Thea Chase, Director of the Telluride Venture Accelerator, discussed the work of accelerator to cultivate innovation, entrepreneurship, regional connectivity, and commercialization of research. This presentation occurred during the session "Regional Innovation Strategies" at Create, Challenge, Change: Economic Development Conference for the Denver Region in August 2016.
2. The mission of the Southwest
Innovation Corridor (SWIC) is to bring
together loosely connected efforts in
entrepreneurism and commercialization
to create a purposeful strategy for
moving ideas from consideration and
development to fundable companies,
creating jobs and sustained economic
activity in a geographically disbursed
rural area.
3. The Area
• 8 counties
• 10, 418 sq.
miles
• 164k
population
• Low per capita
income
• Out migration
due to decline
in resource
extraction
5. Fort Lewis College (FLC) – located in Durango, FLC is a public, liberal
arts college serving 3,789 students. FLC provides a tuition-free
education for qualified Native Americans and awards approximately
16% of baccalaureate degrees earned by Native American students in
the nation. In 2008, FLC was designated as one of six Native American-
serving, non-tribal colleges by the U.S. Department of Education.
Concentration of native American peoples – La Plata county – 6/9%;
Montezuma county -12.6% of population
Southern Ute Indian reservation – 1059 square miles
6. What we will leverage
• Mentor group – TVA, SCAPE
• Investor community – TVF, Telluride Angels
• Proven delivery system – Accelerators and Govt prgs
• Partnerships
• Ft Lewis College momentum – 4 new hires in Engineering;
FLC’s new $34 million engineering and computer science
center, including a robotics lab, as well as its strong faculty
expertise in engineering, computer science, and business
6
7. Model Specifics – Program
Identify and Cultivate Seeds of Innovation:
• Regional meet-ups such as Startup Weekend and Pelotons.
• Fort Lewis College internships and innovation competitions
for students and faculty.
• Regional industry cluster roundtables and mashups.
• Proof of Concept fund supports prototyping, intellectual
property protection, and market research. Pre-acceleration
bootcamp.
• Innovation Think Tank explores technologies and potential
commercialization path.
8. 8
Entrepreneurship:
• Educational programs, workshops and consultation provided
by Regions 9 & 10 SBDCs.
• TVA and SCAPE – accelerator programs providing curriculum,
mentorship and investment.
• NextLaw labs – incubator for early stage bringing legal-based
technologies to market.
• Regional Mentor Network web-based platform to connect
and engage regional mentors.
Model Specifics – Program
9. 9
Regional Connectivity:
• SWIC.me; Telluride.me – web-based platforms to connect
entrepreneurs and businesses to resources and events,
enabling collaboration and information sharing.
• Regional mentor cultivation, networking events, education,
database, and programs.
• Regional investor cultivation, networking events, education
and programs.
• Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Playbook for resort communities.
• Workshop on best practices for creating an entrepreneurial
ecosystem in resort communities.
Model Specifics – Program
10. Model Specifics - Program
Commercialization of Research:
• Telluride Venture Fund - providing investment funding for
early stage companies.
• SWIC proof of concept fund – Starting with Fort Lewis College
and connectors for pilot studies; in year three will expand to
regional proof of concept center.
• Investor events – competitions, Demo Days, and
introductions.
• Soft Landing Program to facilitate the location of innovation
companies in the region.
11. Case Study – TravelRecon
TVA 2015
Snapshot
• Tech travel company focusing on creating jobs for vets
• Raised $680k in first round, is now $300k committed in $600k bridge, is
looking at Series A in 2017
• HQ Telluride, operations in Montrose
• 12-15 FTE 75% in Colorado
Opportunities
• Cost of Living – Montrose is affordable
• Warrior Resource Center
• Local City and Economic Development organization benefits – fiber,
signage, help with hiring
Challenges
• VC stigma
• Attracting tech and high end executive talent
12. Case Study – Element Pet
Nutrition TVA 2016
Snapshot
• Pet food and treat manufacturer
• Started in 2015, $100k 1st year, joined TVA to expand nationally
• HQ Ridgway, CO
• 3 FTE expanding to 5 FTE and additional partner by year end
• Currently raising $350k round
Opportunities
• Close to sourcing
• Close to initial market to prove demand
• Established commercial kitchen in region, could expand within area
• Access to quality kitchen help
Challenges
• Shipping to customers outside area
• Attracting high end executive talent
13. Case Study – Impyrium
SCAPE 2015
Snapshot
• Controllers for industrial drones – a true six degree of freedom controller
that leverages the tech that Impyrium has proven in the industrial market
• Over $250,000 in sales since formed in September of 2015
• 3 full time employees, one contractor, 2 interns
• 2 patents pending
Opportunities
• Ready to Scale – complete buildout of facilities
• SCRUM model in place
• Supplier relationships established
Challenges
• Need global outreach
• Attracting talented engineers
14. Impact
Capital invested in TVA companies
• ~ $13m for 22 companies in seed capital in just over 4 years
• 2 companies with revenues in excess of $1m in 2015
• 3 companies have raised in excess of $1m
• Highest is $2.4m
• 2 companies completed Series A
• 2 companies embarking on Series A in 2016
• Average money raised /company of active TVA graduate
companies: $584,000
Jobs created
• ~ 82 FT, 11 PT
• ~ 79% in Colorado
• ~ 43% in west slope region
15. Impact
Southwest Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs
• Public and Private Sector Partnership
~Non Profit SCAPE administers program and local Angel
Investors provide seed funding
• Companies recognized nationally
• 2 companies recruited to move to Silicon Valley chose
to stay in Southwest Colorado
Impact in Region 9 of Colorado
• ~ 15 companies launched
• ~ Over $3,000,000 capital raised
• ~ 40 local jobs created
• ~ 7 interns
• ~ Leveraging curriculum at Fort Lewis College
16. What we are excited about
• Integrating entrepreneurship into Engineering school at
FLC.
• Innovation competition and internships
• University innovators bootcamp
• Proof of Concept activity
• Working with Ute mountain tribe – significant asset base
and successful business operations
• Industry mash-ups
• Technology think-tanks
16
17. Measuring Success
Seeds of Innovation
• Source and quantity of ideas
Entrepreneurship
• #s of participants and demographics
• Effectiveness of programs
Regional Connectivity
• Digital platforms dashboard
• Mentors
• Collaboration
Commercialization
• Company performance - $$s, jobs, etc.
18. 18
Economic Impact
Short-term
(during grant
period)
Long-term (after grant
period)
Justification
POC participants 60 25/yr.
Estimate of students attending
informational workshops and
submitting project for competition
Internship 11 3-5/yr.
Based on expressed interest from Ft.
Lewis and budget
Cluster Mash-ups 45 15/yr.
One mash-up per year with 15 people
attending, alternating regions
Think Tank 60 20/yr.
Annual event to be coordinated with
Innovation competition at Ft. Lewis
and Demo Days.
Regional meet-ups 300 100/yr.
Currently meet-up held monthly in
Telluride and 1 start-up weekend per
year regionally. This is expected to
expand.
Company creation
from activity
15 5/yr.
2 companies from new SWIC activities
and 3 from meet-ups and start-up
weekend.
Jobs created as a result
of companies
supported through
SWIC
30 10/yr. Company tracking
Anticipated Project Impacts
19. Fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in
southwest Colorado
Thea Chase, Regional Director Innovation
& Entrepreneurship
Telluride Foundation
thea@tellurideva.com
