A nonprofit incubator that helps military veterans launch startups will open a new downtown location in October.
The Armory’s downtown Phoenix location will be located in the Arizona Center and places it near state universities, Gateway Community College and the new Innovation District. Armory CEO Phillip Potter says the close proximity will help veterans make connections.
“Startups need a lot,” said Potter. “What they need more than anything else in early stages is, really, connections, great ideas and access to great people.”
Services at the Armory include facilities, shared services, training, mentoring, promotion and access, according to a city council report. Potter said the training comes in all shapes and sizes.
The training includes information on the basics of business, including how to hire, how to set up a corporate venture and other foundational training.
“They might be a technology company,” said Potter. “There’s an extra level of training that goes above and beyond for them.”
To assist with the move, staff recommended a city of Phoenix sponsorship of $20,000 from the current Community and Economic Development budget, according to a city council report.
“These veterans come out of the military, they’re incredibly talented, incredibly well trained in particular technologies, and moving their own businesses forward really allows advancement of new jobs into Phoenix,” said Christine Mackay, the city’s community and economic development director .
Mackay said the $20,000 sponsorship was approved on the subcommittee consent agenda and will be on the Oct. 19 council meeting, where the council will then vote to approve or decline the money.
Mackay said she doesn’t know how the council will vote, but she does know there is strong support at the council level for veterans’ entrepreneurship in the community.
If approved, the $20,000 sponsorship would not come out of the city’s operating budget but rather the Downtown Reinvestment Fund. The money would then go to the Armory for programs and events that they sponsor within that space, according to Mackay.
“From our city council side, entrepreneurship, as I said, is a huge focus,” Mackay said.
Through the Armory, there is a veteran-owned company called IntelliSpyre that entered into Cisco’s Innovation Grand Challenge. More than 5,500 companies applied, and IntelliSpyre was recently chosen as one of the top 15, according to Mackay and a press release posted on IntelliSpyre’s website.
“You won’t always see Phoenix being the financial sponsor of these things coming in, but you’ll see us out globally encouraging these investors and these opportunities to come back to Arizona and really invest that private sector money in those veterans entrepreneur-led companies,” Mackay said.
Contact the reporter at Holly.Bernstein@asu.edu.
