YOU KNOW IT WHEN YOU FEEL IT — THAT SENSE THAT IDEAS ARE IN THE AIR.START GARDENANNUAL REPORT 2017

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

And, I don’t think I’ll ever go back.”

You know it when you feel it.

Possibility is the water everyone is swimming in.

Status quo suggestions feel like a record needle

scratching into an awkward silence.

Even the anxiety drenched hours where all glamour

turns into feelings of inadequacy are still better

than a day punching the clock.

Every once in a while, somebody says it out loud.

BIRTHING THE NEW IS A GIFT

AND AN ACT OFRESISTANCE

When it comes to making this a great place to launch new and

diverse businesses, our community is resource rich and impact

poor.

Our failure is not a lack of intention, but the lack of real access to

resources. Nor is it a failure to convene, but a failure to

construct.

Thinking follows behavior. Behavior follows actions.

An airplane sitting still doesn’t take off by some outside force.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE STATUS QUO

Through our travels, we have found that there are at

least seven entities that help fuel the rise of startup ecosystems: local government, universities,

investors, startup support organizations,

corporations, local media and startups themselves.

These groups use a variety of levers to help

connect, convene, and support startups. These efforts, in turn, inspire an environment that is

conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship.

— Steve Case Rise of the Rest 2018 Ecosystem Playbook

THE MIDWEST ISN’T WHATIT USED TO BE

1Entrepreneurship lives and dies within an interconnected

network of organizations, many of which we would not

assume are critical to launching startups.

2The environment rich for innovation and entrepreneurship

in not the byproduct of startups, but the essential thing to

serve and grow startups.

3It is a combination of “levers” that need to be pulled

across disparate entities to support a great ecosystem.

WE MUST LOOK AT OURSELVES DIFFERENTLY

ONE COMMUNITY FROM MANY COMMUNITIES TO SUPPORT A NEW GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS

LOCALGOVERNMENT

PHILANTHROPY INVESTORS INCUBATORSACCELERATORS

COMMUNITYBUILDERS

ENTERPRISES LOCAL MEDIA STARTUPS &TENT POLES

UNIVERSITIES

Although these disparate entities exist within

silos, each with their own rules and cultures,

they all play a direct role in either accelerating

or hindering entrepreneurs.

Each entity needs its own strategy that aligns

with the greater community goal.

Each must answer the question, “In what

unique way do we support entrepreneurship

and innovation?”

THE SYSTEM HOLDING UP ENTREPRENEURSHIP

NOT STARTUP VERSUS ENTERPRISE, BUT STARTUP

WITH ENTERPRISE

DEMYSTIFY ENTREPRENEURSHIP & ELEVATE THE RISK-TAKERS

CONVENE STARTUPS, RECRUIT NEW TALENT, CONNECT NEW INVESTORS

SEED & SUPPORT NEW ENTREPRENEURS. TREAT THE CITY AS A STARTUP CAMPUS

SEED WHAT OUR COMMUNITY

GROWS WELL

TARGET RESOURCES TOWARD DISPARITIES

THAT REDUCE MINORITY PARTICIPATION

BUILD PLATFORMS FOR DOING STARTUP

AS PRACTICE, NOT JUST PLANNING

INVEST INTO THE CAPACITY TO INCUBATE MORE

DIVERSE COMPANIES

No one can be everything.

Everything can’t be centralized into one place.

However, everything can move in the same direction. Over time, what looks like disconnected silos can be powered by unifying principles, which define our particular ecosystem.

MULTIPLE STRATEGIES TOWARD ONE GOAL

TALK IS CHEAP

WE MUST BUILD THINGS

IT STARTS WITH YOU

Start Garden’s own staff did not have the diversity or

experience to work across a system that impacts all

neighborhoods. By adopting a shared leadership model,

where Darel Ross II and Jorge Gonzalez (former

executive directors of LINC and West Michigan Hispanic

Chamber), joined with Mike Morin and Paul Moore, Start

Garden has a 360 degree view on local entrepreneurial

development like no other organization.

Never before has there been this much skin in the game across public, private, corporate and philanthropic

sectors to support entrepreneurship. Start Garden’s

funding sources touch every sector of our region. For

systemic change, this is essential because philanthropic

dollars target areas corporate dollars do not. Public

dollars resource efforts private dollars cannot.

THE COMMUNITY IS RESPONSIBLE TO ITS FUTURE ENTREPRENEURS

PUBLIC$725,000

CORPORATE$838,032

PHILANTHROPY$699,000

\

REVENUE

Foundations

Government

Corporations

Sponsors

Tenants

TOTAL

PROGRAMS

Seamless

5x5 Night

Ecosystem Development

40 Pearl Incubator

2018 Program TBA

TOTAL

$699,000

$725,000

$500,000

$96,000

$242,032

$2,262,032

$338,613

$162,140

$799,041

$429,110

$187,350

$1,916,254

SYSTEM LEVEL WORK REQUIRES SYSTEMWIDE FUNDING

START GARDEN

INCUBATOR (160+)

REGIONAL PRIVATE ANGELS

OUT-OF-STATE INSTITUTIONAL

VC

MICHIGAN VENTURE CAPITAL

DEVOS FAMILY

FOUNDATIONS

IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS, WE’VE LAUNCHED PROJECTS WITH THESE ORGANIZATIONS

*Citylab, When it Comes to Tech, Racial Disparities are Far Worse than Gender Disparities

WE DEVELOPED A PIPELINE OF DIVERSE TALENT TO FUEL OUR TECH STARTUPS

52 Grand Rapids area startups were surveyed. Out of their

329 jobs, 20% were filled in the last six months with

another 10% currently open. Long-term solutions for talent

continues to be top priority for our regional startups.

Nationally, women & minorities continue to remain outside

the tech industry.

At the global center for the tech & startup world, San

Francisco, black and hispanic tech executives are below

5%, although they make up 21% of the city’s population.*

30 GRPS Students Visited

10 Area Tech Companies

50 STUDENTS attended coding programs in Spanish

40 BOOTCAMP GRADS

22 WOMEN

10 PEOPLE OF COLOR

33 with college degrees

20 over 30 years old

30% placed in jobs after 30 days

87% placed after 140 days

TWO NEIGHBORHOODEVENTS WITH 500+ ATTENDEES

START GARDEN INCUBATOR (160+)

WE’RE CONSTRUCTING THE SANDBOX WHERE INNOVATION CAN PLAY

The current wave of tech innovation embeds the

intelligence into our physical spaces that we expect from our smartphones. Like the wave of new business

models that came with the internet, smart spaces are the

next wave to usher in new companies.

The cities that incubate these smart spaces and the

startups that use them are communities with high trust,

low friction relationships that accelerate collaboration.

OPEN-ACCESS MAKER SPACE STUDY

144 STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGED 6 SITES CONSIDERED 4 FINANCIAL MODELS BUILT 1 ASSESSMENT FOR VIABILITY DELIVERED

LORA NETWORK COLLABORATORS

START GARDEN ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, CITY OF GR MOBILE GR ISERVE OST STEELCASE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

INCUBATOR @ 40 PEARL ST

112 MEMBERS 52 COMPANIES 47 EVENTS

6 GATEWAYS

WE’VE MARRIED STARTUP INNOVATIONS WITH ENTERPRISE ENGINES

“The per capita GDP premium among American cities is

greater than that of their European counter parts, and the

dynamism of the U.S. economy comes from the wide swath

of middleweight cities across the nation….”

— Bruce Katz, Jeremy Nowack; The New Localism

We say, “It’s not startup versus enterprise. It’s startup and enterprise.” Manufacturing companies are not tech

companies. Tech companies are not manufacturers. They

need each other. The strategic alliance between startup and

enterprise is broadly recognized as essential for West

Michigan to compete.

26 OUTSIDE VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS INTRODUCED TO THE ECOSYSTEM

LEADERS FROM DETROIT ANN ARBOR LANSING TRAVERSE CITY KALAMAZOO GRAND RAPIDS

INNOVATION TEAMS OF AMWAY FAURECIA MEIJER PRIORITY HEALTH SPECTRUM STEELCASE

HOSTED @ 40 PEARL

25 STARTUPS FROM 7 CITIES 5 COUNTRIES

HOSTED @ SXSW 20175 PANELS 3 PARTIES 1,400 VISITORS 24,500 LIVESTREAM VIEWS

28,396 FOLLOWERS ONLINE (UP FROM 22,075 IN 2016)

LAUNCHING PLATFORMSTO STOP THINKING, AND START DOING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Forbes ranks Grand Rapids 51 out of 52 worst cities for

African Americans based on wealth creation & participation

in entrepreneurship.

“If minorities started and owned businesses at the same

rate as non-minorities do, the United States would have

more than 1 million additional employer businesses and as

much as an extra 9.5 million jobs in the economy, all else

being equal.”

— The Kauffman Foundation State of Entrepreneurship 2017

CONVENING ECOSYSTEM SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS:

25 ENTREPRENEUR SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS 12 WORKSHOPS 2 SYSTEM LEVEL MAPS 1 PLAN FOR 2018 COLLECTIVE IMPACT PROJECT

STARTUP WEEKEND 2017, IN 48 HOURS

1 RECORD BROKEN FOR REGIONAL ATTENDANCE 150 ATTENDEES 14 ATTEMPTS TO LAUNCH STARTUPS

SINCE TAKING 5X5 NIGHT ON THE ROAD

$80,000 GRANTS GIVEN TO 16 ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS 9 WOMEN 5 AFRICAN-AMERICAN 3 HISPANIC

THE CITY IS THE INCUBATOR

We use the phrase, “Powered by Start Garden”

to mean two things.

It’s the platforms and programs we operate

internally.

More importantly, it’s the work to pull together

an entire system of entities, which no single

one can replace, to collectively move toward

one goal…

To make this place the best place to start and

stay.

DeVos Family Foundations

Frey Foundation

Grand Rapids SmartZonesm

W.K. Kellogg Foundation

ADAC

Adamy Valuation Advisors Inc

Atomic Object

Axios HR

Bill & Karen Lawrence

Cascade Engineering

Chemical Bank

Craig Hall

Downtown Grand Rapids Inc.

Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce

Hines Corporation

The Iserv Company

Jandernoa Foundation

Jay Preston

Lake Michigan Credit Union

McGarry Bair

Meijer, Inc.

Open Systems Technology

PNC Bank

Spindance

Switch

Wege Foundation

Paul Moore, Creative Direction & Layout

Maria Vandermolen, Concept & Photography

Joseph Ross Parks, Photography

Tricia Jackson, Photography

Digital Concrete, Website

Illustrations:

Ngadiuba Alina

Gayatri

Iconathon

Lil Squid

Thibault Geffroy

AUX, Layout & Strategy Assistance

ArtPrize

Bank of America

BDO

Farmhaus Cider

Fenn Valley Winery

Grand Valley State University

Huntington Bank

KnitIt

Michigan Economic Development Corporation

Muskegon Angels

New Holland Brewing

Rehmann

Spectrum Health

Varnum LLP

Haworth

Work Sighted

ANNUAL REPORT CONTRIBUTORS

ECOSYSTEM SPONSORS

FOUNDATIONAL SUPPORT

5 X 5 SPONSORS

Amway

Faurecia

Meijer, Inc.

Priority Health

Spectrum Health

Steelcase Inc

SEAMLESS CONSORTIUM