Roughly 150 businesspeople wearing suit jackets to sweatpants crammed into an eFactory conference room this morning for the launch of 1 Million Cups in Springfield.
The Kauffman Foundation created the national program centered on connecting and educating entrepreneurs over conversation, and Springfield is the 32nd city on board.
“We all know business is done over a cup of coffee,” said Devin Dillon of DK Financial Group, one of a handful of businessmen who organized Springfield’s 1 Million Cups event, aka 1MC.
Dillon teamed up with Rick Thomas of R&R&Co. and Sterling Huff Jr. of Southern Missouri Bank to put Springfield on the Kauffman Foundation’s radar after regularly attending 1MC events in Kansas City, St. Louis and Tulsa, Okla.
“This whole event is about entrepreneurs,” Huff told the crowd before explaining the format. “It’s not really meant for mature companies.”
During each
hour-long meeting designed to “caffeinate the community,” two entrepreneurs present for 6 minutes and answer audience questions for 20 minutes apiece. Huff said approved presenters would represent early stage, scaleable companies, meaning 1-3 years old and positioned to easily grow annual revenue from the $50,000 range up to $10 million.
For the inaugural meeting, co-organizer and serial entrepreneur Thomas presented on the 1MC program, which started in April 2012 in Kansas City, and CrowdIt.com co-founder Jason Graf told his startup story for the Springfield-based crowdfunding website.
“We’re all coming together to help each other out and listen, because we all have similar needs,” Thomas said, noting though failure is part of the startup process, such a support system could have reduced the multiple business failures he’s experienced. “The goal is for less failure.”
Thomas laid out four parts of a startup ecosystem:
- Entrepreneurs must own and lead the startup community by giving to get;
- Leaders must have long-term commitment;
- Foster a culture of inclusiveness; and
- Engage the entire entrepreneurial stack.
“Ask not what your startup community can do for you, but what you can do for your startup community,” Thomas said, altering the famous John F. Kennedy quote for a reaction from the crowd – and on Twitter.
The statement was live tweeted, along with other
#1MCSGF commentary such as “On the front row of the next great thing” and “Let’s take this journey together.”
Matt Summers, a self-employed software engineer organized as Liquidus LLC, said he almost didn’t attend the event. He saw little advertising or social media buzz leading up to the launch.
“I just thought it’d be interesting, and the Kauffman Foundation has a good reputation nationally,” Summers said.
The organizers positioned Boulder, Colo., as a model startup community for Springfield entrepreneurs to emulate, leading to mixed reactions.
“I don’t want to be like Boulder. I want to be a better Springfield,” said Kurt Theobald, an entrepreneur with a few failures under his belt before taking Web design startup
Classy Llama Studios to 1,000 percent growth in three years and a place on the Inc. 500. “We must be careful to hold on to what is good and virtuous in Springfield.”
Thomas said each entrepreneur’s journey is unique but together could create the type of momentum that earned Boulder the title of America’s startup capital. According to a 2013 Kauffman Foundation report, Boulder ranked highest nationwide for high-tech startups per capita with a density of 6.3, compared to the U.S. average density of 1.
“We don’t necessarily know what we’re doing or where we’re going. This is a journey for us, too,” he said. “I urge you to make this your own game.”
The free event is scheduled 9–10 a.m. every Wednesday at The eFactory in the Robert W. Plaster Center for Free Enterprise and Business Development, 405 N. Jefferson Ave. Big Momma’s Coffee on Commercial Street provided the java – before it ran out.
“I’m going to come back,” Summers said. “As a tech guy, it’s a good chance to meet people on the other side – finance, PR and marketing. I’ve struggled with that as a business owner.”[[In-content Ad]]
