This CEO will focus on raising money to invest in big ideas in Wichita

When the next big idea for a business comes along in Wichita — think Pizza Hut or Rent-A-Center — officials want to make sure that company sticks around as it grows and adds jobs.

That's why a 2-year-old group is sharpening its focus to ensure there's enough money locally to invest in those big ideas.

And it's why e2e Accelerator chief executive John Dascher will move away from his accelerator duties and work specifically to grow local entrepreneurs' access to capital from private investors.

Under a new plan, Dascher will remain CEO of e2e Holdings while relinquishing his duties as CEO of the e2e Accelerator, a nonprofit incubator born from a Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce task force that provides education, networking and mentoring to entrepreneurs.

Messages left for Dascher on Monday were not returned.

Dascher and his team have done a good job of putting in place a foundation for programming and other activities for grooming the area's entrepreneurs, officials said.

Now, they want him to focus on building the network of investors and investment capital available to those entrepreneurs.

"Capital is certainly one of those components that are critical to keeping . . . new ideas inside Wichita," said Mark Torline, chair of the e2e Accelerator.

As such, a search for a new CEO of the e2e Accelerator begins now, Torline said, and it's likely that search will be national.

"Our time frame is when we can find a good candidate that fills the shoes John and his team created," Torline said.

Dascher came to e2e in January 2016 from Denmark, where he was investment director for two early stage venture capital funds totaling more than $200 million. He has also helped establish and operate investment funds and technology accelerators in Texas, Delaware and south Florida.

It's that kind of experience and singular focus that should lead to local entrepreneurs' expanded access to investment capital, Torline said.

"In communities where they've attacked and improved capital, they've probably chosen to focus harder on that activity," he said. "It's really more a reflection of a commitment that we've got to focus on that aspect."

This story was originally published March 19, 2018 at 5:33 PM with the headline "This CEO will focus on raising money to invest in big ideas in Wichita."