Note: This is the second part of a story describing the process of an idea – a gown to help fight hospital infections – to the signing of a national partner for what came to be called the “GoGown.”
DURHAM, N.C. - So many startup entrepreneurs complain, fret and moan about the lack of financing in the Triangle and North Carolina that the cries are tuned out by a lot of others.
That’s life. Get on with it. Find other ways to grow your business. Have you tried networking?
If there is anything more valuable to an entrepreneur launching a new venture than the idea driving a new company, it is just that: networking – not financing.
As the potential big hit story of GoGowns – a creation of a registered nurse in Durham – clearly shows, making the right connections can open the doors of success.
Just ask inventor and founder Ginny Porowski.
Ginny and her business partner Lisa Bourget were searching for a way to take GoGowns beyond prototype and dream stage to reach business when they contacted John Austin at Groundwork Labs in Durham. Groundwork, which is designed to help businesses grow through networking, mentoring and guidance – not funding – helped the GoGown teams connect with Edison Nation Medical, a group focused on incubating medical technology businesses in Charlotte. And as we reported Thursday GoGowns may someday be fighting hospital infections in a healthcare facility near you.
“While at Groundwork labs we were made aware of Edison Nation Medical, and found they were looking for new product ideas to reduce hospital-acquired infections,” Porowski said.
Groundwork also played a role in the creation of “Groundfloor,” a startup focused on bringing crowdfunding to the real estate market and has already landed investors.
WRALTechWire asked Austin about how Groundwork, which is backed by economic development firm NC IDEA, how he was able to play matchmaker.
“Ginny fit our profile of someone who could really benefit from Groundwork Labs – an expert in the problem space with an interesting idea but not a lot of experience in figuring out how to build a business around it,” Austin said.
“She had a lot of connections in healthcare, but was having difficulty breaking into the medical device space as an individual.”
Austin brought his network of contacts into play, demonstrating the power of personal contacts as he worked with Porowski and Bourget to shape their idea.
No matter how good that idea or product is, it’s who you know – or who they know – that can make a deal work.
“As we explored various options several didn’t make sense – it wasn’t like Ginny had the burning desire to run a manufacturing plant that made hospital gowns – so we started looking at various licensing options,” Austin explained.
“I had mentioned GoGown to one of NC IDEA’s board members, Doug Ellis, who is from Charlotte and had connections at Carolinas HealthCare System and Edison Nation Medical.
“We made an introduction and Ginny and Lisa took it from there.”
Groundwork has a process Austin follows in helping put together and grow emerging ventures. Check out the chart accompanying this post.
What about the rest of the matchmaking? In Part Three, WRALTechWire talks with Edison Nation Medical about what interested that group most about the GoGown.
