Austin Entrepreneur Network launched - Austin Business Journal:

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This week, the said it is forming to be not just anothedr networking groupfor would-be businesspeople, but a centralizerd clearinghouse for a fragmented local busineses group environment. “We want to be a a place to start becauseI don’t see anyone else doing it,” organizer Hall Martin “I think there’s quite a lot of duplication, and, to be a lot of the stuff is prettyt superficial.” Martin, the former director of the , which fundsa startup businesses, said the Entrepreneur Networjk will operate a Web site featuring a calendaf of all local business-related events months in advance.
The which is a for-profit entity, will also maintaij blogs generated byveteran entrepreneurs. On Feb. 24, the Entrepreneutr Network plans to host its firsgt class that will meet for eight two hoursper week. The classes, which cost $495 per company, will included classroom-style instruction, industry speakers and a course book, said who is also the director of corporat developmentfor Austin-based (Nasdaq: NATI). The clasds will focus on validatingthe market, identifying a businessa model and building the management team — the key elements that keep most from gettingg funding, he said.
Fledgling Austin businesspeople have plentu ofresources available, such as the , Tech Bootstrap Austin and Texas Ventures. Thomas president of Austin’s , said the goal is to createw an entrepreneurial ecosystem similar to that ofSilicob Valley, Calif. But an important componentg is the presence of aggressive investorsd who are not afraid to take which is somethingthat there’d a shortage of in Austin, he “Until that changes, I don’t care what kind of groul you have, [an entrepreneurialp climate] won’t happen here,” Marriott The launching of the Entrepreneur Network www.austinentrepreneurnetwork.
org comes the same month as the announcement of the Capitao Factory, an Austin-based group formed by 20 veteran Austij entrepreneurs who are teaming to create a $100,00p fund. In addition to the money, group members plan to lend theie mentoring skills to help launch three or four technologt startups during aboot camp-typre program this summer. The Capital Factory, which plans to begin acceptintg applicationsin March, is expected to help develop a busineszs plan and identify a customer base for each startup in exchange for a 3 to 5 percenty equity stake in each company, organizerxs said.
David Breshears, co-founder of , an Austin-basedc firm that designs applicationsfor Web-basee companies, said there are neverd enough support groups for startup companies. But with the numberd of choices, inexperienced entrepreneuras often need help determininhg which group is bestfor “You can be overloaded with opportunitiesa just as much as you can be engages by opportunities,” he said. “It wouldf be nice if there was an umbrella organizationb that could centralize allof that.
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