Business Incubator Series: Interview With Ebony Johnson, Entrepreneurial Programs Champion, TechTown — Detroit, Michigan (Part 5)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Praveen Karoshi

Irina: What is your incubator’s business model? How is it funded?

Ebony: We get a lot of support from foundations and various grants. We’ve also taken a loan. Our goal is to become a self-sustainable nonprofit organization. >>>

Seed Capital: Mark Solon, Co-Founder And Managing Partner, Highway 12 Ventures — Boise, Idaho (Part 3)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Mark: A fair deal has usually been reached when both sides leave the table equally dissatisfied. If one side feels like it leaves that table happy … it’s like a seesaw. Everybody’s got to be equally dissatisfied. If one team is more dissatisfied than the other, then you probably have not struck a fair deal. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Interview With Ebony Johnson, Entrepreneurial Programs Champion, TechTown — Detroit, Michigan (Part 4)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Praveen Karoshi

Irina: How is the Bizdom U program is different from what you offer?

Ebony: They are not an incubator. They have a four-month accelerator program. They accept a small number of folks, and you have to have a full-time commitment. You couldn’t have a job. It is 9 to 5, Monday–Friday commitment. It is a different offering than what we do. We don’t have a 9 to 5 intensive, four-month program. >>>

Seed Capital: Mark Solon, Co-Founder And Managing Partner, Highway 12 Ventures — Boise, Idaho (Part 2)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: What factors receive the most weight when debating whether to invest?

Mark: It’s a combination of a large market opportunity and a great team. We’re looking for three things: a large market opportunity; a unique and compelling solution to that market opportunity; and a small team of entrepreneurs that has consistently demonstrated extraordinary things in their pasts. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Interview With Ebony Johnson, Entrepreneurial Programs Champion, TechTown — Detroit, Michigan (Part 3)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Praveen Karoshi

Irina: Do you know how entrepreneurs get evaluated for these loans?

Ebony: The loans are based on business worthiness, where they are in their stages of development, who is in place on their team, and the feasibility of their idea, what is their plan, what is their ability to pay the money back, that sort of thing.
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Seed Capital: Mark Solon, Co-Founder And Managing Partner, Highway 12 Ventures — Boise, Idaho (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

I am talking to Mark Solon, co-founder and managing partner of Highway 12 Ventures, which is a $75 million venture fund in Boise, Idaho. Highway 12 invests in high-growth start-up companies in the Intermountain West. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Interview With Ebony Johnson, Entrepreneurial Programs Champion, TechTown — Detroit, Michigan (Part 2)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Praveen Karoshi

Ebony: We have this quadrant approach. If you think of a quadrant, on the X axis there is the stage of business development. So, the company can be in its early, early idea phase, or it can be in its growth phase. Then, on the Y axis is really the founders’ entrepreneurial experience. So, they can be novices or they can be serial entrepreneurs. And we break down what services we provide based on where they fall in that quadrant. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Interview With Ebony Johnson, Entrepreneurial Programs Champion, TechTown — Detroit, Michigan (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Praveen Karoshi

I am talking to Ebony Johnson, Entrepreneurial Programs Champion at TechTown, Detroit’s research and technology park. TechTown was established in 2000 by Wayne State University, General Motors, and the Henry Ford Health System with focus on emerging high-technology industries including advanced engineering, life sciences and alternative energy. The 12-block park includes TechOne, the 100,000-square-foot business incubator facility, which now hosts 70 growing companies. >>>