Over the past few months, Peter Childs found himself spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about the problems of technology startups as they try to find success. He's got good reason after being involved in four ventures in the past four years that "have not found traction." While there are many reasons why some startups end in tears, he saw some similarities in the failure he's experienced. "When I started to think about incubation, I began to think about the problems and where we had the issues. In the startups I was involved in, it wasn't the team - we actually got the team together - it was team cohesion," said Mr. Childs, who has more than a dozen years experience in technical sales and product line management. "It started to make me think whether I would have gone with those people if they weren't the people who were there." As Mr. Childs continued to think about the kinds of services that would have helped the four startups avoid oblivion, the idea for Spark Ottawa was born. But before it begins helping entrepreneurs, Mr. Childs and his partner Ian Graham have plenty of work to do. Mr. Graham has about 15 years in R & amp;D and product and project management. He started a management consulting business last year. The company is so new that the founders insist they have "no specific titles" nor is the business plan completely fleshed out. To get going, the pair will be handing out a questionnaire at the 2006 OCRI Technology Showcase next week hoping to get a clear idea of the kinds of incubation services that are needed. One solid idea is to create an online community where entrepreneurs can discuss issues with others going through the same thing. Spark will also give startups collective but secure office space where they can work on their ideas. "Governments are very good at helping you once you are a business but if you aren't at that stage yet there's no real model, except for micro loans (for small businesses)," Mr. Childs said. "I think we can help by connecting people and by helping people to avoid missteps. Clearly if you can go to one place and find out what is available and tie that in with what other people have thought about it and where it was beneficial, it helps and wastes less time and gets you get more focused in executing the business." Many of the decisions yet to be made about how Spark Ottawa will operate depend on the results of the survey. The pair feel they'll have the results ready about a week after the OCRI Showcase, which will help them finalize the services they'll offer to entrepreneurs. Spark Ottawa should open its doors sometime in early May. When it does begin to engage prospective customers, Spark Ottawa will face some stiff competition from a number of other outfits and individuals in town aiming to help startups get over the initial humps and guide them toward success. Another group emerging in the same space is the Kestrel Management and Investment Group, which includes Ottawa's original venture capital guru, Denzil Doyle. Unlike Spark Ottawa, Kestrel associate James Bowen said the company provides advice coupled with investment. "Most of the companies that I am working with are in the startup phase and have a product and have done their R & amp;D, but some of them are actually still doing their R & amp;D, and one or two are in the idea phase," he said. "Being a couple of steps away, we are not emotionally involved. We can just look at it dispassionately and say that from our point of view the management team needs something or that the company doesn't have a realistic understanding of the competition." Another speed bump for those looking to make a business out of helping startups is the simple fact that many of the early stage advisors help startups for nothing. In many cases, successful entrepreneurs give back to the community by working with new startups and hope that the people they help will do the same for the next generation, said Tundra Semiconductor founder Adam Chowaniec. While he stepped down as chief executive to become Tundra's board chairman a couple of years ago, Mr. Chowaniec spends his days helping five companies at different stages of development. Although some of this work relates to his position on the technology advisory board for investment company VenGrowth, his door is always open to entrepreneurs looking for advice. "A lot of companies in Ottawa are amazing from a technology perspective but they need both money and the business talent around them to figure out how to really best exploit what they've got," he said. "Advisors are always positive (for a startup) because no matter what stage your company is at, there is always somebody somewhere who has done it before and can look at it from a higher level and bring in contacts that you don't have." Whether it's a company that is starting from scratch or one that's already gone to the public markets, Mr. Chowaniec insisted that a good set of advisors helps the business reach into markets and places that the company couldn't on its own. One of the companies benefiting from Mr. Chowaniec's experience is Liquid Computing. Chief executive Brian Hurley began talking to advisors from day one and he's convinced it helped the outfit ensure it met its targets in several areas. "We knew there were areas where we didn't have deep knowledge and we sought out people to talk to who had it. For example, right off the bat we were developing a strategy for financing and we talked to a lot of people," he said. "We had a great idea and technology and we needed to know how to package it in a business plan." By Jeff Pappone Special to the Ottawa Business Journal
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