Rocket Hatch 2014 Annual Report

1. Building a dynamic North Alabama economy fueled by a vibrant and diverse startup community ANNUAL REPORT 2014  © Rocket Hatch, 2015

2. 2 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org

3. 3 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org GETTING STARTED  Rocket Hatch started at the beginning of 2014 as an idea of a group of entrepreneurial individuals with backgrounds in creative, social and tech startups. We saw the need for a support community for entrepreneurs that wanted to focus their efforts in the commercial space, leveraging modern technologies and business frameworks to launch new companies that could create value locally while selling globally.  Many of us had seen first hand the startup movement taking hold around the world and transforming it rapidly. We understood that starting a business in 2014 was way different than just a decade ago. First the internet, then the cloud and now mobile technologies had changed everything, and we knew we wanted to join in, but we did not want to leave our home, Huntsville.  We knew Huntsville had all the critical elements to be a thriving startup ecosystem. However, disruptive commercial startups were not common and if they existed were disconnected to the local scene.  In April of 2014 we decided to change that by supporting the first Weekend Startup competition in town. In May, we incorporated Rocket Hatch as a 501(c)(3) non-profit with the mission to unleash the untapped entrepreneurial potential of North Alabama through an open, inclusive and collaborative startup community. Only 8 months later we could not be more proud of what our emerging startup community has accomplished and the role we have played as a catalyst. This success pushes us to continue with this mission. Will you join us in this effort? MissionRocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org  To unleash the untapped entrepreneurial potential of North Alabama through an open, inclusive and collaborative startup community. THE ROCKET HATCH MISSION

4. 44 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org  A diverse population grows in the Huntsville metro, creating economic opportunity and transforming our culture. Why?

5. 5 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS DEMAND A NEW APPROACH Total Population Huntsville Metro 683,871 Graduated College 44.2% 20-35 y/o 139,464 Double Income No Kids 35-45 y/o 90,602 Double Income With Kids 45-55 y/o 109,992 Mid-Life Executive & Spouses Returning to Work Population In Prime Entrepreneurial Age 339,988 If only 10%+ of Potential Entrepreneurs Succeed the economic impact is huge Small Businesses 3,399 x $1M = $3.3B Medium Businesses 339 x $10M = $3.3B High Growth Businesses 33 x $1ooM = $3.3B 10%* = Potential Entrepreneurs 33,998 LINK: GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP MONITOR REPORT, BABSON COLLEGE*LOWE MILL ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT LARGEST PRIVATE ART CENTER IN THE US Combined Economic Potential $10B

6. 6 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org COMMUNITY: THE SUSTAINABLE ACCELERATOR  It all ends and starts with the community. To become sustainable, the community itself needs to organically transform in the accelerator. This means our eﬀorts have to focus just as much on cultural change and values as on training and mentorship.

7. 7 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org A FRESH APPROACH FOR HUNTSVILLE  The best way to achieve sustainable startup acceleration is to nurture the community that is already here. Like the internet, our community should be a diverse network with multiple nodes and engines so that a single failure cannot bring down what we have achieved.  Currently, there are glimpses of the new startup community we want to develop, but it is fragmented and disconnected. Entrepreneurs, mentors, angels and other key players exist but are hard to ﬁnd.  Our established business community has done well thanks to Research & Development for the Department of Defense and NASA leaving untapped our potential for commercial, creative and tech startups. Grassroots Entrepreneurs Think Locally, Act Locally.  In the past several decades, because of immigration and population growth, an untapped pool of talent and resources has been accumulating. This talent pool includes young professionals who grew up in the region, highly educated stay-at- home spouses, and experienced executives ready to start their own businesses. Our target community wishes to engage in new and creative forms of entrepreneurship that can make our economy more diverse and resilient, our community more interesting and inspiring, and improve our quality of life.  We believe there is an opportunity for great growth in areas that have not been traditionally our strong suit, but that have great economic potential in a post- industrial age.  We are creating a new kind of startup ecosystem that is supportive of risk- taking and embraces the pioneers, the big thinkers, the adventurous and the bold.  Market oriented entrepreneurship requires a lean approach based on customer development instead of product development. Products must address market problems and business models must leverage the digital economy.  Creativity needs diversity and trust so ideas can be safely discussed and rapidly executed. Open communications are critical to achieve the speed of implementation required to compete globally in a post-industrial world. VisionRocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org

8. 88 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org  Community Values  Hatchers come from the community we support and exemplify the culture we are striving to create. Our culture comes from our core values: + Collaboration + Trust + Open communication + Encouragement + Inclusiveness + Risk-taking + Fail forward Rocket Hatch as the startup community we nurture is a “do-acracy” where what Hatchers do supersedes what they have or who they know, what or where they studied or worked. Hatchers are always looking to grow themselves, their business, their team and their community.

9. 9 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org “Thanks to Rocket Hatch, there is some very good new energy. I was pleased to meet many of the players and I will be happy to support you on other events —thanks for all this help to our community! Peggy Sammon Serial Entrepreneur | CEO GeneCapture

10. 10 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org FROM IDEA TO STARTUP  ONLINE Social media is both a marketing tool and a virtual venue for our startup community connecting people, places, ideas and events. We dig deep and wide into the local and regional entrepreneur networks online. ONLINE, EVENTS and CO.STARTERS programs create complementary cycles that help new entrepreneurs engage, connect and learn as they progress in their journey to create new startups. The cycles are designed to create a community of mentors that give back once they become successful entrepreneurs.  EVENTS  Rocket Hatch both supports and hosts entrepreneurship events in the region. Our goal is to help develop multiple groups and venues that support a tightly connected startup community.  BOOTCAMPS+COMMUNITY  Launching new startups needs community support. Our community helps entrepreneurs through peer-to-peer interactions, support groups and organized programs such as CO..STARTERS which helps move from idea to startup in 9 weeks. Method Entrepreneur Startup ONLINE BOOTCAMPS COMMUNITY O N B O A R D I N G G R O W T H Engage Learn Launch Accelerate EVENTS Connect

11. 11 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org INCLUSIVE, LEAN & SMART  Rocket Hatch is a startup We follow the process we are asking our startups to follow  Inclusive  An acceleration network: We are engaging with all players in the community. Always looking to partner and collaborate, our partners include: entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, incubators, government, universities, and nearby communities.  Players: To spawn innovation, our communities need to interact. Scientists and artists, engineers and physicians, technicians and bankers, artisans and lawyers, educators and public servants, government and private –all are welcome.  Lean  As agile as our startups: We are a bootstrapped accelerator. We have spent our time doing customer development, understanding the problems faced by our local entrepreneurs and stakeholders (our funders and sponsors).  It’s not about the building: Social capital comes ﬁrst. We operate virtually utilizing existing infrastructure and spending our resources in activities that create lasting value: Engagement, Connection, Learning, Launching, and Accelerating. The fancy building can wait. Method  Smart  Strategic Partnerships: We have established relationships with key startup communities in our region and beyond.  We are licensing and adapting proven programs, creating new ones only when we see a market opportunity.  Our local partnerships provide us with physical locations, infrastructure, funding, and sponsorships.  Our community network provides volunteers, speakers, mentors, facilitators, services, infrastructure and funding.

12. 1212 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org 2014 YEAR IN REVIEW  Engaging  Launching  Accelerating  Highlights of our quest to build an open, inclusive and collaborative startup community in North Alabama.  Connecting  Learning

13. 13 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org WHAT WE DID ENGAGEMENT CONNECTION LEARNING LAUNCHING Social Media Public Relations 25+ Articles and Stories in the media 800 Facebook Likes 584 Twitter Followers Sip+Hatch Friday Hatches Candid Conversations 13 Events 804 Attendees CO.STARTERS Facilitators Training Cohort 1 200+ Attendees 15 Startups ShowcasedWill This Fly? Impact

14. 14 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org In less than a year, Rocket Hatch reached out to a diverse community of leaders, entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and stakeholders looking to create and open, inclusive and dynamic startup ecosystem.

15. 15 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org 1Cohort CO.STARTERS COMMUNITY METRICS 1,400+Total Community 767 Interested 521 Engaged 73 Volunteers 38 Mentors 800 584 Followers 41% Women 25-34 Median Age 13 Rocket Hatch EVENTS 804 Attendees 24+ From other communities $ 23 Sponsors 22 Partners +  Geo-Energy Huntsville +  HSV Open Tech Coﬀee +  Rocket City Launch Community Events Supported 38 December 31st,, 2014 Impact

16. 16 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org Rocket Hatch events inspired and brought together an eclectic mix of engineers, designers, artists, entrepreneurs, inventors, investors. Our goal is to generate excitement but also forward momentum for our startup community.

17. 17 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org A NEW CONVERSATION HAS EMERGED  25+ stories, interviews and blogs on local and regional media and TV

18. 18 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org “There is a lot of momentum right now for startups in Huntsville. I think Rocket Hatch is a major reason for that. The Sip ‘n Hatch events, Will This Fly? and other programs they are hosting are getting people working together. Harrison Diamond Business Relations Oﬃce, Oﬃce of the Mayor City of Huntsville

19. 19 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org HARD METRICS 60+startups Served 39 December 31st,, 2014 Impact Assessed& Promoted& Educated& Hatched& 19 9 5

20. 20 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org CO.STARTERS  Rocket Hatch licensed CO.STARTERS, a proven 9-week program from the Company Lab in Chattanooga that teaches entrepreneurs to examine assumptions and turn business ideas into action using lean business modeling methods in a simple and intuitive way with the help of a supportive community.  As part of this eﬀort we engaged and educated a select group of experienced entrepreneurs to serve as mentors and facilitators using the CO.STARTERS curriculum and approach.  Our goal in 2015 is to develop further the mentorship culture around the program providing additional opportunities to engage, connect and activate local mentors and entrepreneurs.

21. 21 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org “I learned so much more with my CO.STARTERS cohorts than I did at college; and I have a business degree. I got the support I needed as I was getting ready to open my studio and was introduced to the North Alabama Revolving Loan which provided the initial funding I needed to get started. Teri Hartmann CO.STARTERS Graduate Owner Designbyhart

22. 22 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org “It was clear from the quality of the materials that the CO.STARTERS applicant provided that she had a good understanding of her business. She was able to respond quickly and articulate key business metrics such as competition and market potential. Mary Ellen Judah Executive Direct0r North Alabama Revolving Loan Fund

23. 23 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org “We asked Rocket Hatch to help us organize a one-time meeting of local food entrepreneurs, and they said, “No.” Instead, they helped us have a Food Hatch - three meetings that culminated with a big event centered around local food businesses. And we’re still meeting, still making connections, and still supporting and collaborating with other business owners. It was exactly the kick-start that we needed. Caitlin Lyon & Michelle Novosel Co-founders Pizzelle’s Confections & Food Hatch Huntsville

24. 24 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org A celebration of the diversity of the creative and entrepreneurial spirit in North Alabama. Will This Fly? provided a platform for local innovators to pitch their ideas. Finalists got the stage to tell investors, mentors, and potential partners why their concept is awesome. This fast-paced pitch event was the ﬁrst moment in the limelight for new startup ideas around the Greater Huntsville Area. INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP SHOWCASE

25. 25 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org “Will This Fly? was –hands down, one of the best events I've been to in Huntsville. Can't wait for next year! Keithe Baggett Entrepreneur | Co-founder Thread

26. 26 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org “We made several key connections from the competition. This includes some potential partners as well as our IP attorney. Startup companies need local advisers and there is no better way to ﬁnd them than at a competition where you are surrounded by like minded people. Paul Gradl Will This Fly? Competition Winner Co-founder Weld-3D

27. 2727 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org  How Was This Even Possible?

28. 28 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org Rocket Hatch Team We are passionate local entrepreneurs and innovators who represent the primary segments of the local demographics we are trying to engage. Like our community, we love North Alabama and want to see ﬂourish a uniquely local startup ecosystem that is rooted in our traditional strengths but moves us forward to in the post-industrial economy. THE ROCKET HATCH TEAM  Tarra Anzalone Co-founder & Board Member  Drew Chapman Board Member  Brad Garland Board Member  Ben Jarrell Board Member  Antonio Montoya Founder & Executive Director  Ana Aristizabal Co-founder & Operations Director

29. 29 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org  Jeﬀ Goode Engineering  David Cochran Finance, Valuations  Karen Wynne Sustainable Farming  David Nuttall Art, Design, Software  Craig Kerstiens SaaS, Product, Marketing  Eric Grigorian Manufacturing, Operations Rocket Hatch Team We have established a network of experienced business leaders who are willing to commit their time to help up-and-coming entrepreneurs in their diﬃcult journey. We are proud to have assembled a truly impressive and diverse support community that provides insight, counsel and connections. Below are just a few of the members of our mentor community. OUR MENTORS  Timo Sandritter Organizational Development  Bryan Powell Design, Education, Software  Bob Locklear Angel Investing, IP  Rich Ortiz Marketing & Advertising

30. 30 Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator www.rockethatch.org Rocket Hatch true power comes from its committed volunteers that share our vision and want to build an entrepreneurial community that can stand side by side to any other, anywhere in the world.

31. JOIN US IN INVESTING IN OUR STARTUP COMMUNITY

32. www.rockethatch.org

Rocket Hatch 2014 Annual Report

Vous êtes en train de lire un aperçu.

Consultez-les par la suite

Rocket Hatch 2014 Annual Report

Plus De Contenu Connexe

Similaire à Rocket Hatch 2014 Annual Report (20)

Plus par Rocket Hatch (15)

Plus récents (20)