Co+Hoots' founder joins other female entrepreneurs to launch Phoenix startup incubator
Startup Kite set up to help entrepreneurs get new venture running in just 6 hours
By Hayley Ringle
Reporter, Phoenix Business Journal
Jul 30, 2018, 7:23am
When Pearl Chang Esau wanted to start her own consulting business after leaving the top job at Expect More Arizona, she turned to Co+Hoots’ founder Jenny Poon for help.
Esau, EMA's former president and CEO, spent about six hours on a Friday evening in late 2017 with Poon at the Phoenix co-working space Co+Hoots to develop a strategy.
Poon, who has started a number of her own companies, guided Esau through the process. That experience helped propel Poon to shift into high gear and combine her expertise in a partnership with Brandtini founder and CEO Robin Bramman and Moushi & Co. founder Tanya Moushi, to set up a fast-track incubator known as Startup Kite.
The six-hour rapid-launch Startup Kite program is designed to help a small group of entrepreneurs get the foundation to start their company and hone their business plan in one night.
“We’ve all started are own businesses, and each time it gets easier and easier,” Poon said. “We’re thinking how can we get people up and running as low risk and quickly as possible so they can focus on their core skill set. You can easily Google these things, but you can get sucked in for hours doing research.”
Esau said Poon gave her the map and she was able to follow it. Now, Esau has six projects under contract with her consulting company that focuses on helping organizations develop diverse community partnerships to accomplish broader goals.
“I feel like I could have spent a really long time on which tools and platforms to use," said Esau, who started her Phoenix-based Shan Strategies LLC in February. "She was able to streamline all that and say what was the best one based off of her expertise. I think she made what can often be a very daunting and stressful process into a streamlined, efficient process that was actually fun.”
Before helping Esau, Poon noticed a pattern of entrepreneurs who had a business idea but no idea how to start it.
Bramman has years of experience with brand strategy and marketing, and Moushi is also the chief empathy officer for AKOS Web Marketing and was co-founder of Greater Than Coffee, the former coffee shop at the former Co+Hoots location.
Besides starting Co+Hoots in May 2010, Poon created Eeko Studio, has years of experience with graphic design and art direction with various newspapers and magazines, and was named the 2016 Phoenix Business Journal’s Businessperson of the Year.
Startup Kite will help emerging business owners incorporate their business name, secure a domain, develop a brand and set up a professional email and billing and invoicing system. The program helps entrepreneurs set up websites, payment processing, automated document signing and email marketing services.
Eventually, Startup Kite will be offered at all Co+Hoots' locations, Poon said.
In February, Poon announced Co+Hoots was expanding to downtown Mesa as part of the planned $60 million Grid mixed-use development. It has a planned fall 2019 opening.
Startup Kite's first program starts Aug. 4 with a sold-out group of 10 entrepreneurs. The next program is scheduled for Oct. 6 and is now accepting participants.
The first two programs are discounted by 50 percent, with 2019 workshops costing entrepreneurs $1,000 to take the class.
“We’re looking for people who want to start a side hustle or who have been working in a corporate job for a really long time and have been considering consulting or starting another company," Poon said.
Bramman, meanwhile, said she has held onto the Startup Kite brand and domain for years and it was finally time to do something with it.
“I’ve been telling everyone about it,” Esau added. “It’s something that is absolutely needed. Literally run, don’t walk, and you’ll be so glad you did it.”
