As a team working extensively with both start-ups and material/manufacturing companies, we’re excited to see our friends at MTEC SmartZone hosting their first accelerator! We recently sat down with members of the MTEC team to understand more about the U.P.’s (Upper Peninsula) innovation ecosystem, their unique position in the advanced materials and manufacturing innovation space, and their upcoming Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Program (AMMP) accelerator.
The AMMP Accelerator is a 3-month long program designed to provide support and resources to early-stage companies in the advanced materials and manufacturing space. The accelerator will run from April 30th through August 16th in Houghton, Michigan, with an end goal to showcase each start-up’s product to investors on a Demo Day at the end of the accelerator.
Katie Kirsch, longtime friend of OSB and Co-Director of Entrepreneurial Programming at MTEC, brings to the accelerator an extensive background in health tech, biotech, and advanced material innovation. As a serial entrepreneur herself, Kirsch knows firsthand the challenges start-ups face, and how to position start-up companies for growth.
Also joining Katie to speak on the accelerator and innovation in the U.P. are MTEC team members Patrick Visser, Chief Commercialization Officer, and Grace Hsia-Haberl, Co-Director of Entrepreneurial Programming. Visser is an experienced professional with over twenty years of experience across business development, finance management, and commercial consultancy, in addition to being a start-up founder himself. Also an entrepreneur herself, Hsia-Haberl is the Co-founder and CEO of Warmilu, a global non-electric warming technology manufacturing company, bringing “over twelve years of experience in economic development, innovation, business commercialization, fundraising (>$6.6M), board and executive management, and product iteration to the AMMP Accelerator.”
For Hsia-Haberl, her past entrepreneurial experiences have been essential to her role as an entrepreneurial educator:
“For the last four years, I have been designing tailored, hands-on, and immersive entrepreneurial programming for the next generation of startup founders. My lived experiences and understanding of what can make a Hard Tech company stick and grow sustainably and leanly has been instrumental in crafting programs and curricula for founders that has led to over $100K in investment.”
What is MTEC SmartZone?
MTEC SmartZone is an entrepreneurial hub serving Michigan’s Western Upper Peninsula to accelerate the growth and commercialization of local start-ups through mentorship and resource support. As a strong partner of Michigan Technological University, also located in Houghton, Michigan, MTEC has been a driving force behind attracting seed and venture capital investments in local communities in the U.P. for the last 20 years.
Booming Innovation in the U.P.
Although the U.P.’s innovation ecosystem is still relatively young, its growth is undeniable. Visser describes the recent boom of innovation activity taking place:
“In the Western U.P., many companies and jobs have been created, and a base of diversified tech, manufacturing and engineering services companies have taken root. Seed and venture capital investments in local communities and Michigan Tech startups have become fairly common whereas ten years ago it was basically non-existent.”
Kirsch adds, “it is immensely exciting to be in a space in an area that has predominantly not received a significant amount of funding, but has created a significant amount of commercial community.”
Although the ecosystem is expanding, innovators in the U.P. still navigate their fair share of challenges. Visser cites a need for large corporations nearby to provide financial, strategic, and mentoring support, as well as a need for local early-stage/Angel funding providers.
To address these challenges, the AMMP accelerator aims to connect early-stage entrepreneurs to large local corporations, and provide vital educational resources and professional support to help start-ups prepare for growth.
Kirsch describes the accelerator as “connecting the dots” for local, early-stage entrepreneurs:
“Where we're really seeing the accelerator helping is connecting the dots of what exists in that rural community, but then also building up that entrepreneurial ecosystem and getting students at Michigan Tech to think about, ‘Okay, I have this idea that I've been researching and working on, how could I make this into a business? And what does that look like?’”
For Hsia-Haberl, “connecting the dots” is just as much about providing entrepreneurs with the opportunity to learn through hands-on experience, as it is about connecting start-ups with educational resources.
“Entrepreneurship is best learned through active first hand practice. This is essential to understand market pain points and serve the needs of your stakeholders. I personally learned this through several entrepreneurial boot camps in the Midwest. This helped me accelerate my materials technology-based company, Warmilu, from an early-stage proof of concept into a company with patented technology that serves customers like Doctors Without Borders and others in 23 countries.”
For the local community, offering this type of holistic support is indispensable. In addition to driving outside investment and business growth, the AMMP accelerator is also committed to shaping a more inclusive innovation ecosystem and supporting the inclusion of underrepresented entrepreneurs, including innovators from the local indigenous Sault Tribe.
Kirsch on the value of bringing innovation resources to the U.P.:
“There is a lot to be said about bringing these resources to a rural community rather than demanding people go to a big city, or leave where they're at and where they have these very particular resources that are advantageous to advanced materials and manufacturing. And, you know, not divorcing those resources, keeping them in the same place.”
Who should apply to the AMMP accelerator?
For those interested in applying to the AMMP Accelerator, Kirsch emphasizes that the program is “industry agnostic” but that start-ups’ business models should incorporate advanced materials or manufacturing related technological innovation.
“We want to make sure the team is open and coachable, because we're going to be kind of offering them a lot of different perspectives, a lot of different offerings from different groups who have been down this path before and are going to give them a lot of different advice.”
For start-ups interested in spending the summer in the scenic Upper Peninsula and developing local partnerships, click here to learn more about the accelerator and apply by March 7th!
Written by Amy Qu, Innovation Strategist
