When Techstars suddenly pulled up stakes from Seattle earlier this year, Ron Wiener saw an opportunity to help fill a void.
Wiener is the leader of Venture Mechanics, a unique company that is running a new incubator/accelerator program and organizing and hosting events that include casual social gatherings, informational sessions and startup pitches. It’s creating some of the connective tissue that’s needed in a healthy startup ecosystem.
When Wiener opened Venture Mechanics’ space in Bellevue, Wash., in August, his initial focus was on co-working offices and conference rooms — but the incubator and events are now center stage.
“We can’t keep up with the number of companies that are calling us for assistance,” he said.
Wiener is an investor and serial entrepreneur who had a financial windfall with the 1999 acquisition of PrintBid, an online printing company that he founded. He was most recently CEO of iMovR, a company selling standing desks. He has previously operated three Pacific Northwest incubators through Venture Mechanics.
Two companies are currently in the incubator, and about a dozen are being evaluated for the program.
“Our hurdle for getting into the incubator is very high,” Wiener said. “We have to be convinced there’s actually a business plan there, it’s totally viable and fundable, or we’re not even going to start.”
The company is teaming up with investing organizations and funds, including Alliance of Angels and smaller venture funds, many of which are focused on under-represented founders. Venture Mechanics has assembled more than 100 mentors to work with the startups and put founders through their paces.
“It’s like preparing for the presidential debates,” Wiener said. “We’re gonna throw all these questions at you make sure you’re ready, and then give you a list of investors to go talk to.”
Venture Mechanics charges startups $6,000 for six months of incubator support — but Wiener said the price is increasing soon. Unlike large programs such as Techstars and Y Combinator, Venture Mechanics is not taking an equity stake in the startups.
Wiener said he’s also exploring how Venture Mechanics can generate revenue in other ways, such as introducing brokers to startups working with the incubator.
The information page for the incubator states that the organization might take a cut of investments that program participants receive. “Any investments made by investors who you meet through the program at Venture Mechanics, either through a requested ‘soft introduction,’ or at an event or meeting at our facility, may be subject to a 5% finders fee,” according to the site.
On the events side, the Venture Mechanics has about 160 items on its calendar this year. Listings include:
- Summit for Under-Represented Founders, an event targeting diverse startups.
- Venture Weekend, a quarterly 101 course about startups.
- Meetups for diverse, under-represented groups in entrepreneurship. The Black Funders and Founders Group meets monthly at Venture Mechanics’ space and a group for Filipino entrepreneurs is kicking off this summer. The company is helping form groups that are focused on women, military veterans, indigenous people, Latinos, and the LGBTQ community.
- An inaugural summit for micro venture capital funds.
Earlier this week it hosted one of its Launchpad Expos, an event highlighting a specific sector in which five startups give 12-minute pitches to a panel of potential investors. The startups previously applied for the opportunity and were selected to undergo due diligence research and the founders received support from Venture Mechanics staff to prep for the event.
The recent expo included climate and green tech entrepreneurs and investors. The five companies that pitched included three from the Seattle area — Sironix, Ecellix and PwrOn — as well as San Diego’s Airbuild and San Francisco’s 9Zero. Investors were from Climate Partnership Advisor, Home Planet Fund, Intellectual Assets, and E8 Fund.
Jonathan Azoff, a climate investor with SNØCAP who co-led the expo event, said society needs more entrepreneurs to help solve pressing problems. “This unassuming co-working venue in Bellevue seems to be doing its part to make that happen,” he said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on May 17 to add information about Venture Mechanics’ option for taking a finders fee for investments received by incubator participants.
