Savannah’s pool of aspiring entrepreneurs continues to deepen.
The majority of the 60 wannabe or early stage business owners to apply for the third annual StartUp Lounge Savannah were newcomers, according to event organizer Jake Hodesh. The invitation-only event pairing 20 of those entrepreneurs with investors in an intimate, low-pressure setting is Thursday.
“We have new folks, new energy and new interest,” said Hodesh, executive director of the Creative Coast.
Several new investors also plan to participate in the event. Qualified investors must have a demonstrated interest in investing in start-ups and have the wherewithal to invest at least $50,000.
The leaders of SLAAM Ventures, a newly formed seed capital firm, will attend as will Jerald Mitchell, director of the Savannah Economic Development Authority’s new SEDA Innovations initiative. SEDA Innovations is still in its infancy and Mitchell is working to understand what the entrepreneurial community’s needs are and how SEDA can best help.
Engaging at StartUp Lounge is part of what Mitchell calls “due diligence.”
“What we’ve realized is one thing that attracts large companies and investments to our area is our diverse economy, and the ability to build and retain certain knowledge-based companies is key part of that,” Mitchell said. “There’s no shortage of talent and ideas, and we need to help those companies become investment-ready.”
Also on the investor side will be representatives of local community bank The Coastal Bank, an event sponsor. The bank has a “record of loaning money and supporting local entrepreneurs,” Hodesh said.
The Start-Up Lounge concept was born four years ago in Atlanta. Co-founders Scott Burkett, a veteran IT and management consultant, and Michael Blake, a venture capitalist, recognized the difficulties entrepreneurs in Atlanta and the Southeast faced in securing early stage capital.
The duo started a website, www.startuplounge.com, and began organizing invitation-only events.
The first Savannah StartUp Lounge was held in November 2010. Along with the annual FastPitch competition, during which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of judges that includes investors, the StartUp Lounge Savannah is meant to assist the inexperienced in gaining exposure for their product or service.