ITEN News

Francis Chmelir: New Director of Operations for ITEN

Q&A with Francis Chmelir

Welcome to ITEN! How are you adjusting to your new job?

I am very excited by my role here at ITEN. I had been involved in the past as a mentor, but seeing the breadth and scope of the program up close is very impressive. Jim Brasunas and Jing Stiffler have done a tremendous job adding both quality mentors and exciting new companies to the network. In addition, our programs such as the Business Model Validation (BMV), Mock Angel, and the future Growth Acceleration Program (GAP) will be powerful tools for companies to use.

What kinds of things will you be doing initially?

My initial focus will be a fairly intensive listening tour consisting of meeting with both mentors and companies. The important feedback I will be collecting will help with the delivery of ITEN mentoring and programs. This should lead to even better experiences for everyone involved, while accelerating the growth of our client companies.

I will also be taking an active role in administering our venture acceleration programs, with particular emphasis on the BMV program. ITEN has several events planned in 2012 to celebrate our mentors and our companies and I will be involved in implementing those as well.

What makes ITEN such a valuable resource to local entrepreneurs?

ITEN has tremendously loyal and dedicated mentors, willing to share their experiences with entrepreneurs. Additionally ITEN is establishing a sense of community that challenges the notion that you have to leave St. Louis to develop a successful IT startup. There are resources, talent and capital coming together right here in our region. ITEN is playing a vital role in making that happen and that makes it very exciting.

You worked with IT startups before from 2004-2008 at the Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC). How has the environment changed in the St. Louis region for IT entrepreneurs?

There is more of a commitment to developing local entrepreneurial talent than ever before in St. Louis. The ecosystem is evolving quickly, where several years ago it was much harder to even find resources as an entrepreneur. Funding opportunities with groups like Capitol Innovators and Arch Grants are very promising developments that didn't exist for the time I was at TEC. At the state level the Missouri Technology Corporation is playing an active role in funding some early stage technology companies.

I am also impressed by the sense of community that I see in local entrepreneurs. I have heard from a number of these companies that they want to remain in the region and grow their company here. Their long term goal is to help the next generation of entrepreneurs and become mentors themselves.

How do you see the IT ecosystem in the region developing in 2012 and beyond?

I am very optimistic about the future of IT startups in this region. The efforts of many organizations in the region to bring capital to our area will only help matters. There are many companies in the ITEN portfolio that are getting significant funding and in a growth phase. I believe 2012 and beyond will see several success stories about ITEN companies and the further development of a vibrant IT ecosystem.

With special thanks to George Smith and AHM Financial Group, ITEN continued its successful 2nd Thursday networking event on February 9th at The Tavern of Fine Arts at 313 Belt Avenue in the Central West End. The featured speaker of the evening was ITEN mentor and serial entrepreneur, Ewin Barnett. Barnett spoke to the gathered crowd of around fifty people about the implications of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that had been introduced to the United States Congress. Barnett, founder of the company, Carfax, discussed how SOPA could potentially affect the development of entrepreneurial ventures in this country. Following his talk, many entrepreneurs in the room were able to ask questions and further the discussion during the lively networking event.

ITEN Executive Director Jim Brasunas started off the evening detailing some of the exciting recent developments within ITEN such as the addition of Francis Chmelir as ITEN's new Director of Operations. ITEN will also be unveiling some new venture acceleration programs with more details to follow soon. Brasunas also made mention of Arch Grants Executive Director Sarah Spear. Spear will be the featured speaker in March at the next 2nd Thursday, where she will discuss the role of Arch Grants in helping to fund promising new ventures in our region.

We wish to call your attention to an exciting project, the Loop Media Hub.   This will be a showcase for our region as well as a living testbed for the development of new technologies and commercial applications.   We'd like to see as much of the local tech community get involved as possible.   This is a great opportunity for new and existing start-up ventures, universities and other local organizations to get involved in a collaborative project.   The Request For Information (RFI) has just been released along with a calendar of related events, beginning very soon, all open to the public:

The City of University City, Washington University, The Center of Creative Arts, The Regional Arts Council, The St. Louis Development Corporation and the University City Chamber of Commerce are considering a plan for the development of a  "one Gigabit Internet ecosystem for the community along The Loop Trolley right of way". The ecosystem plan will include provisions for ultra-gigabit connectivity, wireless services, smart phone apps and directory services, entrepreneurial incentives, economic development incentives, creative innovations and energy policy. The Loop Media Hub initiative makes use of a collaborative community engagement process through which the actual plan will be developed.

Please note the following instructions and public meeting dates below:

Instructions:
Public meetings will be help which will include a review of The Loop Media Hub program, mission and objectives as well as meetings to review specific sections of the RFI request. PLEASE BE SURE to register for any or all of the events you wish to attend.
Public Meetings: (click to register)

1) Infrastructure Provider ( conduit and fiber only ) Feb 14th 10AM-12PM.

2) Service Provider, Wireless and Managed Service Providers. Feb 17th 2-4 PM

3) Smart Phone apps, Tablets, Security and Creative Innovations, Feb 16th 2-4 PM

Other Meetings: (click to register)

1). Media and entertainment - March 14th, 2-4 PM

2). Entrepreneurship and venture capital - March 12th, 2-4 PM

3). Innovative economic development - March 19th, 2-4 PM

4). Energy policy for real-estate and data centers - March 13th, 2-4 PM

All public meetings will take place at The Regional Arts Council Conference Room C. 6128 Delmar, St. Louis Missouri 63128 - (314) 863-5811


RFI -

The RFI can be downloaded here

FaceBook -

Go to FB and search for The Loop Media Hub. Be sure to LIKE and SHARE this site as FB will be used during the collaboration process.

LinkedIn -

Go to LinkedIn and search for The St. Louis Cloud Coalition and JOIN. Be sure to use this site as Linkedin will be used during the collaboration process.

SHARE -
Please be sure to share and forward this information to other interested parties !

For additional information about the RFI or the project, please contact:

David Sandel
iPhone 314-435-3658
Fax 800-640-8643
President  Sandel & Associates LLC
St. Louis Cloud Coalition

We're very happy to announce that two ventures have completed Mock Angel training, preparing them for investor discussions and consideration:

ClubVision , headed by CEO Brian Blanchard, provides live streaming video from events and venues, accessible via a mobile app.

Edthena , founded by Adam Geller, has built a video platform for teacher training, mentoring and coaching programs. Both ventures have agreements with early adopters and are well on their way to successful execution.

The Mock Angel program has been very successful, with 9 of our first 11 graduates receiving outside funding. We wish the same great success for ClubVision and Edthena, our most recent graduates!