From Start Up to Scale Up: Startup Waco is the Hub for Entrepreneurs in Waco

by Jon Passavant, CEO, Startup Waco, and Kailey Davis, Marketing Partner, Startup Waco

Waco is a community of innovators and makers, bridge-builders, and world-changers. It is a place that welcomes dreamers and doers and embraces small business owners and entrepreneurs because they aren’t just strangers, they’re our neighbors. They wake up at 5 a.m. to brew your coffee, they served the meal you ate on your first date, and hand-stitched the quilt your kids snuggle under each night.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are incredibly essential to the growth, spirit, and economic health of Waco. They are the lifeblood of our community.

Startup Waco was formed out of that very belief. The vision that if Waco, Texas would continue its pioneering legacy, we needed to formalize an entrepreneurial ecosystem. As a nonprofit, Startup Waco serves the Greater Waco community by being a catalyst for a new culture of entrepreneurship. Designed with an inclusion mindset, Startup Waco champions entrepreneurs of all types by breaking down traditional barriers, collaborating with like-minded institutions and filling gaps. Startup Waco functions as the ecosystem hub for the startup business community, ensuring all aspects of Waco’s broader ecosystems work intentionally and collaboratively.

We often hear small business owners in Waco say they could not have gotten where they are without the support of other entrepreneurs in our community. None of us can do it alone! Together, we can share resources and insights that will help our entire community succeed.

Startup Waco plays a collaborative role in establishing Waco, Texas as a source for innovation, paving the way for future growth. Startup Waco accomplishes this goal by offering meaningful, strategic support to entrepreneurs of all types, with an emphasis on traditionally marginalized communities, so that businesses may successfully start up, scale up and flourish.

Startup Waco’s programs and events are the most tangible ways we meet the needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs in our community. We hold the fundamental belief that for cities to thrive, economies must thrive. And for economies to thrive, small businesses must thrive. That’s why Startup Waco’s singular focus is to come alongside entrepreneurs, offering support in all forms. Our programs and events are our various support avenues for entrepreneurs so that they may move successfully through the various stages of business growth.

Our programs and events range from networking and group brainstorming to skills workshops, incubators, mentorship opportunities, one-on-one counsel, expert advisory and more. While many programs and events are designed to meet common needs in our community, we create space for an extremely tailored approach. We have a “come as you are,” open-door approach to our work, welcoming every entrepreneur, regardless of where they are in their journey. Whatever the program, the goal is for entrepreneurs to walk away feeling like they had their unique and specific needs met.

The Meetup

The Meetup is a programming series designed to stimulate meaningful connections and incite increased collaboration within our local entrepreneurial and business community. The Meetup takes the 1 Million Cups paradigm and brings it to a whole new level by incorporating increased flexibility to best support Waco’s unique culture of entrepreneurship. Every Wednesday morning, The Meetup serves as a place for Waco entrepreneurs and small business owners to engage, connect and collaborate with one another.

IncubateX254

IncubateX254 is a community driven approach to small business incubation. Many business owners have experienced insurmountable barriers to launching and sustaining their enterprises, with many of these challenges going back generations. Intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent macro-economic environment, these barriers are threatening the survival of innumerable businesses throughout Central Texas. By targeting minority and women-owned businesses within industry verticals most affected by the pandemic, IncubateX254 aims to strategically and tangibly answer the most difficult challenges these business owners face.

Business Blueprints

Business Blueprints serves our entrepreneurial ecosystem by offering startups and established businesses the chance to participate in a three-week mini course where the cohort tackles tangible skills and benefit from group coaching and one-on-one mentorship. This highly dynamic program was specifically created to walk our business community through our proprietary toolkits, designed to address the fundamental needs experienced by most businesses. Business Blueprints consists of three in-person strategy sessions and a one-on-one meeting with an advisor over the course of three weeks.

Kiva

Kiva is a microfinance lending platform that provides capital for businesses by crowdsourcing funds from our very own community. Startup Waco serves as the Kiva Hub for Waco, connecting borrowers and lenders via the Kiva platform. Loans range from $1,000 to $15,000 with 0% interest, no fees, and an expected repayment schedule of 12-36 months. As a community-backed solution, Kiva makes access to capital more equitable, so that all people have the power to improve their lives.

Startup Week

Our annual capstone event, Startup Week, celebrates entrepreneurship in our community while raising awareness for the Startup Waco mission. In 2021, Startup Waco hosted this first-of-its-kind event, aiming to connect entrepreneurs and promote community over competition. At Startup Week, attendees participate in networking opportunities, seminars, breakout workshops, inspiring guest speakers, giveaways and more! Startup Week is a manifestation of our belief that when we share our collective insights and form connections with others, we make it possible for entrepreneurs to thrive in Waco and beyond.

Startup Waco’s programs and events exist to serve the entrepreneurial community by breaking down barriers and filling gaps, allowing entrepreneurs to move from startup to growth and become job producing pieces of the economy. But we could not do this on our own.

Collaboration is one of our core values. We work alongside other organizations, institutions, and individuals, prioritizing partnership so that we can maximize effectiveness. Partnering with other experts, thought leaders and resources in our community ensure the sustainability of our programs. We come alongside existing businesses to offer support so they may grow and scale. Additionally, we partner with entrepreneurial support organizations to enhance their services and connect dots so that businesses in all industries can flourish in Waco.

Moreover, we believe everyone has a seat at the table. We know the cards have traditionally been stacked against certain neighborhoods and demographics, excluding individuals – even entire communities – from sharing in economic prosperity. That’s why we approach everything we do with an inclusion mindset. We partner with organizations such as the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Cen-Tex African American Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Waco Chamber, the Heart of Texas Economic Development District, the McLennan Small Business Development Center, the city and county government, and even more local support organizations to ensure we are all working as one team, functioning as different pieces of the same puzzle.

Not only are we grateful to partner with so many wonderful support organizations in Waco to carry on our vision long-term, but we also get to work alongside some inspiring entrepreneurs every day as a part of the Startup Waco coworking community.

Out of a physical space in the heart of downtown Waco, Startup Waco hosts a coworking environment where entrepreneurs and business owners can gather, work, collaborate and dream. Members of the Startup Waco coworking community can opt for day passes, floating desk memberships, dedicated desk memberships, and private offices. All members have access to unlimited beer and coffee, Wi-Fi, printing and scanning, conference room bookings, and even access to experts and mentorship.

In addition to being used as a coworking community, the Startup Waco space serves as the physical location for all Startup Waco programs, incubators, accelerators, and collaborative meetings. Aside from membership and program use, the Startup Waco building truly serves as a community space that anyone (not just members) is able to rent out for networking events, speaking engagements, business meetings and more. In 2021, the Startup Waco space welcomed a range of events from college entrepreneurship clubs and business training workshops to artistic performances and celebratory gatherings.

We believe when we all come together, contribute our unique expertise, and steward our resources well, we can create a ripple effect. Startup Waco is committed to amplifying the impact of our partners and utilizing our funding to create positive waves that enact meaningful change.

With collaboration and teamwork being such a huge part of our work, we could not be more grateful for the support we have garnered from our community and our partners. These words of support and encouragement help champion us to keep making positive waves in our community:

"Startup Waco took me from nothing to a very successful hearing healthcare business. Jon and the team are amazing to work with! I am so grateful for all they have done for my business. They have been an integral part of what I do." – Josh Guerra, Heritage Mobile Hearing Solutions

“I have really enjoyed working with Startup Waco. When you first start a business, a lot of people come to you and try to sell their services, so I was wary of anyone offering help. But I very quickly realized Startup Waco is just there to provide a wealth of knowledge. I email them whenever I need a connection or to bounce ideas off someone for marketing and I love going to 1 Million Cups hosted at Startup Waco. It seems that the people at Startup Waco really want you to thrive because they know that everyone else succeeding is a long-term win for Waco.” – Jon Mark Buckner, January Letterpress

“Startup Waco played a big role for me when I first opened my business. They helped open doors for me, enabled me to form connections and introduced me to other people and business owners in the community.” – Adilene Camarena, Around the World Bakery

“Startup Waco created the space I needed to enter a new city with intentionality. When I moved to Waco eight months ago, I tried out a few co-working locations to settle into. Startup Waco quickly became my choice. I was looking for a great community, entrepreneurial resources, and an inspiring space, Startup Waco checked all three for me. Going from knowing almost no one in a new city to a deep network of impact-driven entrepreneurs and the launch of a new business is a testament to the mission of this organization. I’m truly grateful for the space and people I’ve come to know here.” – Jermaine Malcolm, New Apprenticeship

“When I moved back to Waco in 2015, I needed a place that could guide me on my entrepreneurial journey. I needed Startup Waco. Little did I know it would take four more years, but good things come to those who wait. Startup Waco provides a home for people who are wanting to start, grow, or scale their business. Waco has such a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, and I believe having access to Startup Waco has played a big part in that community.” – Cory Dickman, Rogue Capital

Moreover, starting or operating a business has never been easy, and for the last two years, the pandemic has left many entrepreneurs in our community and beyond feeling beset by uncertainty.

However, entrepreneurs are nothing if not resilient, ever finding ways to adapt to challenges and discover solutions when everything changes. We are fortunate to serve a community that is experiencing extraordinary growth, and that growth uncovers opportunities that would have been hard to imagine only a short while ago.

If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that none of us knows what’s ahead. We have all experienced our fair share of unforeseen challenges and indescribable loss in the pandemic. While we move toward our goals for the future, we strive to provide grace to ourselves and our community. We remember those we lost with gratitude and love and use that pain as motivation to serve others with compassion and excellence.

As we dream about what’s possible now, we are tasked with the important mission of laying the foundation for an ecosystem that serves all members and facets of our great community. We remain committed to seeing every entrepreneur in our community be resourced to succeed, and to be a catalyst to a new culture of entrepreneurship in our city.

Over the next 10 years, we hope to disburse over $1.5 million directly to Waco entrepreneurs through our Kiva Hub, incubate over 500 companies through our accelerators and incubator programs, and become a hub for tech startups throughout Texas, with an emphasis on retaining and attracting talent to Waco.

We will need help along the way, we will need resources, we will need new forms of support, but like the many amazing entrepreneurs throughout our region, we have resilience, and that is a big start.