Winners of the Mayor’s Prize for Entrepreneurship holding their awards

TVC – Not Stopping at Start-Up

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TVC – Not Stopping at Start-Up


TVC will extend resources to second stage companies

“We deal with first stage businesses all the time, but second stage businesses account for most of the generation of wealth and the expansion and creation of jobs … so we are evolving at TVC to take it up a level.” Todd Hunter, CFO, Technology Ventures Corporation.

The start-up scene in Albuquerque has received a lot of attention in recent years and multi- tiered levels of support from the public, private, and philanthropic sectors have supported steady growth. But what happens when start-ups grow up? Todd Hunter, CFO at Technology Ventures Corporation, has been asking that same question. He said, “The question has always been why are we stopping at the start-up phase?” With evolving needs and new frontiers, these businesses often need continued support to successfully scale.

While TVC’s usual focus is start-ups, the program that was awarded the Mayor’s Prize for Entrepreneurship, a prize powered by the Albuquerque Community Foundation and funded through a partnership between the City of Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Community Foundation, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, is all about supporting second stage companies as they grow into new markets and create jobs here at home. “Supporting second stage entrepreneurs is one of those ideas that has been pestering the team for a while,” said John Freisinger, President and CEO of TVC, “The Mayor’s Prize gives us an opportunity to explore it.”

TVC’s pilot project for second stage entrepreneurs is, in some senses, a start-up of its own. “We’ve pitched a concept that doesn’t exist with some indicators that there will be a high level of success based on previous experiences.” Said John. While TVC plans to provide participating companies with critical raw resources—like access to behind-the- fence technology from the laboratories and second stage capital—their approach involves guided practice and high levels of support as businesses confront new challenges like preparing for acquisition or confronting new HR needs. “We anticipate that this will change the game for many of the second-stage businesses who have anchored here in Albuquerque.” John added, “We know from 20 years of experience that there is no single formula to help a company to succeed. We also know that a bunch of resources all at once can be overwhelming, and ultimately unsuccessful, so we plan to focus on guided practice, sitting in the seat next to them, and working it out together.” This system of support intends to assist local anchor businesses as they execute on growth strategies, with the hope that a few years down the road, a number of third stage, hugely disruptive businesses call the Duke City home.

CONNECT THE DOTS

COMMONALITIES with the Albuquerque Integration Initiative: Focus on entrepreneurship, local job creation, Research Based Accountability (RBA) methodology, and utilizing a navigator approach

OPPORTUNITY: Building economic base jobs by supporting established local second-tier business as they continue to grow and scale

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