ADVERTISEMENT

    Hatch Helping Businesses at the Critical Hour

    When you’ve jumped of the cliff and decided to start your own business, there’s a lot of make or break moments. During those times you often just need a nudge in the right direction or that one key connection, and ideally you could get that insight without giving up control of your company or spending large sums of money. With a tagline of help at the critical hour, Hatch is here to fill that gap.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Founder Christopher Celeste noticed a pattern when it comes to startups. In order to get money, a company has to give up control, and without money, it’s hard to get advice. Most businesses just need a little bit of help. Celeste says to think of it like a roadtrip – you don’t need someone to come in and drive the car and tell you where to go, you just need someone to fill up the tank or keep you company.hatch2

    “Hatch really became a boutique practice that offered coaching and connections and capital to entrepreneurs that were either starting or stuck,” Celeste says. 

    He knows how to help because he’s been through it, having built and exited a startup himself. He’s joined by another person that knows a thing or two about business, his wife and Resource Ammirati Founder Nancy Kramer.

    Together, Celeste and Kramer are approaching coaching and connections in a novel way. Hatch doesn’t charge anything or sell consulting services or have a fund.

    “We want to work for entrepreneurs,” Celeste says. 

    Coffee meetings and connections are the basic business model.

    “It doesn’t cost me anything to make that introduction,” Celeste says. “It’s more a philosophical way of trying to be in the startup community. Investors should work for entrepreneurs not the other way around.”

    Hatch strays away from an industry focus for their services.

    “The number one question is can we actually add value,” Celeste says. Is this an experience or industry with which someone in their network is familiar? Anybody can give an entrepreneur money, but the real value-add comes with connections. 

    An entrepreneur’s personality is also a driving factor in Hatch’s evaluation of a company. Celeste asks if the individual is someone he would want to work with everyday? Are they coachable? Making an investment in a business is really making an investment in the person.

    While coaching and connections are the main focus, Hatch does make small monetary investments in some of the companies they work with. Usually done in increments between $25,000 and $500,000, Hatch has strategically invested about $2 million in various companies.

    When Hatch chooses to make an investment, it’s not necessarily about getting the highest return possible or investing in the newest high-growth tech startup. They’re looking for that street-level human-scale entrepreneur that builds the fabric of a vibrant community. It’s the places that they can walk in and see.

    Nothing reflects that more clearly than Hatch’s recent investment in the Columbus Idea Foundry.

    “We believe that having a thriving makerspace in Franklinton can help remake the community,” Celeste says. 

    The investment will go towards the buildout of the second floor of the makerspace, which has been in the plans all along. The Idea Foundry originally planned to fundraise the money needed for the building’s completion, but Hatch’s investment has eliminated the need to do so.

    Celeste and Kramer are silent investors in the project, letting the already successful Idea Foundry team continue to do what they are doing. Celeste says the investment will allow them to do more and do it faster, while also potentially adding some new layers to the business.

    For more information, visit hatch.us.com.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    Columbus Idea Foundry Celebrates 15 Years of Mischief

    In the timeless words of philosopher Ferris Bueller, "Life...

    Kaufman Development Purchasing Franklinton’s Idea Foundry

    Gravity owner and developer Kaufman Development is purchasing the...

    First Look: PatronArt Unveils New Gallery in Idea Foundry

    Fine art marketplace and Columbus-based startup PatronArt now has...

    Small Business Solutions: ECDI’s Quick Loan Product

    Everyday across the state of Ohio, entrepreneurs in all...
    Susan Post
    Susan Post
    Susan is the editor of The Metropreneur and associate editor of Columbus Underground, and also covers small business and entrepreneurial news and the food scene in Central Ohio.Susan holds a degree in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing from The Ohio State University. She sits on the board of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and loves coffee, whiskey, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
    ADVERTISEMENT