Thinking about A Tech Incubator? Think Pink. Pink Garage Mentors.

February of 2009 sure doesn’t feel like a particularly auspicious time to launch a new business. In fact, it feels more like it’s time to hide, to hunker down and wait out the storm. Maybe tuck that great idea away for now. Or simply hang on to that job for dear life and slog through your day.

But at the risk of playing Pollyanna (does anyone know who that is anymore?), here are some positive factoids about successful businesses that got started during a downturn. From the legendary HP, which got its start in a Palo Alto garage with an investment of $538 at the end of the Great Depression, to Trader Joe’s, CNN, MTV and even Jim Henson’s Muppets, start-ups that run nimble and smart often have the edge in a down economy.

A recent article in Fast Company profiles three companies –Method, RF Micro, and Clif –that survived and thrived during times of economic uncertainty. Then there are more legends: GE started during the panic of 1873, Disney’s start was during the recession of 1923-24, and Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft during the recession of 1975.

So what do all these uplifting examples mean to you, other subjecting you to a hopelessly perky pep talk? (I’d mention Gidget but I’m already in trouble with Pollyanna.)

Forge on. Keep on keepin’ on. And if you’re a woman with a hot business idea or part of a women-led team, take advantage of a real opportunity to get experienced help from women who’ve been there, done that. That opportunity is called Pink Garage Mentors. We’re here to help you successfully apply for a tech incubator — often the first tangible step toward making your entrepreneurial vision come true.

Pink Garage Mentors are experienced founders, VCs and C level execs who will read your application pre submission, help you refine it, and provide virtual coaching to serious applicants. We will focus this month on TechStars and YCombinator applicants.

If you would like a mentor for your Summer 2009 TechStars and/or yCombinator application, email pinkgaragementors@gmail.com with a copy of your application and we will match you with a mentor.

Application deadlines are coming up fast: (So get in touch with us asap)

TechStars — Applications close March 21st.
YCombinator — Application deadline March 18th.

Meet Foodzie, The Etsy-Like Site for Artisanal Foods.

With all the brouhaha here this week about TechCrunch50 spouting startups in San Francisco, and the just-concluded DemoFall, held in San Diego, it’s easy to think that all the cool entrepreneurial stuff is only happening in California.

That’s why I was so happy to hear about Foodzie, one of the intriguing new site concepts emerging from TechStars, an incubator program in Boulder, Colorado. TechStars was founded by a collective of Colorado-based entrepreneurs as a way of promoting entrepreneurial activity in their home state.

Guru favorite Springwise reports:
Consumers interested in handmade goods already have online marketplace Etsy to help them find new treasures, and now Foodzie aims to bring similar capabilities to the foodies of the world.

Based in Boulder, Colo., Foodzie is an online marketplace dedicated to helping consumers discover and buy food from small artisan producers and growers. The site acts as an aggregator that focuses on gourmet and organic health foods, allowing small producers to set up storefronts to display and sell their products. Though Foodzie hasn’t yet officially launched its full marketplace, three producers are up and running in a “sneak preview” version of the site: Seth Ellis Chocolatier, Boulder Popcorn and Tetulia Teas, all out of Colorado.

Nicely designed producer pages feature not just a selection of products for sale online, but also information on ingredients and allergens, tags, photos and background details on the people behind the store.

Foodzie operates on a commission-based model whereby producers pay the company a fee of 20 percent for each transaction conducted through the site, allowing the producers to keep a full 80 percent of what they charge. (Traditional retailers, by contrast, often charge fees as high as 50 percent.)

Foodzie is currently seeking USD 350,000 in seed funding. C’mon readers, step up to the plate (pun intended) and give these folks some moolah.