MoTown was machine, a solid gold hit making machine.
Talent + Creative/Catchy Musical Hooks + A marketing/promotion machine = solid gold hits for 40+ years. Just from 1961 to 1971, Motown had 110 top 10 hits. They developed a repeatable hit making process, a formula, a hit machine. Talent goes in once side, Hits exit the other.
MoTown also led the charge integrating black music mainstream. They launched acts like Stevie Wonder and The Supremes.. exposing “black” music to white listeners everywhere. This was pre civil-rights. Can you say Disruptive? Game changers.
Is it possible to find a similar formula for business? A process that put’s smart talent and ideas in one end, and cranks out hit companies on the back side? Is this what the likes of TechStars, and Y Comb are doing? I dont know. Just asking the question.
Say a startup business formula does exist. Can it exist here in the desert?
Could the Fractals, Dojo’s, Gangplanks, organize the technical and creative talent? Can the AIGA’s and AZIMA’s lasso in the hardcore creatives and digital marketers? Can we entice the TIEAZ’s and other business development, management, and sales people away from their Paradise Bakeries to co-mingle with the other parties? Could we get the ATIFs, Arizona Angels, SociallLeverages of the valley to invest? Finally can we get the local governments to understand their future tax base will be built on upon the jobs created by these these other groups working together?
Can these moving parts and energy forces be harnessed into some sort of formula, where each feeds off of and feeds into the other?
Smart people with solid business ideas, partnered with and advised by smart business people, with their ideas refined and executed by smart technical and creative classes, funded by local money, and supported by local government.
Could such a machine exist in Arizona? Naw, Lets build more houses.
Um…of course it can. Isn’t this what we are all working on? And is there a formula? Not one that suits everyone. I know people who love YCombinator, and I just read a post by someone who doesnt — who says it is full of former Google people who build a company with Y Combinator’s investment and connections just to sell back to Google:-)
For this to work, we need to be louder, work harder and change perceptions on how and why the economy needs to diversify.
I agree that these active groups in Phoenix – groups of entrepreneurs, investors, programmers, marketers and designers – are not doing much to connect outside their sub-specialties.
As a TiE member (sitting in Paradise Bakery right now) and ATIF angel investor, I believe that these groups have much to benefit by connecting outside our own disciplines, but it has to be a priority for the leadership of the respective groups that you mentioned above.
The key leaders of of each of these different groups should get together to figure out what we are going to do this year – together – to start cross-pollinating, connecting and creating action.