A Business Chef Specialized in Startup Cuisine

Earlier this year, a startup incubator based in the second-smallest province in Canada was shortlisted as one of the two finalists for NBIA’s (National Business Incubation Association) international award, which honors the world’s best incubation methods that help startups launch, commercialize innovations and everything in between.

Get this — NBIA has 1,900 members in over 60 countries. To be recognized by the association as one of the crème de la crème in the incubation industry is no small feat. CABI (Canadian Association of Business Incubation) has also selected this incubator as the association’s 2009 Business Incubator of Year Award winner in our favorite category — Technology.

InNOVAcorp – it might be based in a small province called Nova Scotia but the effects it has on startups are anything but small. Put another way — InNOVAcorp is a business chef specialized in startup cuisine. It adds flavors to startups and helps them achieve mouth-watering growth. Their secret recipe includes 50 pounds of rock-solid incubation infrastructure, 9 full cups of serious mentoring, and 7 gallons of appetizing cash. Yum!

As with any first-rated chefs, InNOVAcorp only selects great ingredients. Venture Hype got in touch with President and CEO Dan MacDonald (aka “Big Mac”) to find out what kind of startups they’re hungry for.

* Edited interview

VH: You were the vice president of global marketing for Nokia prior to joining InNOVAcorp. How did you get involved with the incubator?

DM: The division of Nokia I belonged to was establishing its new world headquarters. Rather than moving my family from Silicon Valley, California to New York, I decided to return to Eastern Canada. I continued my role at Nokia out of Halifax during a transition period, and was recruited to the role at InNOVAcorp in May 2005. My experience in business-building, mergers and acquisitions, and global go-to-market strategies has come in handy for my current role.

VH: Given your previous position with Nokia, do you favor mobile startups?

DM: After 6 years of being dipped in “mobility” at Nokia, I’m definitely on the lookout for mobile startups, but I’m also very sober about the complexity of the market, especially in North America.

VH: What are the key elements that make a mobile startup successful?

DM: 2009 is a much better environment for mobile startups due to the momentum of the iPhone, BlackBerry, 3G networks, etc. That being said, the mobile startups that attract our attention are those that have more than a cool mobile game, widget, or ad-based business model. They have a compelling B2C and/or B2B offering that can be monetized and is scalable to millions of users.

VH: What other market segments excite you and what advice would you give to those who wish to invest in these segments?

DM: The market segments, and more specifically the opportunities, that excite us are those that are:

• highly scalable
• led by a competent person
• sold through a simple sales cycle
• armed with an unfair competitive advantage
• targeted at a large, high-growth marketplace
• able to deliver a rapid (3 to 6 months) return on investment

VH: You recently participated on Globe and Mail’s business incubator expert panel and provided advice to an entrepreneur who was facing go-to-market struggles. What are the common go-to-market struggles startups encounter that investors should be aware of?

DM: In my opinion, the go-to-market strategy and execution is what it’s all about. Thousands of compelling technologies, products, and services have failed to capture the market due to go-to-market misfires.

Investors must challenge the startup to share how they’ve validated their market assumptions, not by purchasing reports or research but by speaking directly to target customers and calibrating their approach through interacting with the target market.

Startups need highly relevant go-to-market expertise just as much as, if not more than, they need technical expertise. Many fail to understand this.

VH: Finally, what are the pros and cons of investing in knowledge-based startups in Nova Scotia?

DM: Unlike those in many other innovative places, startups in Nova Scotia benefit from their geographical closeness and familiarity to the large US and European markets.

In addition, they have -

• access to world class expertise and highly-skilled personnel from our 11 universities and associated research institutions
• the “grit and toughness” required to build a startup company
• access to supportive organizations like InNOVAcorp, the First Angel Network, and NRC IRAP

Like other underserved private capital areas, knowledge-based startups in Nova Scotia can fall into the undercapitalized category.

Just For Fun

VH: McDonald’s or Burger King?

DM: McDonald’s of course. Although, if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if I was called Big Mac or related to Ronald McDonald, I’d be a very rich man

Join Venture Hype tomorrow as MacDonald acquaints us with InNOVAcorp’s established business model and where you’d learn about forming and running a successful incubation program.

Link:

• Profile of InNOVAcorp’s Big Mac