The local entity that debuted The Brandery accelerator in 2010 has found a new life as a facilitator between local businesses and the funding they need to grow.
Main Street Ventures, which was originally launched in 2000 to give tech companies a physical space to work, sums up its 2018-born purpose thusly: "[Our] primary initiative is to support emerging businesses that show potential to create jobs and other opportunities in the Cincinnati area."
At first blush, it might seem like a departure from the work the original Main Street Venture team, which then became The Brandery's leadership and now returns to lead this new version of MSV, began nearly 20 years ago.
"There's a gap in the market that’s being unfulfilled. We launched Main Street Ventures to fill that."
But J.B. Kropp, who helped found The Brandery and will help lead MSV, said that the organization's second life is a natural extension of the team's work.
"We're in a unique spot because of the success of The Brandery," he continued. "[We can] put capital to work that still aligns to our mission, and with the growth of Over-the-Rhine and a lot of small businesses, there’s a lot of great work we can do in a hyper-local level."
That work?
"There's a gap in the market that’s being unfulfilled," Kropp said. "We launched Main Street Ventures to fill that."
It's perhaps more like a gap between gaps, with Kropp and co. realizing that while The Brandery helped catalyze entrepreneurship in the Queen City and attract top talent to the area, local businesses weren't receiving the same attention — or at the very least, the attention that they needed.
"There were a lot of great entrepreneurs who may not have a classic, VC-backed type of company," Kropp said, citing those who owned businesses like local coffee shops or manufacturers who supply the region. "These companies aren’t out there to raise venture capital [like startups], but they support local ecosystems and create jobs."
That doesn't change the fact that these organizations need to be able to afford the right equipment, hire the right employees and fill their shelves with the right inventory to keep in business.
And while groups exist to raise money for, say, the arts to have the resources they need, entrepreneurs and small businesses owners didn't have an analogous entity in their corner.
Main Street Ventures wants to be that entity, and it has a pretty simple premise: Interested applicants apply for grants. If the team thinks the business is a good fit, said organization will receive a grant ranging from $10,000 to $30,000.
"Our goal is to take someone who has a very small idea that’s hyper-local and help them grow and have a business," Kropp said. "Local business is a very admirable thing to take on, [and] being a local business is very hard ... you don’t want to see companies shut their doors."
While Kropp said MSV is interested in businesses doing something unique with inventory (and have already given micro greens producer Waterfields a grant), they're still working out the nitty-gritty of applicant criteria.
They'll have to do it quickly; Kropp added that there are a few applicants already in the queue that "look pretty interesting."
Besides laying down groundwork as Main Street Ventures takes off, the team has goals of fundraising, acquiring more parternships beyond Ohio Third Frontier and working to support events and causes through sponsorships.
The response to MSV has been "overwhelmingly positive," Kropp said, adding that he hadn't seen a similar group yet in any other cities doing what MSV wants to do.
Kropp and five other board members will lead MSV, with Minnesota-based accelerator gener8tor continuing to run The Brandery (along with The Brandery alum).
"The gener8tor guys are fantastic and are going to do a wonderful job," Kropp said. "We’re really excited about this."
