[Hidden-tech] MassMutual commits $5 million to invest in small business, $1.5 million to mentor and accelerate start-ups

[Christian Lagier]

Yes, very exciting. Springfield is on a roll.  I hope this initiative will
also help create visibility for all the interesting and impressive things
that are already happening in our region.
Christian


On Sat, Jun 28, 2014 at 12:42 PM, Andrew Bellak <
Andrew at stakeholderscapital.com> wrote:

>    ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>    ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
>
> This is indeed fantastic news.
>
> I want to give props to Paul Silva, Valley venture mentors and River
> valley investors for their part in making this possible.
>
> Ab
>
> On June 28, 2014 12:01:23 PM EDT, Rich Roth <webmaster at hidden-tech.net>
> wrote:
>>
>>    ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>    ** If you did, we all thank you.
>>
>>
>> In case you have not seen this
>>
>>
>> http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2014/06/massmutual_commits_5_million_to_invest_i.html
>>
>>
>> [image: masslive.com]
>>  MassMutual commits $5 million to invest in small business, $1.5 million
>> to mentor and accelerate start-ups
>>  * Jim Kinney | jkinney at repub.com <jkinney at repub.com> * By * Jim Kinney
>> | jkinney at repub.com <jkinney at repub.com> *
>> *Follow on Twitter*
>> on June 26, 2014 at 3:58 PM, updated June 26, 2014 at 6:22 PM
>>
>> SPRINGFIELD — *MassMutual,* founded in 1851 and one of Springfield's
>> oldest businesses, committed a total of $6.5 million Thursday to help out
>> the region's newest start-ups.
>>
>> "It's about having an idea that can grow," said MassMutual President and
>> CEO Roger W. Crandall on Thursday. "Who knows how many jobs it can grow: 5,
>> 50, 500. But these are the businesses that can grow and add jobs."
>>
>> Crandall made the announcement Thursday during the *Western
>> Massachusetts Developers Conference*, an event that drew more than 350
>> to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to hear about development
>> opportunities in the region.
>>
>> The $6.5 million is part of a two-part plan to address the most pressing
>> needs felt by entrepreneurs: access to capital and access to advice.
>> MassMutual has granted $1.5 million to fund a  entrepreneurial  accelerator
>> run by* Valley Venture Mentors* in Springfield's *Tower Square*. The
>> accelerator is modeled on MassChallange, a mentoring space and business
>> competition in Boston. Some of the $1.5 million wil also go to
>> DevelopSpringfield, a non-profit organization dedicated to driving
>> development in Springfield which will build out a physical location for the
>> Accelerator.
>>
>> MassMutual also is providing $5 million for the Springfield Venture Fund,
>> a source of investment capital for new businesses.
>>      *MassMutual CEO Roger Crandall announces Springfield venture fund* At
>> the Western Mass Developers Conference on Thursday, Massachusetts Mutual
>> Life Insurance Company CEO Roger Crandall announced that they will fund
>> "high potential" startups through a $5 million Springfield Venture Fund.
>> Additionally, the company will invest $1.5 million over the next three
>> years to support the creation of a startup accelerator by Valley Venture
>> Mentors.
>>
>> "We will be looking for business plans, for things that can make
>> money,"Crandall said. "They say money follows the idea. But sometimes it
>> can be hard to get that first investment. This is going to shovel fuel on
>> the fire."
>>
>> Often, when money is available, Pioneer Valley start-ups have to go to
>> Boston or beyond to find those investors, said Paul Silva, executive
>> director of *Valley Venture Mentors*. But going there for funding often
>> means relocating the entire business.
>>
>> "If they have to go to Boston for the funding, often there are strings
>> attached. You have to go to where the money is," he said.
>>
>> Crandall said the MassMutual investments will help keep these
>> entrepreneurs here, close to the markets in New York City or Boston but in
>> a place where office space salaries are affordable.
>>
>> "Boston is expensive. You want to buy a house? You want to park your
>> car?" he said.
>>
>> He said  that it will be a competition. MassMutual will look for business
>> ideas that have a good chance of growing and succeeding.
>>
>> "That doesn't mean everyone will succeed. The vast majority will fail.
>> That's the way it works," Crandall said.
>>
>> The investments will be made over the next five years. Crandall doesn't
>> yet know how many companies will get funding, but he hopes to help out a
>> number of companies starting almost immediately.
>>
>> The Valley Venture Mentors space will be open in January 2015, said Scott
>> Foster, president and director for the organization. They'll stay for four
>> months in a collaborative workspace getting advice from experts and honing
>> their ideas. At the end, they will compete for a total of $200,000 in
>> grants.
>>
>> Those grants, two for $50,000 and four for $25,000, are separate from the
>> MassMutual Springfield investment Fund, Foster said. He also expects an
>> additional $1 million in funding from other sources, but that deal is not
>> yet final.
>>
>> MassMutual is donating the space in Tower Square. It is the former Mad
>> Maggies's billiard hall on the first floor.
>>
>> "So it will be on the first floor and public and accessible," Foster said.
>>
>> The space will serve as cooperative work space and as a place for
>> entrepreneurs to gather and swap ideas.
>>
>> Valley Venture Mentors works with a variety of companies, Foster said.
>> Many are high tech, but past members have included a company that procures
>> environmentally and socially responsible wedding gowns.
>>
>> "Or a jam company, from the kitchen to selling at Whole Foods," Foster
>> said.
>>
>> © 2014 masslive.com. All rights reserved.
>>
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