MCE on the hot seat during council presentation

The director of the Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship found himself in the hot seat at a City Council meeting Tuesday when council members expressed frustration with his presentation and certain answers he provided after inquires.

Quitin Baker, the MCE’s director, provided second quarter data during the presentation, which, for the first time, showed direct job growth.

In all, Baker said, four jobs were created with MCE client businesses since his last report three months ago. The positions where either administrative or “special-event” jobs that, he said, have all been maintained for the last two months.

Councilmember Nancy Smith felt the MCE presentation didn’t address the long-term goal updates outlined in the city’s contract with MCE. She said that is an important assessment to have to track the eventual sustainability of the organization.

“In the two and a half years I’ve been serving, I’ve never seen an update to the one-year business plan or five-year business plan for MCE,” Smith said. “So I haven’t seen any status, and we’re supposed to be receiving a status to your milestones, to your business plan.”

In response, Baker acknowledge the concern, indicating he would heed their advice and possibly provide that information in future updates.

City Manager Gregory Rose further questioned Baker about the role MCE’s parent organization – the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NACET) – plays in assisting the organization. Last October, the council approved up to $200,000 in funding.

“Maricopa, the city council, has the opportunity of creating their own entrepreneur program, but there is a reason that they elected to bring NACET onboard, to help with the structure, and to help also with the funding potential. So why do we have you running our program?” Rose asked.

Baker responded by saying since he joined MCE he has been in a recovery mode of sorts, trying to shore up the basic structure of the organization.

“To be honest, at this point, I’ve been focused on the foundational things,” Baker said, alluding to the disorganized MCE he inherited when he came aboard in December.

“Some of the resources that NACET has I have not been able to utilize simply because bringing that in may not necessarily do us the best good at the moment,” Baker said.

In a subsequent interview with Baker, he said the majority of the resources offered by NACET are merit based and there needs to be milestones reached before they can access them – milestones most of MCE clients have yet to reach.

Baker did say the MCE’s upcoming Pitch Competition is a NACET program that MCE has taken and modified slightly.

Speaking to the goal-setting and sustainability aspect, he said the MCE would like to soon gain a larger office to be able to rent to clients needing more resources than are offered at the current MCE office space.

By providing more work space, Baker said, there would not only be direct revenue created for MCE, helping with sustainability, but it’s also likely to create a trickle-down effect that will help bolster local businesses.