hug. It’s all good.)

Becca Braun is President of JumpStart Ventures. She founded and led a number of early-stage companies and organizations, as well as worked as a private equity investor and management consultant. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BA in Linguistics from Harvard University. She is keenly interested in the intersection of wealth creation and broad-based regional economic growth.