"I couldn't name a single brilliant person at P&G."
I was stunned. Not because there aren't brilliant people at P&G. There are. But because I was talking to Elizabeth Edwards, and Elizabeth seemingly knows every brilliant person in Cincinnati.
"I had been working blocks from P&G's world headquarters for five years before I ever stepped foot in the building," Edwards says. And that realization helped the venture capitalist with Neyer Holdings make a valuable connection and inspired an idea to bring the community's aspiring, creative business minds together for one weekend.
"Connectivity is the key to a vibrant start-up community and
InOneWeekend is one way to connect aspiring entrepreneurs from the silos of corporate Cincinnati."
It's July 18, and I'm talking
with Edwards five days after
InOneWeekend 2008. Most of us are just now getting caught up on our sleep. That's what happens after you spend a weekend building an entire company from the ground up. Was it worth it? Elizabeth sent 100 of us on the journey of a lifetime, connecting us with other entrepreneurial-minded zealots looking for a reason to create something where nothing currently existed. Her team tore us down, and built us up. In the end, we launched
LifeSpoke, a living, breathing legal entity with business and marketing plans, a prototype, and a provisional patent. It was worth it.
But LifeSpoke did not have a management team. It had a steering committee charged with identifying a CEO who would build the management team. And that provided one of the key lessons learned from InOneWeekend 2008.
"The problem with electing a steering committee sunday night is that companies need real, vested leadership from day one," explained Edwards. "People don't want to elect a CEO at the end [of the weekend] because it feels like we're moving too fast. Emotionally people aren't ready. But this is what needs to happen."
In other words, LifeSpoke presented their pitch to investors, but without a CEO, LifeSpoke could not garner support. Roll forward to 2009, and a major challenge of InOneWeekend this year will be to see how the leadership team develops and commits itself over the course of a weekend. They'll need to hit the ground running after the weekend on day four.
You see, Steve Jobs had Wozniak. Gates, his Allen. The problem with entrepreneurship is that you cannot do it alone. The most important thing InOneWeekend does is bring people from disparate industries - each an aspiring entrepreneur in their own right - together. According to Edwards, "Most really successful startups consist of groups of two or three founders with complementary skill sets keeping each other energized and honest." You see, these folks don't self identify. They're not walking around with signs floating above their heads that read, 'I'm an entrepreneur. Partner with me. I develop kick-butt marketing plans.'
But InOneWeekend gives brilliant people an opportunity to escape from their silo-ed downtown corporate offices, meet like-minded people they would not have otherwise run into, and then get their hands dirty together. All this untapped talent and drive exists in our region, and the goal of InOneWeekend is to start tapping it. The result "combines people of different backgrounds, industries, experience levels, and stages of life so they can see what they're all made of collectively," explains Edwards. "You really get to know someone when you're forced to work closely in a stressful situation."
Does Cincinnati really have the talent to develop and incubate world class innovation? I suppose it's a good question, yet a terribly misinformed question if we would just stop and use a bit of deductive reasoning. Sometimes we forget we have two global powerhouses like P&G and General Electric that churn out 20-somethings operating global brands competing at world-class levels. And we have a strong concentration of renowned research hospitals as well as a mature university infrastructure that supports the development of new ideas. Mark Peterson, P&G's Director of External Business Development, recently discussed opportunities to unlock the intellectual property at the University of Cincinnati. In Peterson's words, "[Former President] Nancy Zimpher was really visionary [in her efforts to unleash IP]. She worked to unlock IP to create jobs, create businesses, and create value for the community."
What may not be as well known though is the strength of the regional venture community. Cincinnati is home to a vibrant and collaborative entrepreneurship and venture community, with
Queen City Angels, the nation's 5th largest angel venture firm, located right here.
CincyTech, a regional incubator, is funded and mandated by the State of Ohio to develop new businesses in Southwest Ohio. Its CEO and Executives-In-Residence mentor entrepreneurs on the path to marketable products. Add to the mix the
Greater Cincinnati Venture Association, which brings together venture fund managers and analysts, local foundations, potential board members, and serial entrepreneurs to listen to each others' stories and share their experience for the benefit of everyone.
And the word is getting out and going national. JB Kropp spoke to participants on day two of InOneWeekend 2008. Kropp is no stranger to the world of startups and has served in product strategist, publisher relations, and business development roles for
ShareThis, Cincinnati's most recent marquee startup. Kropp commented that "Steve [Boord] and Elizabeth do a great job creating a national awareness by recruiting some of the top Silicon Valley executives to Cincinnati to speak at the event." 2008 featured Google's Roy Gilbert. The 2009 keynote address features Disney/Pixar's
Ali Rowghani.So where does this all lead? The regional venture community knows what it takes to start companies. They know the players, their names, and their faces. They have built the frameworks to support startups and have all the tools at their fingertips. InOneWeekend gives the venture community an opportunity to see all the people who will be knocking at their doors in the future working together in a stressful environment right now. Participants work with others, lead groups, gain consensus - all the characteristics of a successful CEO - and the venture community observes this in a demanding, yet safe, environment.
Edwards explains, "InOneWeekend 2009 is an opportunity [for participants] to experience the startup life without having to quit their day job." Over the course of the weekend they will operate in a true-to-life intensely time and resource constrained environment, on a blue-sky problem, creating something from scratch that does not exist - from an idea, to a business plan, a prototype, and a pitch. It's complicated by the fact that the participants haven't met before. And it's safe because this is a practice run - it's just one weekend.
How many InOneWeekends will it take to create a tipping point for entrepreneurship and startups in the region? "Not many," says Edwards. "InOneWeekend kicks things off. The participants lead it and own the outcomes." InOneWeekend 2008 produced 100 catalysts. 2009 will produce 100 more.
It may be difficult. But it's safe. And when it's over, you still get to wake up Monday and go to your day job. If you choose to.
To learn more about InOneWeekend 2009, taking place August 28-30, or to register for this year's event, go
here.
When Andy Erickson isn't spending time with his wife and three daughters, he devotes his time to the University of Cincinnati as an alumnus, HOPE worldwide Cincinnati, and his church.Photography by Scott Beseler
Elizabeth Edwards, at Urban Nexus
Ali Rowghani, Disney/Pixar (provided)Provided photos from IOW 08'