ClevelandStartup.com

Sometimes all it takes is a small spark to ignite something big. The concept of microfunding has its share of supporters and opponents. At the end of the day, I strongly believe the people at ScaleWell, etc are on to something. And there’s no reason why we can’t replicate a similar concept in Northeast Ohio. As a matter of fact, we’re well on our way towards completing our first round of fundraising for the initial $1,000 spark.

Coming soon SprkFnd will begin its search for its first startup recipient. We’re working on the criteria but it will go something like this:

• Are you solving a problem?
• Is your idea innovative and original?
• Do you have a prototype?
• What will $1,000 mean/do for your business?

If you are interested in being a part of SprkFnd, please contact us today. We are eager to have smart, passionate, dedicated & energetic people on our team.

More to follow…

March 11, 2010, 10:32pm   Comments

One of my recent tweets accidentally sparked an interesting conversation about whether or not an exchange fund like the one described in this TechCrunch article would work in Cleveland. The general consensus? Maybe. But more importantly, we all agreed that there needs to be a bigger emphasis on increasing awareness of new and innovative ways to help develop and grow more tech startups in Cleveland.

Microfunding is one of those “new” and innovative ways. Coupled with an idea like MoonDog (full disclosure: this was my Startup Weekend Cleveland team - darn good & talented people), microfunding has the potential to provide founders with unprecedented access to the seed capital and resources necessary to get up and running. Sometimes all it takes is, in addition to some great talent, a relatively small amount of money to take an idea from wireframe to working prototype. From there, the next logical step might be to engage an organization like Goldstein Caldwell & Associates (GCA), JumpStart, Civic Innovation Lab, etc to help take the idea forward.

So how do we work together and leverage the recent momentum folks like GCA and the SWCLE team have generated to connect a live pipeline of ideas with those with the means to invest as angels in a microfunding capacity on a more regular basis? Have “pitch nights” worked? What about investment clubs? Any organizations already doing something like this? I’d like to hear your ideas.

What do you think?

February 02, 2010, 5:17pm   Comments