As the community celebrates 10 years of the Innevation Center, the 91·çÃùÄñ³ª is spotlighting the people and ideas that have shaped its vibrant community.
Below, former Innevation Center member Eric Kanagy answers questions about innovation, entrepreneurship and the impact the Center has had on him.
Background & involvement
Tell us a little about yourself and your organization. How did you first get involved with the Innevation Center? What inspired you to join the Innevation Center’s community?
After launching an array of ventures dealing in marketing, property development, hospitality and nonprofits, Eric spotted a critical need for streamlined emergency response and co-founded Simplesense.
Eric Kanagy is the CEO and Co-founder of Simplesense, which started at the Innevation Center as part of the first accelerator program in 2017. After catching the startup bug during a Silicon Valley internship, Eric first worked as a software engineer before launching an array of ventures in technology, analytics, property development, hospitality, and the nonprofit sector. Across 15 years in growing technology companies, he specialized in helping large organizations, from cereal companies to newspaper publishers, demonstrate new technology and integrate it into their daily operations. In 2018, after participating in a government skunkworks hackathon, Eric co-founded Simplesense to address a critical need in the public and private sectors to modernize emergency response.​
Memorable moments & milestones
What’s one of your most memorable experiences or milestones at the Innevation Center? What’s an accomplishment you’re proud of that was supported by your time here?
Eric Kanagy, CEO and Founder, SimplesenseI’ve been running early stage tech startups since 2007, working across several ventures to bring the latest technology to large enterprises who are otherwise slow to modernize. We were initially drawn to the Innevation Center due to its focus on hardware and IoT and the deep investor and entrepreneur network in Reno-Tahoe region.
We launched our first product at the Innevation Center, a proximity sensor to help improve presence analytics (essentially a lightweight people counter). I have fond memories of spending many hours in the Innevation Center lab, iterating through prototypes, working with the other startups and entrepreneurs there, and meeting many mentors who helped guide us through our very early existence.
Connections & collaboration
How did the Innevation Center help you connect with others – entrepreneurs, researchers, partners? Can you share an example of a collaboration that grew from your time here?
Through its accelerator program, the Innevation Center connected us with dozens of mentors and advisors, some of whom became board members, consultants, and employees, and with investors who led multiple of our investment rounds since 2017.
We ended up partnering with one of the other accelerator companies to develop our early prototype and take it to market with our first Fortune 500 customer.
Impact & evolution
How did your involvement with the Innevation Center shape your project, startup or career? What resources or experiences had the biggest impact for you?
Before the Innevation Center, I hadn’t participated in an accelerator before and had learned mostly by doing. The Innevation Center immersed me in a 12-week program to truly accelerate our journey as a new company, saving us significant time and introducing us to a network of other entrepreneurs and potential customers.
The biggest impact was through the mentorship and investors who helped us refine our ideas and then backed us financially over the years as we’ve grown from nothing to a company generating over $8M per year in revenue.
Reflections & future
What does the Innevation Center mean to you personally? Looking ahead, what do you hope to see in the next decade for this innovation ecosystem?
I personally have fond memories of the open and welcoming people, the helpfulness of the mentors, and the positive environment of the Innevation Center. My hope over the next decade would be that the Center continues to do more of the same, connecting early-stage entrepreneurs with resources, people, customers, and investors.
Final takeaway
What advice or encouragement would you share with current or future Innevation Center members?
My advice is to fully embrace the community, meet as many people as you can, really get to know the incredible people that are supporting the Innevation Center and are there to help you along your way.
