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There's a point many entrepreneurs reach where their business has great potential, but they're not ready for venture or angel investor capital.
That's where a Southwest Florida nonprofit called Fusion Pointe plans to help. The organization pairs budding entrepreneurs with seasoned executives who have built and managed successful businesses.
Scott Relf, a successful entrepreneur who is the CEO of Pikmobile and vice chair of Fusion Pointe, says the organization can help entrepreneurs who built their business using credit cards but aren't ready to quit their day jobs yet.
Already, Fusion Pointe has paired a dozen startup entrepreneurs with experienced executives, many of them retired in Naples, Bonita Springs and Fort Myers. Relf says there's a long list of Fortune 1000 CEOs who live in the area ready to lend a hand at no cost. “That's the distinguishing part of Naples,” he says.
Entrepreneurs should be ready for tough advice. Relf says mentors will encourage entrepreneurs to succeed or fail fast, long before piling on more debt like a second mortgage on a home or taking on risk from which they can't recover.
Fusion Pointe is modeled on a successful entrepreneur program in Cleveland called Jumpstart. Since 2003, that nonprofit organization has helped more than 1,000 entrepreneurs obtain $1.7 billion in capital. Together these companies have generated $1 billion in revenues and created 10,000 jobs in Northeast Ohio.
“Southwest Florida's assets are the smart people who live here,” says Ray Leach, Jumpstart's CEO, who also owns a home in Fort Myers. “Who's left back in Cleveland at this time of year?”
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