July 2022

In this month’s newsletter, learn more about 2FtD, a powerful tool for entrepreneurs, and its founder, Rebecca Holderness. We also feature a profile of Hudson Valley Startup Fund Investor, Ed Sammis, and a look into the success of Westchester Innovation Network. As always, the HV Venture Hub’s goal is to help entrepreneurs succeed, and part of that involves highlighting entrepreneurial support programs from around our region. And, in that spirit, don’t forget about HV Mentors Summer Office Hours program. Every Tuesday this summer,our most impressive regional subject-matter experts offer quick advice to entrepreneurs. Click to arrange an appointment: HV Mentors’ Summer Office Hours. 

 

Entrepreneurs 

Rebecca Holderness is not only the CEO of 2FtD, but she is also the mother of a Bard graduate, partner in business with Elliot Bales, Colonel, US Army Retired and newly located to Rondout Kingston. Rebecca founded 2FtD as a disruptive SaaS tool, designed to break down barriers to entrepreneurial developers, who must compete in the market for capital. Working like a legal-zoom, but delivering automated professional offering documents and pitch decks, 2FtD puts an assistant and authority in your pocket. This gives the developer committed to their neighborhood the fast, agile and informed power to get in front of 7T Impact Capital. This MVP is the first step in 2FtD’s vision of an online marketplace for investment in these projects.

2FtD Design & Data has recently shifted to a Del-C corp and received its first seed funding and is building out the product for beta testing. The company has a special commitment and passion for development in the Hudson Valley, especially in a post-pandemic world. Rebecca joined the Venture Hub and HV Mentors program, and has been working on improving and tweaking her investment deck. 

And now an ask of the Venture Hub community: 2FtD is looking for participants in their beta test to help them refine their product. The profile of someone who would be a good fit are architects, individual developers, land banks and Economic Development.  The company would very much like to partner with leaders in the Hudson Valley region as that allyship and investment would be critical to our supporting the conversation about local incremental development. To participate in the beta please contact rph@2ftdesigndata.com 

 

Investors  

Hudson Valley Startup Fund Investor Ed Sammis

With over 30 years of IT experience across a broad range of industries as well as M&A skills, Ed Sammis has been an integral part of the Hudson Valley Startup Fund since its earliest days. He talks to us about how that experience helped him as he learned the angel investing ropes. 

 

How did you get involved in angel investing?  

About 5 years ago I bumped into Tony DiMarco, a friend I hadn’t seen in quite some time. He told me about the idea he was working on to establish an angel investment fund based in the Hudson Valley, to promote business development in the area.  

During my career at IBM I’ve had the opportunity to lead 2 large acquisition integrations, which have been some of the most interesting and challenging assignments I’ve had. I was intrigued with leveraging this experience with this new venture, and curious to see how it would align to small startup businesses in very early stage.  

I attended one of the first meetings intended to promote interest in the fund and I decided to join the 1st fund at that time.

 

What do you enjoy most about angel investing?  

There are several: First, I’ve learned a lot working with this group. The mix of professional backgrounds and skil lsets in our fund members is quite remarkable. The opportunity to learn about so many new ideas and meet the entrepreneurs behind them, across a variety of industries, has been terrific.  

I’ve been on the Screening committee for a number of years and have had the chance to hear many early-stage presentations and provide constructive feedback. For me, it’s been an invaluable experience.   

And the “non-business” aspect has been terrific as well – the team typically gathers a couple of times a year for social events and I find I’m always meeting someone new and interesting at these events.

  

Any advice for folks interested in getting started in angel investing? 

When I first heard about the concept from Tony, I was worried about the time and financial commitment that would be required. I wasn’t sure if my demanding full-time job and modest investment portfolio would align with this angel investment venture.  But after giving it a try I discovered that many others were in the same boat and we all found ways to make it work.  

Also, I was concerned about whether my specific set of skills and experience with M&A would be relevant in this start-up space, and I was pleased to see that it complemented the various capabilities that others brought to the table.

  

Is there anything you wish you could tell entrepreneurs/founders as they're getting started that might help them when they're seeking angel investment? 

A couple of thoughts on this – first, be open to coaching. Our team has such a diversity of experience and most of us are in this to share that experience and help develop the teams and businesses we choose to work with.  

Second, be realistic with your growth assumptions, or be sure you can explain the “hockey stick” in revenue growth. We’ve seen hundreds of pitches, and can see the BS pretty quickly. 

Third, make it clear what your intended purpose is with the investment you are seeking from us.   We want to be sure you are putting our money to good use!

 

What is your professional background? How has it contributed to your approach to angel investing?

I’ve just celebrated 40 years with IBM last week, and as mentioned I’ve led two global acquisition integrations where I’ve had to oversee the integration of every business function of a company into IBM. 

Outside those assignments, I’ve spent most of my time in IT consulting, across a number of industries.  As a result, I’ve been able to contribute to our fund primarily by helping to assess business cases, sales and marketing plans, and technology roadmaps. I leave the heavy financial assessment and term sheet work to my esteemed colleagues!

 

Tell us a little bit about yourself — your family, what you do in your free time, are you native to the Hudson Valley?

After graduating college as a chemical engineer, I started my professional career with IBM in the Hudson Valley in the early 80s and then moved around to a number of locations around the country, and even spent a few years living in Montreal. (A city I highly recommend!) I came back to the Hudson Valley in 2003 and have lived in Rhinebeck for the past 5 years.  

Outside of work, I pursue the endless goal of improving my golf game.

 

For more information about Hudson Valley Startup Fund, please contact Fund Manager for Communications, Andrew Schulkind at info@hvstartupfund.com, and visit our website at www.hvstartupfund.com. Please follow HVSF on LinkedIn.

 

Leaders

Founder of the Hudson Valley Venture Hub, and Venture Hub Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Tony DiMarco has stepped down from this role to focus his energy on other projects. Tony has made, and continues to make, a remarkable impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Hudson Valley. When he began working with SUNY New Paltz in 2017, he espoused a vision for creating a “platform and place” that would bring together the broadly dispersed entrepreneurial community. This vision has led to significant outcomes that include the Venture Hub, Hudson Valley Mentors, networking events, the annual Venture Fest Oktoberfest, the Educator’s Forums, our book club, and another program that is soon to be launched. Tony brought a motto to each event, “helping each other succeed” that has enabled us to create programs that enhance other programs and leverage mutual resources. 

Tony will continue his involvement with the Venture Hub as a member of our advisory board. 

We are also pleased to announce that Eliza Edge has taken on the role of Entrepreneur-in-Residence in addition to her work as HV Mentors Program Manager. In the 18 months that Eliza has been with the Venture Hub, she has successfully launched HV Mentors and is expanding our reach to an even broader community of entrepreneurs. Her vision and energy will enable us to continue to grow our programs and serve the entrepreneurial community. 

 

 

Service Providers

The Business Council of Westchester’s newly formed Westchester Innovation Network (WIN) is a program aimed at driving economic development, innovation, and growth within the county as a hub of innovation. 

 

The WIN program kicked off in February of 2022 with three key components:

  • The Innovation Match Program, which attracts innovative companies to Westchester and pairs them with local companies to test their products and services in real-world settings. Innovation Matches can also be formed with Westchester-based innovators.  The goal is to provide the local host companies with an opportunity to understand innovation within their industries and to provide valuable feedback to innovators who need to pilot or beta test in a prospective customer setting.
  • The Practical Innovation Project, which is a program that spotlights a host community and teams that municipality with individuals focused on identifying projects to assist in delivering immediate economic benefit to that community and its residents through innovation.  
  • The WIN Implementation Guide, which will provide information to assist with the policies and infrastructure of the county to better attract and retain innovators, including funding, zoning, job training, incentives, and more.

 

According to PR News Wire, the first phase of the WIN program was to attract innovation partners from Westchester, within the U.S. and internationally – hosting these innovators in Westchester, pairing them with a local industry partner, and testing their commercially viable innovations in a real-world setting. The BCW has already identified 60 potential innovator partners looking to be paired locally to test a product or service and the process to match those innovators with businesses has already begun. Businesses interested in participating as either a host or an innovator to test products or services should email win@thebcw.org. 

 

Before Silicon Valley, the HV 

Madam C.J. Walker

Before Mary Kay Ash, Sarah Breedlove, aka Madam C J Walker, was the first female millionaire entrepreneur. 

Sarah was born in a dirt-floor shack in 1867. Despite this, in her 51-year lifetime, she rose to build a Hudson Valley river view historic mansion-- a genuine rags-to-riches American Horatio Alger journey.

Sarah acquired six transferable entrepreneurial traits early on: robust work ethic, deep passion, creativity, easygoing attitude, eagerness to learn and self-starter motivation. Her character and ambition came from being an orphan at seven years old. She grew up picking cotton and scrubbing clothes in a tub in her early years.  "I got my start by giving myself a start."

Entrepreneurial wisdom starts with finding a problem and solving it. Sarah lived with multiple pain points. She was balding, making a dollar a day and was a single mother after two failed marriages. However, Sarah transformed her pain into drive. She created solutions to her suffering with a new life, livelihood purpose, and pivot. 

 

1905 - 1906, taking responsibility for her future resulted in: 

o   Her relocation to Denver,

o   Perfecting a scalp ointment by learning basic chemistry from a local pharmacist,

o   acquiring sales and business skills from a hair care pioneer and entrepreneur, Annie Malone

o   rebranding herself as  Madam CJ Walker through her third marriage,

o   providing an education for her daughter,

o   creating the Walker Method of hair care for black women & Madam C. J. Walker, Inc.

 

Sarah and her daughter, A’Lelia Walker, built a nationwide startup that gave 25,000 black women personal financial independence, skills, and careers. As a final pivot, she created black-funded philanthropy, starting with her own wealth.

Madam C J Walker, the entrepreneur, died at her Hudson River mansion at age 51 in 1919.

Stay tuned next…Eleanor Delano Roosevelt – Entrepreneur

 

Don Delaney

Contact welcome: Donald J. Delaney, HV Entrepreneurship Historian & Blog Writer for the HV Venture Hub at SUNY New Paltz. You can reach Don at don@dondelaney.com, 845-264-1505

© Donald J. Delaney 2021

This Before the Silicon Valley, the Hudson Valley blog offers a 400-year narrative journey honoring the icons of entrepreneurship and their impact on invention, innovation, and commercialization in the Hudson Valley.

 

Events

 

Comments? Email Kris Backhaus at backhauk@newpaltz.edu