Phillypreneurs

Just two weeks after Philadelphia City Council held an open hearing on the Creative Economy at City Hall, Innovation Philadelphia awarded $150,000 through it’s Creative Economy Investment Fund to two Philly start ups; DreamIt Ventures($100,000) and Brown Partners($50,000).

According to IP’s press release, DreamIt and Brown won because they “were a for-profit creative industry business; facilitate or enhance the growth of the Greater Philadelphia Region’s Creative Economy; [are] headquartered or have important operations and jobs in the Greater Philadelphia Region; [are] a privately held company; generate new jobs and increase tax revenue; add value to Innovation Philadelphia’s investment portfolio; and have a strong management team and business plan where success is achievable.”

Since the unveiling of Mayor Nutter’s budget in February and the noticeable absence of funding from the city for the non-profit economic development organization, IP has been working to make it’s case for renewed funding. After attending the Creative Economy hearing at the beginning of the month Mike Armstrong, the Inquirer’s business columnist and PhillyInc blogger, observed “the event struck me as an effort by the city-funded Innovation Philadelphia organization to make a case for why the Nutter administration should provide funding for it.” Whether it was planned or mere coincidence, the timing of the Creative Economy Investment Fund Awards in conjunction with the recent Creative Economy City Council hearing works to Innovation Philadelphia’s advantage in continuing their case with the Nutter administration.

Dave Speers is an online marketing consultant and start-up junky that has worked with a wide variety of Philadelphia businesses. Dave spends most his time annoying really smart people at Indy Hall co-working collaborative.