JumpStart to host all-day event for entrepreneurs
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JumpStart to host all-day event for entrepreneurs
Nonprofit looks to reach more people with varied interests
Marcia Pledger
JumpStart Inc. is teaming with some of its closest partners to create a community event in the Gordon Square Arts District that showcases a huge range of resources available to entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio.
Startup Scaleup is a first for the nonprofit, which has the mission statement ''to strengthen the economic vitality of Northeast Ohio and U.S. by helping communities realize their entrepreneurial potential.'' Instead of holding an expo at one location, entrepreneurs are offered 29 different sessions at 14 different venues on June 17.
And while there's never been a charge in the past, a new $10 fee will go back to registrants in the form of tickets that can be redeemed at participating restaurants in the area.
Usually JumpStart combines an expo with its annual meeting, attracting mostly startups and their founders but also some young companies that have had a few years to mature. This year, organizers want to reach more entrepreneurs outside their network with a larger pool of resources, talents, mentors and funding streams, in the form of workshops, booths and pitch competitions.
JumpStart expects about 1,000 attendees, representing a range of enterprises from early-stage tech startups to established small businesses.
Ray Leach, CEO of JumpStart, said it's sometimes hard for people to grasp the full spectrum of entrepreneurial resources available just by being told. ''So this year, we thought we'd try to show them instead,'' he said.
''The goal is to assemble as many of us as possible in the same location on the same day,'' Leach said. ''Not only will the community be able to see the full scope of the ecosystem, they'll be able to access the resources they need simply by walking through the Gordon Square Arts District and stopping by one of the 29 different sessions we'll be holding at 14 different venues.''
Attendees can customize their day by attending sessions, pitch competitions, networking events and workshops based on their areas of interest, according to Jump-Start.
Multiple events will be going on at the same time at Startup Scaleup. It's a model based on South by Southwest, a 29-year-old annual conference, trade show and music festival in Austin, Texas, that's gained a reputation as one of the world's premium gatherings for creative professionals.
The first year, the music event attracted 700 registrants; the most recent event attracted more than 28,000 registrants, with more than 51,000 registrants for the film and interactive events.
''We were attracted to the South by Southwest model because it allows participants to map out their own day, in accordance to where they are in their entrepreneurial journey,'' said Amy Martin, a JumpStart spokeswoman.
''Gordon Square is the right place for this event because it allows people to come and go and see a very energized and up and coming part of town,'' she said.
And while the actual event has no end time, official JumpStart programming wraps up at 4 p.m. A TechPint event starts at 5 p.m., followed by music entertainment.
Workshops range considerably, from learning about crowdfunding and business mentors to getting branding advice from marketing professionals.
Nichelle McCall, 32, founder and CEO of Bold Guidance, is among the presenters.
''I'm going to be sharing with others all of the great resources that we have in Northeast Ohio and how it's helped me. Now it's my turn to pay it forward and connect others by paying it forward,'' said McCall, who runs a software company aimed at helping colleges increase enrollment by marketing current students' interest to prospective students. Startup Scaleup will also host two separate pitch competitions giving a total of $50,000.
The NEO Up-and-Comers Pitch Competition features existing technology startup client companies that were nominated from various entrepreneurial service providers. Three prizes are up for grabs, with first place at $20,000.
Three $5,000 prizes will be awarded in three categories to anybody who wants to pitch their idea on the main stage at the Capitol Theatre. The categories are:
■ Starting Up: An idea for a startup venture that intends to seek equity capital in the next two years.
■ Scaling Up: A plan from an existing small business (10-99 employees) that has the potential to double sales revenue and/or staff in the next five years.
■ Creating opportunity: An idea that will make a significant impact on the creation of jobs in the inner city.
Chris Dell, a startup founder who just moved to the Cleveland area in the last year, said he heard about the event through another organization, and he's mostly looking forward to the pitch competitions. He says that when you're just coming out of a business accelerator program, it's often tough to raise the money needed to take a product to the next level.
He was chosen by Bizdom accelerator to compete among 15 finalists for the Up-and-Comers pitch competition. This week, Dell launched an app, Go Baller, for iPhone and Android.
''I think it's the perfect kind of event to really help create a startup culture here in the Midwest,'' Dell said, adding that the Up-and-Comers pitch competition will ''give Go Baller a chance to market ourselves and connect with so many smart and talented people all in one place.'