by JOHN TORINUS, chairman of Serigraph Inc.
The timing for the upbeat launch of BizStarts Milwaukee was poignant, given what’s going on in the financial markets on Wall Street and in Washington, D.C.
The meltdown of the financial and political systems in the United States was the backdrop for a meeting of 250 enthusiastic believers in the power of entrepreneurship at Discovery World last week. More than half of the participants in the kickoff ceremony for BizStarts Milwaukee were entrepreneurs. About a dozen were the great entrepreneurs of the last generation, some of whom are still doing deals. The rest were the entrepreneurs of the 21st century.
It isn’t as if they are oblivious to what’s going on in the national and international markets. It’s just that they have different fish to fry.
Actually, many of them are relieved they have a large portion of their funds invested in local companies, where they have some control over outcomes. That’s in sharp contrast to money in the stock markets, mutual funds or even banks these days, where external players determine the destiny of your investments.
For entrepreneurs, the meltdown on Wall Street is not foremost in their minds. They often use money from family and friends to get going, and then turn to angel and venture investors — well-off people who often can afford to take risks, even in tough times — for subsequent funding.
Bill Nasgovitz, the entrepreneur who started Heartland Advisors, which now has about $3 billion under management, made just that point. He said that investors are looking for safe places to put their money, and they may well be looking at alternatives such as privately held companies that are not on the stock market.
In that light, the timing was perfect for the launch of BizStarts Milwaukee, which I helped found. Not only does it offer another avenue for investment funds, it also is a road map to job creation. It is now an accepted truth that new businesses provide most of the new jobs.
In contrast, read the headlines that follow consolidations of large businesses. Inevitably, the consolidations result in elimination of overlapping jobs.
The business of job creation, then, is better left to small and medium-size companies that can swim against the tides affecting larger corporations. Smaller companies can gain market share or develop a new niche and still do OK, even in tough times.
The goal of BizStarts Milwaukee is to revitalize the entrepreneurial culture in the region. Its purpose is to make it less difficult for entrepreneurs to get out of the starting gate.
The new organization will connect with all of the players in the entrepreneurial space and then direct those resources toward business plans and entrepreneurs who have a commercially viable proposition.
And there are many players: Lawyers who do deals and patents. Accountants who help small companies. Mentors. Public and private organizations set up to help entrepreneurs create their business plans. Educators in the field of business start-ups. Investors.
The Milwaukee region has all of them, but they are not connected as well as they could be. BizStarts Milwaukee will be the catalyst, the connector, the network that surrounds entrepreneurs with the resources they need.
BizStarts also will create a buzz about new deals, successful cash-outs and, generally, about the fun and benefits of creating new enterprises. The region needs to be a leader in an innovation economy. Pulling that off may well prove to be our savior in the world of job creation.
How's that for an upbeat tune in a time when just about every other note has gone sour?