People

Business Assistance FAQs

What will IW do for a company?
Working with IW is likely to increase the probability and scale of a company’s success. IW provides companies with access to a team of seasoned professionals who work directly with companies to help them in areas of business, human resources, and financial planning, fundraising strategies, product development, marketing, competitive analysis, and sales, as needed.

What is the process?
An IW Executive in Residence (EIR) is assigned to work directly with the company

  • First, IW and the company determine whether the company’s aspirations are consistent with the IW mission. If not, an attempt will be made to introduce the company to a more appropriate resource.
  • Next, IW and the company founders review the company’s business plan and discuss the strategic vision for the company. What is the company’s potential? How might that potential be achieved? What resources will be needed? If a business plan has not been prepared, IW provides guidance and direction as well as introductions to local resources that can help.
  • If the company’s founders and the IW professionals share a vision of the company’s potential, the discussion moves on to what needs to be accomplished in the short term, i.e., the next six, twelve or eighteen months.
  • These discussions are likely to include a frank discussion concerning the availability of IW funding. Companies receiving funding from IW are likely to require access to resources well beyond those available from IW. As such, it is essential to focus on what the company must do in order to attract follow-on resources. These may include Federal Grant Programs, angel and venture capital investment, and referrals to other business development companies.
  • With a shared vision and agreement as to the initial goals of the company, a detailed action plan is developed. Again, this is material that should be part of the business plan, although it might require some reworking to align with an associated budget. This is likely to be contained in a quarterly plan for key, value accretive actions by functional area and monthly financial projections for the next 24 months.
  • Procedurally, the IW Investment Committee must recommend an investment to the IW board of directors and the board must approve each investment. 
  • Then legal due diligence must be completed and a contract is signed.

It must be noted that about 200 companies approach IW for assistance each year, but only ten-or-so will receive investment.

What type of expertise do you have on staff?
At IW, we have a team of experts, EIRs, who understand the needs and challenges of an entrepreneur firsthand.  They have started technology companies, staffed them for growth, helped them launch new products into new markets, and attracted funding along the way.  They are former CEOs, technologists, business experts and investors, and, together, they bring an aggregation of real-world expertise from the hundreds of companies they’ve run or advised.

The EIR is the company’s primary point of contact with IW. The EIR will guide the company’s management to resources within and through IW. An EIR will work directly with a company, particularly the founding team, helping it navigate the rough waters to entrepreneurial success. Through the EIR, the company has access to the entire Entrepreneurial Services Team. On an as-needed basis, specific EIRs and other professionals, internal or external to IW, may be recruited to assist with specific challenges.

The EIR provides advice, assesses the company’s market, and contributes to the creation of the funding strategy. The EIR is the company’s advocate to IW concerning IW investment, when warranted, and will participate with the company’s board of directors as an observer if IW does provide funding.

What are IW’s distinctive competencies?
Since its founding in 1999, IW has worked with almost one thousand companies in a variety of capacities.

Of these, IW has invested over $40 million in over 100 companies. These same companies have raised over $500 million from other sources, including investors such as angels and venture capital firms.

IW professionals have helped companies secure this funding by providing the bridge between what the company wants to do and what a funding source wants to fund. Through IW participation in all of these funding events, our professionals are very close to the current funding environment. IW has “done deals” with virtually every funding source in the region, and with many from outside the region.  That means that IW knows:

  • How deals are being done, including valuations and form of investment
  • The consequences of different forms of funding
  • How to assist the entrepreneur in choosing the path that is most appropriate to him/her and his/her company
  • Business models that “work”
  • Examples of business decisions that worked, and those that didn’t
  • Risks and potential pitfalls of commercialization strategies encompassing development, sales, and marketing
  • Boards of Directors composition and governance issues
  • Ways to conserve cash
  • Entrepreneurial mentors who have successfully grown companies
  • Investors willing to give “friendly” feedback
  • The importance of honest feedback and advice, even if it’s not what the entrepreneur wants to hear

When should I contact IW?
A company should contact IW as soon as it can - the earlier, the better. For a first-time entrepreneur, the process of starting a business and developing a business plan can be complex and confusing. IW can help to minimize that anxiety and help the company identify and evaluate the options available to it. We encourage companies to complete the introductory questionnaire online to begin working with IW.

How long do you provide help to entrepreneurs?
The path to commercialization can take months or years.  Often when entrepreneurs first contact IW, they are in the very early stage of company development.  We start with an understanding of where the entrepreneur believes the company can go, and work with him/her to select the best path to commercialization, guiding along the way.  We invest the time to understand the company and provide experts in targeted areas that can have the greatest impact.  That may take months or more than a year.

Do you provide legal counsel?
While we do not provide legal counsel, we work closely with attorneys who specialize in the needs of early-stage technology companies and can introduce and guide you through those relationships.

Is there a charge for your services?
We do not charge for our service, but you will need to provide IW with reports and complete an annual Impact Survey.

How does IW work with other assistance & funding organizations?
The Pittsburgh Region is fortunate to have several organizations that work with early-stage technology-based companies.  IW has collaborative working relationships with all of them and networking access to appropriate outside resources, also one of our strengths.