Arizona’s upcoming entrepreneurs were given a chance to showcase their prowess at the first Seed Spot event on Thursday.
Seed Spot, a nonprofit organization, officially launched its first program at the Levine Machine Building on Grant and Sixth streets.
Seed Spot is a nonprofit organization that supports select entrepreneurs in Arizona, giving them guidance in legal information, marketing, business plans, development, commercialization, marketing, publicity and revenue generation.
The application for Seed Spot lasted from July 1 to Aug. 30. Of the 191 applicants, 16 were accepted and moved into the building for training.
Chris Petroff, Seed Spot’s co-founder, believed there needed to be a place for entrepreneurs to get the resources that they need to be successful.
“We wanted to find a way to help local entrepreneurs who are startups get a quality level of service and get them to the point where they’re creating the Phoenix that we want Phoenix to be,” Petroff said. “That’s how Seed Spot came about.”
Co-founder Courtney Klein was inspired to start the program by her own struggles with finding connections as an entrepreneur.
“I was scrambling out in Phoenix trying to find people,” Klein said. “I was trying to find a lawyer, an accountant and a graphic designer, but there was no centralized place that could help entrepreneurs. Seed Spot came out of the notion of supporting dreamers that we have in Arizona.”
Matthew Cottle hopes to expand his business, Stuttering King Bakery, into its own independent business and hire adults with autism to work in it.
“Seed Spot is helping me build a website and a kitchen within the building,” Cottle said. “I am autistic myself and would like to give other autistic adults a chance to hone a craft.”
Scott Macdonald created HearBudz, which are attachments that reposition Apple earbuds to make them safer and more enjoyable to listen to. He commended Seed Spot for its enormous aid in his company.
“We’ve only been here since the beginning of the week, but they’ve helped tremendously,” MacDonald said. “They’ve brought in people to talk to us and help us organize business plans. I anticipate being helped a whole lot more, but this week has been mainly about moving in, getting settled, and figuring out what we’re doing.”
Mayor Greg Stanton, who approved a partnership with Seed Spot to lease them office space, emphasized the need to change the way business in Arizona is conducted.
“We’ve got to do better right in the heart of the city. Implement creativity and technology, and use the brain power to build a more diverse, sustainable economy,” Stanton said. “Nobody is going to ride in on their white horse and save this economy, the city, and the future from the outside. We’re going to take the talent that’s right here.”
The chosen Seed Spot applicants will spend eight months with its mentors to learn about curriculum, content, business plans, marketing and commercializing before moving out of the building and into their own office spaces.
Contact the reporter at jeffrey.buel@asu.edu
