{"id":3161,"date":"2018-01-18T22:27:34","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T22:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/52.10.1.109\/?p=3161"},"modified":"2018-01-19T23:48:58","modified_gmt":"2018-01-19T23:48:58","slug":"fostering-entrepreneurship-globally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/?p=3161","title":{"rendered":"Fostering entrepreneurship globally"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

TiE Rockies\u2019 passion and mission match<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

By Jan Wondra<\/span><\/p>\n

For starters, the leaders of TiE Rockies know a thing or two about creating things … and growing companies … and funding companies. For another thing, this group is putting Colorado on the innovation map. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing five new startups coming into our program every month,\u201d said Tie Rockies President Keith Larsen. \u201cWe\u2019re creating a magnet between the East Coast and the West Coast. I believe that the biggest thing we can do for startups is to give them an environment where they want to work together and where they can succeed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Based in Centennial\u2014as a founding supporter of the Innovation Pavilion, TiEs is based there\u2014this chapter of the international entrepreneurial network brings real-world experience to the mentoring and funding resources it offers. The global headquarters of the TiE Network in Santa Clara, Calif., is a very international group with chapters in 20 countries. Its conference earlier this month saw entrepreneurial types from all over the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

The whole TiEs network is 24 years old,\u201d Executive Director Molly Berger said. \u201cOur chapter was founded in 2001. We\u2019re one of the more developed chapters and one of the largest with about 250 members here.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

As part of a comprehensive network of support, the TiE Network is unique. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very international. TiE Rockies has a club mentality more than other organizations I\u2019ve been part of,\u201d Berger said. \u201cOnce they know you\u2019re a TiE member, people feel like they can relate to you more, trust you more. There\u2019s an affinity here for working together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That TiE Rockies is not like other entrepreneurial groups become clear when you listen to its president.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy focus\u2014our focus\u2014is on what it takes to be creative and innovative,\u201d Larsen said. \u201cWe\u2019re not an incubator. We\u2019re an environment that helps startups\u2014including those begun by experienced founders\u2014reach the finish line faster.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That sentiment is echoed by GP Saxena, chair of the TiE Rockies Angels Group, which matches startups meeting the TiE Rockies preparation stages with angel funding.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Saxena, about 30 angels invest here or participate with angel groups in other chapters. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur funding range isn\u2019t limited to Colorado,\u201d Saxena said. \u201cEither we locate funding in this market or we connect qualified startups with investors in other chapters of TiE.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The TiEs approach is important to many startups. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe welcome any kind of entrepreneur in any industry in any stage, company or career,\u201d Berger said. \u201cTRIP is our accelerator program for early-stage companies getting ready to [raise] their seed money. We have open mentoring programs and early-stage programs. Because of this, our membership is diverse. We have a lot of professionals who are more executive level\u2014serial entrepreneurs who at this stage are ready to give back to the community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mentoring is the other rail of the TiEs approach.\u00a0<\/span>Paul Suchoski PhD.<\/span>, who says he is always looking for more mentors, chairs the TiE mentoring program. He says that Colorado\u2019s environment is highly conducive to innovation. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to define, but it\u2019s very special. It\u2019s different than the northeast … or from Florida. It\u2019s different from Silicon Valley or Seattle,\u201d he said. \u201cHere, when you have a problem or you\u2019re trying to figure something out related to a distribution channel, a product-delivery problem, a funding need, people get involved here. They come together and actually try to help you solve the problem. There\u2019s this truly unique sense of\u00a0 <\/span>\u2018we\u2019re all in this together\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This collaboration is not just talk. These folks walk the talk. <\/span><\/p>\n

At a May 20 startup pitch session at the Innovation Pavilion, the audience of entrepreneurs asked questions and freely gave advice to the presenters. There was a general mood, supported through frequent reminders that in order to innovate you have to be willing to disrupt the way things are done. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDisruption is a big word and its one that large corporations tend to avoid. … Shareholders don\u2019t like it. They like returns,\u201d Saxena said. \u201cBut in order to innovate, you have to be willing to stop doing things the way they\u2019re been done and start doing them in new ways.\u00a0<\/span>Paul Suchoski\u00a0<\/span>and I make a complete circle. He trains the companies. Once they\u2019re trained, I get them funding.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While the tech field is its most popular industry, the TiEs network attracts key industry clusters in Denver south, including manufacturing, energy and a growing community around digital health. The Boulder area tends toward health food.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey all come out of industry with a great idea, but have no idea how to fund it,\u201d Berger said. \u201cSome have an idea and have no idea what to do next, or they have the idea and need access to funding. We help them understand their market, preparing a go-to-market plan, mentor them toward success. In gender, the entrepreneurial space still leans toward men, but we\u2019d like to change that, and it\u2019s a focus this year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Innovation is an addiction, but it\u2019s something else as well. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask me why I do it, my answer is this is to see the future,\u201d Saxena said. \u201cWhat all these companies are doing does not exist today. They are trying to build something for the future. Innovation is about the future. We get to see the future by being part of the creation of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TiE Rockies\u2019 passion and mission match By Jan Wondra For starters, the leaders of TiE Rockies know a thing or two about creating things … and growing companies … and funding companies. For another thing, this group is putting Colorado on the innovation map. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing five new startups coming into our program every month,\u201d …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-innovation","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloradostatesman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}