There’s no effective “how-to” guide when it comes to building a tech business from scratch.
At least there wasn’t, Troy Henikoff says, until early-stage investment firm Prota Ventures launched Startup Rocket on Wednesday.
Henikoff, known locally as a managing director at Techstars Chicago and MATH Venture Partners, is an advisor on the Startup Rocket project. The new web application, he says, is a comprehensive online coaching tool that offers step-by-step guidance across a range of startup formation stages, from ideation to funding to execution.
“Starting a business is an art,” Henikoff said. “There are far more elements than people realize.”
Prota Ventures, the company behind Startup Rocket, is a venture firm with offices in Chicago, Seattle and Jacksonville, Florida. Henikoff signed on as an informal advisor through his relationship with Will Little, a Prota managing director and a veteran of Techstars offices in Seattle and Chicago.
Henikoff compared Startup Rocket to online courses like Codeacademy. Someone who wants to learn how to code in Javascript could use the web classes to become, if not an expert, at least proficient in a wide range of coding skills. Likewise, Henikoff says, company founders who use Startup Rocket will be “way better off” than if they try to go it alone.
As the Jacksonville Business Journal reported Wednesday, Prota is targeting startups that build software products and are in need of early-stage capital investment. The companies that are likely to use Startup Rocket probably aren’t ready for a Techstars program, Henikoff explained, but the interactive instructional guide could help them reach that level.
“I would love to see people use Startup Rocket to get them to the point where they are ready for Techstars or [mid-stage] investment from a venture firm,” he said.
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(Image via Chicago Business Journals)
