Friday Q&A: Entrepreneurs Forum rebuilt to connect with startups, veterans

Dan Ross is proud to say that some Philly companies have done well during the past year in what many economists say is the worst downturn since the Great Depression.
And he’s got proof.
On Wednesday, 100 companies in the Philadelphia region were awarded at the Entrepreneurs Forum of Greater Philadelphia‘s Philly 100. It wasn’t an arbitrary designation; these are companies that were able to meet the contest’s stringent restrictions: real growth in sales and revenue figures year-over-year, among others.
“We know of a number of award programs, top 25s or top 50s, they were not able to fill their quota. The good news is that we were able to achieve our top 100 with some great firms,” Ross said in a telephone interview early this week.
Of course, the gains are modest, but they’re gains, found by companies that are staying current and nimble in concerning times.
“We don’t see some of the hugely dramatic numbers that we’ve seen across the board, but they’re growing. They’re making it through the economic times and continuing to thrive and grow employment.”
Since retiring, Ross has been steering the Forum as Executive Director for six years, volunteering 20 to 30 hours a week to help young businesses connect with veterans. The service — which is funded by business sponsors and the Forum’s monthly events — is offered free of cost.
Like the businesses it recognizes, the Forum, too, has refocused its efforts to stay current. After a series of focus groups, it has launched its fiscal 2011 event series, “True North,” which focuses on young, early-stage businesses and high-growth late-stage companies. And it’s now offering an “experts on-demand” advice service that any entrepreneur can take advantage of.
After the jump, Ross talks about the Philly 100 winners, the region’s information technology growth, and about the Forum’s newly found strategy.

Tell us some history about the Forum—

The Forum has been in existence for 25 years. It started in the Philadelphia area as a spring-off of something being done by MIT. That relationship severed, but some local entrepreneurs and VCs formed the group with overall mission of helping grow small businesses through education and access to resources. That mission really hasn’t change that dramatically.
It’s also important to understand how the forum is funded. We receive no public funds from any organization. We are really funded by a group of local businesses that are interested in entrepreneurialism and that want give back to the community.
What’s your background as an entrepreneur?

I retired after 32 years in the IT industry, working for Unisys. Back in the 80s, there were no channels of distribution, so computers were sold through a direct sales force. That caused us to have help small companies get into business.
Can you give some details about Experts on Demand? Who’s helping?

We have expertise in public relations, strategic planning, funding, intellectual property, and more. If you’re starting up some sort of a mobile technology company or some kind of software company, but you’re in the early stages, we’ll hook you up with one of our people and they’ll go through with an individual company where are you, what are your issues and kind of set you on the path of heading toward a resource that can help you.

What does this year’s Philadelphia 100 say abut the entrepreneurial community in Philadelphia in 2010?

There are a couple broad things I can say. First of all, Philly 100 is based on sales and revenue growth year-over-year and a number of other accounting metrics; you can’t have declared bankrupt, you have to be a private firm, etc. Obviously, in this period of time, year-over-year sales growth is a difficult thing to accomplish. We know of a number of award programs, they did a top 25, or top 50, they were not able to fill their quota. The good news is that we were able to achieve our top 100 with some great firms. We probably have a higher percentage of repeat winners than we’ve had in a while, so that speaks to some of these strengths of established firms, firms that have good processes that have good business plans that allow them to adapt to changing business conditions.
And how did the IT community fare in this year’s awards?

My quick take is that 30 percent of the winners are core technology companies, either through products or services.  I suspect that a number more could be considered IT-based firms that offer a variety of services based upon technology platforms.
How does someone get involved with the Forum? Is there a fee?

It doesn’t cost you anything to be a member. We charge a modest amount for monthly events. That’s one of the differentiators that we talked about in terms of our positioning. We provide great educational content and you don’t have to make a $10,000 commitment to join. If you wish to be involved as a sponsor, there are fees that range from $500 for a small company to $2500 for a big company.