Let’s Create a Growth Strategy Together.
Why Fund?
Equity based seed fund funding local startups.
Undeniably, capital for early-stage companies is a crucial element of a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem: it validates commercially-viable ideas early. Additionally, capital also enables business development to occur faster than what bootstrapping alone allows, and it attaches a team of mentors and investors who have “skin” in the game to help the company succeed and provide instrumental, and often cross-sector, expertise.
Other goals of the fund are to increase local demand for products and services, connect entrepreneurs and critical business networks, increase access to diverse and varied economic ideas, provide access to necessary capital for startups, and/or foster balanced power relationships that empower local citizens and develop their sense of control.
The FUSE Fund will be used to recruit and empower seed-stage investors, educate CEOs of early startups, foster cross-sector collaboration, market a Tri-Cities fund and, ultimately, grow the TriCities entrepreneurial ecosystem
Why Tri-Cities?
Severe need for local start-up funding.
There is a severe need for the development of a Tri-Cities seed fund that can engage new and young start-ups that might not qualify for other funding. Early-stage capital resources generate additional deal flow: as regional investors provide capital to companies, these regions attract more companies, which then attract higher-caliber talent. Those companies and talent in turn attract more investors, which further attracts companies and talent. It is this self-reinforcing, virtuous cycle that grows the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Tri-Cities is ripe for exactly this type of growth—both because necessity dictates movement away from our reliance on the Hanford Site and because the current momentum bolstered by Tri-Cities Research District through this grant application has created unprecedented private-partner-nonprofit linkages essential for success.
The Tri-Cities is home to a growing number of high-tech manufacturing firms, environmental and engineering companies, and food growers and processors.
Why Fuse?
Mentors
There is a severe need for the development of a Tri-Cities seed fund that can engage new and young start-ups that might not qualify for other funding. As regional investors provide capital to companies, these regions attract more companies, which then attract higher-caliber talent.
Coworking
There is a severe need for the development of a Tri-Cities seed fund that can engage new and young start-ups that might not qualify for other funding. As regional investors provide capital to companies, these regions attract more companies, which then attract higher-caliber talent.
Business Partners
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Washington State University Tri-Cities (WSU-TC), Port of Benton, Hanford contractors, TCRD. Because the TCRD is a partnership between various organizations and entities—both public and private—it is perfectly positioned to fuse stakeholders and promote a shared vision for the regional economy around entrepreneurship.
Accelerator
the fund is linked to entrepreneurial education program. Most notably, the fund is linked to entrepreneurial education program Boost, which provides sustainable, recurring, semi-annual programs that lift new entrepreneurs and businesses to become better candidates for receiving early-stage capital and provide a pathway for a range of entrepreneurs—from an individual with an idea to a business that has built a product and has gained traction to enter the ecosystem.
Boost Programs
Boost Programs also encourage those who might not become entrepreneurs to be able to participate in the ecosystem and to move upstream through tiered programs at their initiative. This process champions diversity, as instead of imposing ideas, we add fire to an already-burning flame to allow others to leverage their solutions and their ideas; notably, this approach is attractive to female founders and founders of color.
Founder education
has been developed by a private-sector entity in the Tri-Cities in response to the lack of entrepreneurial aptitude and support infrastructure in our mid-sized community. In just three years, the program has achieved remarkable metrics with limited resources: 100 new companies and over 400 jobs have been created. With the expansion of strategic educational programming (for which we are applying for i6 Challenge grant), networking and teambuilding events, and business and leadership mentoring, Boost better prepares people and companies to receive early-stage capital.
Our goal is to support the success of various organizations and businesses located within the region in creating new jobs and tax base, while diversifying the Tri-Cities economy
About Fuse
Founded in 2014 as the TriCities’ first social purpose corporation, Fuse provides a coworking environment, as well as resources for the startup entrepreneurial, artistic, and tech communities. Fuse aims to cultivate a vibrant haven for new opportunities and champions innovators to fearlessly create successful companies and community who continually expand the Fuse ecosystem. Fuse has created, expanded, and deployed founder education in the Tri-Cities with considerable success. Fuse SPC will provide TCRD with invaluable lessons learned.