Re-Building the North Bay Entrepreneurial Ecosystem — Why is this important for Marin and North Bay Economic Development?

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75% of Marin’s 12,000 incorporated businesses are small (under 10 employees) but make up 50% of the local economy’s sales revenues and local sales tax generation. Yet, Marin does not have an adequately resourced, centralized capacity to support this important sector. 

VenturePad’s Accelerator services and assistance to start-ups and small, growing businesses have proven to be the difference between non- incubated start-ups having a survival rate of 44% and incubated-accelerated start-ups having a survival rate of 87%, according to industry research reports.  Marin's two prior incubators supported and launched over 360 companies starting in 2010 and ending in 2015 when they closed. Three years into this hiatus without an entrepreneurship center, VenturePad is filling that gap. 

Examples of successful local companies having been incubated in the last several years in Marin include:

  • Illumalighting: A full service lighting solutions company dedicated to providing customers with the most cost effective solutions for their lighting needs. Acquired by Evolvelectric..

  • Sonoma USA: Branded gear made from upcycled banners and other industrial waste

  • Next Phase Solar (sold to Enphase) Worldwide leader in microinverters, AC home battery storage, smart solar monitoring technologies, and now integrated AC Modules from top PV manufacturers.

  • TrimTab Media: Storytelling services for progressive businesses and nonprofits - video and documentaries

  • Sol-Ed: design, build, pay for, and operate renewable energy systems, so you avoid upfront capital expense or financing.

  • Helios: World's 1st commercial real estate platform for energy project development,  & financing.

 
The Region’s Most Successful Exits

The North Bay has a rich history of successful startup companies across multiple sectors. According to research from Marin-Sonoma Impact Ventures, if Marin + Sonoma together were the 51st U.S. state, this hypothetical state would have seen more quality startups formed here last decade than half of U.S. states and would rank in the top 3 of all states in the number of quality startups per capita. Below are a list of the top exits that funded companies had in the past decade. 

Top Exits for North Bay Startups ≤10 Y.O. – 2010-2019

Source: MSIV original research across discussions and multiple platforms including Crunchbase, Pitchbook, and LinkedIn

* IPO exit value assumed to be company market cap six-months after IPO date

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Alejandro Moreno S.

Freelance marketing consultant and multi-potentialite. About to design my 4th squarespace site for a new workspace/incubator/accelerator I'm helping launch. The 3rd website I did is for the olive tree farm my family just bought in Tuscany (which is also an Italian villa vacation rental).  I split my time professionally between marketing, translating and interpreting live (Spanish/English), and soon I'll also be a farmer in Toiano, Tuscany (betwen Pisa and Florence). A few months a year are spent in Marin County California where I grew up and have lived most of my life. Musician, oenophile and photographer are a few additional apt descriptions.