A veteran of Notre Dame, AOL, match.com and Procter & Gamble, Mike Bott knows a thing or two about brands. Combined with his passion for startups, that expertise will serve the Oakley resident well as he steps into the newly minted GM role at The Brandery, one of the country’s top business accelerators.
On the job less than a month, the Danville, Illinois native took time to talk with Soapbox about Cincinnati and his hopes for the future.
What attracted you to the job at The Brandery?
I saw the job opening on Twitter and researched it from there. I have an affinity for building product experiences. It was a great opportunity to leverage my marketing experience, my brand management experience and my passion for seeing other people succeed. It’s an awesome potential.
What attracted you to Cincinnati?
My girlfriend and now wife, Courtney. We met as undergrads. She was here in Cincinnati working for Procter & Gamble. She talked up Cincinnati. She really loves it here.
What do you see as your role at The Brandery?
JB (Kropp), Dave (Knox) and Rob (McDonald), the guys who founded The Brandery, did a tremendous job holding it together part-time. What I’m doing is understanding where we are right now and what those next levels are. One of the objectives I have is making sure The Brandery brand is really strong.
What do you see as The Brandery’s strengths?
We’re one of the first accelerators to carve out a niche. What we do differently is partner with some of the best design firms and marketers in the world to make sure these startups stand out.
What are the biggest challenges you face?
Identifying the startup-minded talents in the region. There are a lot of talented marketers and designers and developers, but I want to help them realize there is a place for them. If you look at Silicon Valley or New York, they have vibrant startup communities; it’s second nature. I think it’s developing that sort of understanding within the Midwest, and Cincinnati in particular.
What has most impressed you about The Brandery so far?
There are a lot of really strong supporters that are well known on the national stage. If you just look at Dave Knox, he has his own personal equity. If you even look at our mentor list—we have some of the leading experts in their fields when it comes to marketing and branding. We really have a lot of high-powered people supporting The Brandery. With any organization, it’s the people that make it great. We have a lot of firepower.
What are some of your goals as GM?
I will be making trips to some of the other cities in the Midwest—Chicago, St. Louis—to recruit. I will be making sure if someone has an idea, they are thinking about The Brandery.
We want to create an environment in Cincinnati beyond the mentors and make sure they are having a good time socially. As one of the guys said, “We need to find girlfriends.” The point is to get them integrated into the community.?
What’s your favorite place in Cincinnati?
It’s lunchtime right now, so Tom and Chee comes to mind. I really enjoy catching Reds games. We love Ault Park--we got engaged at Ault Park. My wife and I belong to St. Rose Church. I’ve never been to a place where there is a church festival season.
What makes you the most excited about your new job?
I’m really excited about seeing the next crop of startups. The energy, when you are taking deliberate steps to live your dream, is pretty contagious.
Applications for the next session at The Brandery open in March and continue through May on
brandery.org. Ten businesses will be selected and the session will start in July and run through October.
By Elissa Yancey
Follow Elissa on Twitter
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