rocket hatch overview
DESCRIPTION
Rocket Hatch is a community accelerator with the mission to unleash the untapped entrepreneurial potential of North Alabama through an open, inclusive and collaborative startup community.TRANSCRIPT
Community Accelerator Building a dynamic North Alabama economy fueled by
a vibrant and diverse startup community
� © 2014, Rocket Hatch
1Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator
www.rockethatch.org
THE ROCKET HATCH MISSION
To unleash the untapped entrepreneurial potential of North Alabama through an open, inclusive and collaborative startup community.STOP THINKING, START HATCHING!
Opportunity
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A diversepopulationgrows in the Huntsville metro, creating economic opportunity and transforming our culture.
Opportunity
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CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS DEMAND NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Total Population Huntsville Metro
683,871
Graduated College 44.2%
20-35 y/o 139,464Double Income No Kids
35-45 y/o 90,602Double Income With Kids
45-55 y/o 109,992Mid-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 Businesses3,399 x $1M = $3.3B
Medium Businesses339 x $10M = $3.3B
High Growth Businesses33 x $1ooM = $3.3B
10%* = Potential Entrepreneurs
33,998
Opportunity
LINK: GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP MONITOR REPORT, BABSON COLLEGE*LINK: LOWE MILL ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
LARGEST ART CENTER IN THE US
Combined Economic Potential
$10B
4Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator
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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.
Mission & Vision
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A GRASSROOTS INITIATIVE
The best way to achieve a sustainable accelerator 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 post-industrial 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.
Mission & VisionRocket Hatch Community Accelerator
www.rockethatch.org
66Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator
www.rockethatch.org
Our Community Are Rocket Hatchers
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-ocracy” 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.
Mission & Vision
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WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Community Acceleration
Small & Medium Size
High Growth
A self-sustaining North Alabama
startup community that supports
creative entrepreneurs who
represent our diverse makeup,
welcomes risk-taking, and that
has at its core a network of
successful mentors who give
back by helping new startups
focus their efforts using market-
oriented lean methods.
Mission & Vision
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INCLUSIVE, LEAN, SMART & VIRTUAL BUT LOCAL
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.
Rocket Hatch is a startup. We follow the process we are asking our startups to follow.
Lean
As agile as our startups: We are a bootstrapped accelerator. We have spent our time doing customer development, understanding the problems of our customers (our entrepreneurs) and our 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 immediate value: Discovery, Connection, Learning, Mastery, and Mentorship. The fancy building can wait.
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.
Virtual but Local
Hatchers: Our online community portal will connect the faces, places, ideas and events of our local startup community.
Hatchers is a mobile web application that showcases our local entrepreneurs and helps them connect with one another for projects or new ventures.
Hatchers also provides a local map of available work and meeting spaces to enable bootstrapped entrepreneurs to minimize their overhead costs by leveraging underutilized spaces in town.
Mission & Vision
9Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator
www.rockethatch.orgRocket Hatch Team
We are passionate local entrepreneurs and innovators who represent the primary segments of the local demographics we are trying to engage. Like the people we serve, we love North Alabama and want to see flourish a uniquely local startup community that is rooted in our traditional strengths but moves us forward to take full advantage of the post-industrial economy.
THE ROCKET HATCH TEAM
Ana AristizabalCo-founder & Operations Director
Tarra AnzaloneCo-founder & Community Director
Drew ChapmanBoard Member
Brad GarlandBoard Member
Ben JarrellBoard Member
Antonio Montoya Founder & Executive Director
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Jeff GoodeEngineering
David CochranFinance, Valuations
Karen WynneSustainable Farming
David NuttallArt, Design, Software
Craig KerstiensSaaS, Product,
Marketing
Eric GrigorianManufacturing,
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 SandritterOrganizational Development
Bryan PowellDesign, Education,
Software
Bob LocklearAngel Investing, IP
Rich OrtizMarketing & Advertising
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CO.STARTERSPartner
InCrowd CapitalPartner
MetabahnPartner
NARLFPartner
Rosita’s FarmPartner
Rocket Hatch Team
Rocket Hatch has established strong ties to the business and creative community of North Alabama and the South East. We have established strategic partnerships that provide critical resources for new businesses including specialized technical assistance, office space and access to funding.
OUR PARTNERS & SPONSORS
Zero Point FrontiersPartner
Downtown Huntsville, Inc.Partner
RED TeamPartner
ONE Unity MediaPartner
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FROM IDEA TO STARTUP
HATCHERSHatchers is both a marketing tool and avirtual venue for our startup communityconnecting people, places, ideas and events.Hatchers is where new people can get theirbearings and find their tribe.
HATCHERS, EVENTS and CO.STARTERS programs create complementary cycles that help new entrepreneurs discover, 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.
EVENTSRocket Hatch both supports and hostsentrepreneurship events in the region. Ourgoal is to help develop multiple groups andvenues that support a tightly connectedstartup community.
CO.STARTERSCO.STARTERS is a proven accelerationprogram that has helped over 1,350 creativeentrepreneurs generate more than 2,752 jobsand an estimated $165 million in economicimpact in 26 locations across the US.
Impact
Entrepreneur Startup
HATCHERS CO.STARTERS
O N B O A R D I N G G R O W T H
Discover
Learn
Master
Mentor
EVENTS
Connect
13Rocket Hatch Community Accelerator
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16Enrolled in
CO.STARTERS
TRACK RECORD
In a very short time, Rocket Hatch has established itself as a change-maker in the North Alabama startup community.
1090Total Community
747Interested
286Engaged
25Volunteers
36Mentors
Impact
504 323
Followers
43%Women
25-34Median Age
7Rocket Hatch
EVENTS
331 Attendees
12+From other
communities
$9
Sponsors
9Partners
+ Geo-Energy Huntsville
+ Huntsville Open Tech Coffee
+ Rocket City Launch
Community
Events
Supported
+29
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DESIRED OUTCOMES AND ASSOCIATED METRICS
Being lean is also about measuring progress and pivoting when the desired results are not obtained. We are data driven and will be carefully tracking our metrics.
Outcome Target Metric
Startup Activity Startups launched
Active startups
Startup exits
Progress of startups towards graduation
New startups in queue
Labor Force Engagement Jobs created by accelerated startups
Jobs and internships created by Rocket Hatch and accelerator partners
Community Engagement Qualitative impact on community
Corporate Partnerships obtained
Volunteers engaged
Economic Activity Funds raised or dollars invested
Loans acquired
Exit dollars generated
Metrics
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DESIRED OUTCOMES AND ASSOCIATED METRICS
Aside from the usual accelerator metrics, Rocket Hatch tracks the cultural impact and strength of our nascent post-industrial startup community through the metrics below.
Outcome Target Metric
Showcase and connect the startup community of North AL
Number of individual members in Hatchers
Number of startup members in Hatchers
Number of introductions initiated in Hatchers
Number of meetings initiated in Hatchers
Create a culture of Entrepreneurship in North AL
Number of events
Number of attendees
Number of out of town visitors
Number of visits out of town
Increase the Body of knowledge on post-industrial entrepreneurship principles in North AL
CO,STARTERS alumni
CO,STARTERS sites
Engaged mentors
Mentoring hours
Metrics
www.rockethatch.org