If you’re looking for risk-capital financing, the money is out there.
However, there is one catch. You do need to know how to get it.
That’s why the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring an ambitious series of workshops and seminars, “Entrepreneur Launch Pad,” to help Rhode Island entrepreneurs gain greater visibility and make stronger connections with New England risk-capital markets, particularly in the Boston area.
“We’ve recruited an excellent faculty out of Boston,” said Laurie White, Chamber president, referring to Jack Derby and George Simmons of Derby Management. The two are “seasoned entrepreneurs, well known for their expertise,” White said, with a “deep base of connections” to financial resources.
White said investors in the Boston area are looking to expand into other locations, particularly Rhode Island, and the level of venture capital currently available to successful entrepreneurs is “robust. It’s never been more flush,” she said.
Jack Derby agreed. Providence has three out of the four factors that help produce successful entrepreneurs, he said, namely “great universities, great hospitals and health care facilities,” and a “long background of supportive entrepreneurship” in such fields as the textile and jewelry industries.
What the Providence area lacks is a “high degree of available risk capital,” Derby said. “Boston has lots and lots of venture-capital funds, we have hundreds of these companies” and a key goal of his presentation here will be to help Rhode Islanders access that funding.
Starting with a kick-off session at 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 19, the Chamber will offer at its Providence headquarters eight sessions over six months, Included are two intensive two-and-a-half-day workshops as well as six seminars, each lasting about two hours.
A news release from the Chamber says the program is designed for “high-growth, high-wage” companies. White says the program is for those companies that rely on risk capital rather than traditional financing and have the potential for high growth. Companies can be new or existing.
“We here at the Chamber are cultivating a knowledge-based economy,” she said, so ventures addressing “green” technology or advances in the medical field, for instance, particularly if tied into a college or hospital system, would be best served by the program.
White explained that the intensive two-and-a-half-day sessions, one in the spring and one in fall, will provide entrepreneurs with specific, in-depth advice on preparation of a business plan and the creation of a successful sales strategy, among other topics.
Participants will be offered the chance to have their business plans reviewed, and they will be able to present those plans in a rehearsal setting to high-level investment professionals. “This will provide entrepreneurs with direct feedback from professionals on their pitches,” White said, “and can lead to helpful referrals.”
Other finer points of entrepreneurship to be covered during the program include: legal considerations for protecting a business’ intellectual property; how to ramp up your sales force; how to ensure your sales forecasting success; what you need to know about forming a board; and tips for hiring an “A-level” team.
White noted that the Derby Management team has “deep penetration” into sources of risk-capital financing in the New England venture capital, private equity and angel-group communities.
Derby Management has been advising entrepreneurs in New England for 17 years and specializes in business and strategic planning, sales and marketing effectiveness, financial planning and fundraising, and senior management coaching.
“All we do is work with emerging companies,” Derby told Providence Business News, particularly in the Boston, southern New Hampshire and Providence areas. Since his business began in September 1990, Derby said it has helped about 400 companies.
“We do three things,” he explained. “We help early-stage companies plan for growth, we work with them to put together sales plans. We [also] help them put together financial plans, and we introduce them to the venture-capital and private-equity firms we know.”
The Chamber is now accepting applications for the Entrepreneur Launch Pad and seating is limited. Enrollment fees apply. White said the cost for each of the two-and-a-half day workshops is $300 for members and $575 for non-members, a price that includes the six seminars as well. The other sessions are $25 for members and $35 for non-members. The program is open to all businesses in Rhode Island. •
For more information, visit the Chamber’s Web site at www.provchamber.com
