{"id":10683,"date":"2020-10-15T21:11:13","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T04:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=10683"},"modified":"2020-10-15T21:11:13","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T04:11:13","slug":"mentoring-not-just-money-for-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=10683","title":{"rendered":"Mentoring, Not Just Money, For Startups"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Julie<\/a>

Julie Henley McNamara and Jason Spievak of Entrada Ventures, photo by Daniel Dreifuss for Santa Barbara Independent.<\/p><\/div>\n

Founded in 2018 by a who\u2019s who of veteran Santa Barbara\u00a0tech operators, entrepreneurs, and investors,\u00a0Entrada Ventures<\/a> focuses on early investments that\u00a0help start-ups develop into strong businesses ready for\u00a0their first round of institutional financing. The firm and its\u00a0team\u2019s list of affiliations include ACT (Medtronic)<\/a>, Apeel\u00a0Sciences<\/a>, Aurrion (Juniper)<\/a>, CallWave<\/a>, Invoca<\/a>, Local\u00a0Market Launch<\/a>, SmartReceipt (Mobivity)<\/a>, Software.com<\/a>,\u00a0ValueClick (Conversant)<\/a>, and Web Ignite<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n

Entrada was started under the principle that there was\u00a0not much investor support in Santa Barbara. \u201cThere\u2019s\u00a0money but not a lot of support about how to navigate\u00a0fundraising, building a company, operations, financials,\u00a0marketing, and all of that,\u201d explained Julie Henley McNamara<\/a>,\u00a0Entrada\u2019s operating partner and a Cal Poly grad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u00a0want to give money but also be helpful to the community\u00a0with our portfolio of companies. It\u2019s all about the 805.\u201d<\/p>\n

When business is not restricted by COVID, the VC\u00a0fund team holds regular office hours at UCSB, Cal Poly,\u00a0and the downtown Kiva Cowork<\/a> space. \u201cJulie is really the\u00a0inspiration behind some of this,\u201d said managing partner\u00a0Jason Spievak. \u201cWe want to make that capital conversation\u00a0more accessible to small businesses here in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

They aren\u2019t necessarily looking for proper pitches, just an\u00a0introduction. \u201cThe office hours are also a way to put less\u00a0pressure on young people if they just want to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once Entrada invests, the collaboration is geared to the\u00a0need. That ranges from becoming part of the board and\u00a0meeting weekly to a much less active role. \u201cIt really kind\u00a0of depends on the company,\u201d said McNamara. \u201cThe way\u00a0we like to work with them is to be as helpful as we can\u00a0but not be interfering and not be intrusive.\u201d And if she\u2019s\u00a0the interface but the need is something she cannot provide,\u00a0McNamara can call on one of her partners or search\u00a0through her extensive network to find the right solution.<\/p>\n

entradaventures.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Tech<\/a>

Tech Talk Special Issue for Santa Barbara Independent, published October 1, 2020.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tech Talk Special Issue<\/a> for the Santa Barbara Independent<\/em><\/a>, originally published on October 1, 2020.<\/p>\n

To read the issue as it appeared in print, please click here, Tech Talk 768_10_01_20<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Share this:<\/h3>