The closure of the Innovate Washington agency leaves a noticeable hole in the fabric of resources for nurturing startups here, but entrepreneurs and those involved in the angel investment community say they have been working to create an “entrepreneurial ecosystem” in the Inland Northwest. 

Several Spokane organizations and individuals are stepping up to meet the challenges of fostering innovation and startup companies, which they say bodes well for the future of entrepreneurs here. 

John Overby, president of Overby Tech Group based in Liberty Lake, where he works with several tech startup companies, says entrepreneurs in Spokane are “doing fine.”

“What’s out there to fill the void? We’re out there,” he says. “It’s not like the world is going to end because Innovate Washington is no longer up and running.” 

Innovate Washington, a merger of the Washington Technology Center and Sirti, the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, was closed after state lawmakers voted in February to defund it.

Overby, former director of client services at Sirti, which morphed into Innovate Washington in 2011, most recently served as CEO of Spokane Valley-based energy technology company FlyBack Energy Inc. FlyBack Energy developed a method called flyback switch technology to capture and convert lost power back into usable energy. 

Overby says the infrastructure for entrepreneurship in Spokane is good.

Coaching, advising, and helping startup companies get their businesses off the ground are among Overby’s priorities these days. The businesses he’s working with include MarketPad.com, an online virtual mall that combines local classified ads with national online products; OBLOCO, a tech company that makes a cloud-based receipt storage management app; and Green Focus Global Inc., a company that makes atmospheric water-generation technology.

“Good ideas do get funded. If you have a good idea, put a good management team together, if there’s a big enough market, and a patentable idea, you can get financing. The first thing I look for is a patentable idea,” Overby says.

He says there are big ideas in Spokane. Beyond that, he says he looks at the potential management team of a new company to see if its members experienced in business. “If they don’t have experience then I look to see if they’re coachable, because if they’re coachable then I’m willing to teach them what they need to know. I will work with them,” he says. 

Overby contends people confuse angel funding with venture capitalism. “Venture capitalists won’t touch anything under $3 (million) to $5 million. We have angel investors here.” 

The Spokane Angel Alliance, an organization of individual accredited investors and corporate members in the Inland Northwest, often networks with other angel groups in the region, he says, to combine efforts, so all money doesn’t necessarily have to come from Spokane. 

“It doesn’t take a lot of capital for Internet companies,” Overby says. “We need more ideas and more people. We have all the infrastructure we need. It’s just a matter of scale.” 

Tom Simpson, president of the Spokane Angel Alliance and chairman and co-founder of etailz Inc., says Innovate Washington will be missed, but he adds, “There are other initiatives and people have emerged that will make up for it.” 

Such initiatives in the past few years include enterprises like the Innovation Center at McKinstry Station, located in Spokane’s University District; Startup Weekend; Share Space Spokane; and Bowl & Pitcher. He says they are helping to build a vibrant ecosystem for entrepreneurs here. 

Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event at which any startup enthusiast including entrepreneurs, computer developers, designers and others meet to learn the basics of starting and developing business ideas every year. 

Share Space Spokane is rentable work space located on the third floor of the Seehorn-Lange Building in Steam Plant Square, at 159 S. Lincoln downtown, with office spaces, conference rooms, a kitchen and comfortable seating areas for entrepreneurs or others who need access to a work space. 

Bowl & Pitcher, a Spokane-based networking group, hosts local events for startups and  brings together “entrepreneurs, local service providers (lawyers, accountants, venture capitalists, etc.) and mentors with the goal of connecting these key players in the hopes of furthering the Spokane startup community,” according to its website.

There has been a national resurgence in entrepreneurship, evidenced by TV shows like Shark Tank and the emergence of makerspaces Simpson contends. Makerspaces combine manufacturing equipment, community and education to enable community members to design, prototype and create manufactured products that wouldn’t be possible for individuals working alone. 

“People believe they can be entrepreneurs and with things like 3-D printing and other technology, it’s a lot less costly to launch a company, and there’s a lot more awareness of incubating and accelerating businesses. Spokane has a vibrant community helping to launch entrepreneurs,” he says.

Simpson notes that the Angel Alliance has helped launch a number of businesses here, including 2nd Watch, a cloud computing company, and ICPooch, a company that makes Internet pet treat dispensers.

“I’m very pleased with how representatives of the community have stepped up to get behind these initiatives and provide community support for these great companies,” Simpson says.

Historically, one of the companies that has provided support for entrepreneurs is Avista Corp., through its Centers for Entrepreneurship Network. Avista started the Entrepreneurship Network in 2007 with $100,000 in seed money to help Spokane Community College develop a program to help students prepare for and launch a business upon completion of the program. The program was so successful, the curriculum was licensed and Avista has expanded by starting centers in three other colleges in its three-state service area, says Roger Woodworth, Avista vice president and chief strategy officer. 

Woodworth says the company has been investing in emerging and innovative companies in various programs for 25 years. 

He says Itron,  the Liberty Lake-based maker of utility metering reading technology, is a good example of its investment in the community.

“Itron is the largest supplier of gas and water meter equipment in the world,” Woodworth says. “It’s quite a success story. And its headquarters is here because we put it here.” 

Avista also owned Ecova, a company that provides energy-management services for nearly a fourth of the Fortune 500 companies and other firms, which it sold in late May for $335 million.  

Bill Kalivas, local territory manager for Aruba Networks, an international computer networking company, and founder of local networking site LaunchpadINW says there is a much bigger issue in the Spokane community than the loss of Innovate Washington.

“We need to figure out a way to work with entrepreneurs that are attracted to the area and the community, Kalivas says. “There is a community here and there’s a network you can plug into, but it’s not very well known. We don’t do a very good job of promoting that,” he says. “It’s bigger than just having a building. We have to encourage students and young professionals to innovate and to be entrepreneurs.” 

Kalivas says Rebook, a company that makes a marketing notification app that businesses use to convert canceled reservations or appointments into contacts with customers able to fill those slots, is an example of Spokane’s innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. The company was started by a pair of Gonzaga engineering students, who pitched their idea at Startup Weekend’s Spokane event in April, 2014. It was  chosen as the best of the 33 startup ideas at the event. 

The model that’s working in many other cities, he says, is for serial entrepreneurs themselves to give back by providing funding and expertise to finance other entrepreneurs. 

“Statistics show that are only two in 10 companies survive the first five years in business,” Kalivas says. “If the company is mentored by other business professionals, though, that number goes up to eight out of 10 survive. These entrepreneurs and startups need access to bankers, marketing people, legal, distribution strategies, funding … to everything.”

He says what’s needed is a hub so people have access to those connections. 

“It’s not about the building,” Kalivas says. “It’s about the ecosystem of connections and mentoring. There is not enough praising of the companies here that are successful. We need to show people this is a good place to build a company.”

 “And we are seeing younger entrepreneurs and a community of entrepreneurs that want to be here,” he says. “A lot of people go under the radar around here and we need to create a more open ecosystem.”

Greater Spokane Incorporated, Spokane’s chamber of commerce, has been working to organize a group of local leaders to discuss what is working well in the entrepreneurial community here and what is inhibiting growth.  

Robin Toth, vice president of business development at Greater Spokane Incorporated, says Spokane has tremendous natural resources and people, leaders who care and want to make a difference, a good infrastructure, and an array of education and incubator opportunities that support entrepreneurs. 

Toth says the group also identified weaknesses. 

“The top themes of the weaknesses are that we don’t have a cohesive regional plan focused on our ecosystem design and development, our culture doesn’t welcome outsiders very well, and that our educational system is good, but could be remarkable,” she says.

Ultimately, GSI’s mission in growing Spokane’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is to be the conduit of physical and virtual resources for entrepreneurs, and GSI plans to become the entry point for support, direction and assistance navigating it in the region, Toth adds.

GSI’s Startup and Emerging Entrepreneurs Toth says GSI assists microenterprises, startups and entrepreneurs with business development, referral, and assistance services in its existing Startup and Emerging Entrepreneurs program.  That program is designed to offer entrepreneurs and early-stage companies opportunities to connect with advisers, investors, mentors, and each other. GSI recently integrated its programs with Connect Northwest, a local networking group, to take over events such as Executive Connect and CFO Connect.

Executive Connect is a monthly breakfast series featuring an experienced executive who shares his or her experiences in growing and running a company. CFO Connect is a twice-yearly, invitation-only forum and panel discussion featuring top finance professionals.

“Our intent is to bring mentors and leaders together with startup companies and entrepreneurs,” Toth says. “We publish links on our website to resources in the community for entrepreneurs. Different groups like the Bowl & Pitcher also offer networking groups.” 

Spokane leaders want to help create a community that is inclusive, organic, and flexible, and never stops evolving, she says. 

“We need to champion entrepreneurs,” Toth says. “I think there are a lot of existing resources but we need more flexible funding mechanisms.” 

Toth says the Spokane business community sometimes is too conservative, and there is a need for people to embrace things that are different. 

“We need to look through a different lens, a different filter. It’s not your grandfather’s community,” she says. Toth is confident things are changing for the better in Spokane. 

She adds, “We have to have big ideas. When you’re young, you can take risks and we have to allow people to have the ability to fail. I’ve been hearing that a lot in the last six months.”