Ideas Bank

ideas bank

Bring Global Entrepreneurship Week to life in your community. 

The Global Entrepreneurship Week Ideas Bank is a curated collection of event formats, campaigns, and programming concepts that can be adapted, tailored to your community, and made your own. These ideas are intended to be a source of inspiration, not a prescriptive formula. Every campaign looks different.  

HOW IT WORKS

01 | Explore the Ideas

Every idea is tagged by audience type so you can filter for what works in your context.

02 | Adapt it for Your Community

Each concept is a starting point, not a script. Adjust the format, scale, and focus to fit where you are and who you serve.

03 | Run An Event

Host your event November 16–22, 2026 and add it to the global map of Global Entrepreneurship Week programming.

A QUICK NOTE ABOUT TARGET AUDIENCES

Global Entrepreneurship Week reaches people who have never seen entrepreneurship as a path for them. They aren't hard to find: they're in every country, every community, and every walk of life. What they have in common isn't background or circumstance — it's simply that no one has ever shown them that entrepreneurship could be for them too. 

GEN has created a list of sample personas (target audience personalities and traits) to help you tailor your campaign to these new audiences.

girls with dogs in park
The General Public

They haven't thought about entrepreneurship, not because they've rejected it, but because it's never shown up in their world in a way that felt relevant. The most important thing this campaign can do for this audience is make entrepreneurship visible, local, and human.

Explore the Ideas Bank

young male
The Next Gen Explorer

Young people who are curious, ambitious, and searching for direction, but haven't been shown that building something of their own is a real option. They don't need to be convinced that the world needs changing. They need to be convinced that they're the ones who can do it.

Explore the Ideas Bank

black female
The Underrepresented Builder

They have the ideas, the drive, and often the deepest understanding of the problems worth solving. What they haven't had is access to networks, capital, mentors, and spaces that were built for someone else. This campaign meets them where they are.

Explore the Ideas Bank

asian female
The Anxious Professional

They're employed, but feeling unsettled. Automation is reshaping their industry, and they know it. They're not looking for a side hustle; they're looking for a new path that puts them back in control.

Explore the Ideas Bank

father and son
The Stability Seeker

They're drawn to the idea of entrepreneurship but held back by real risk: financial obligations, family responsibilities, or simply no safety net. They don't need to be inspired. They need to see a practical, low-risk first step that fits the life they already have.

Explore the Ideas Bank

mother and daughter
The Problem Owner

They're already solving problems in their community, their workplace, and their neighborhood. They just don't call it entrepreneurship. Our job is to show them that the word belongs to them too, and that there's a whole ecosystem ready to back them. 

Explore the Ideas Bank

"First Step" Story Campaign

A user-generated content push asking established entrepreneurs to share the single first step they took — not their success story, but the scary, ordinary moment before it. Lowers the perceived barrier for people on the fence.

Startup Weekend
Target Audience
Passionate people across demographics, driven to build something new.

Techstars Startup Weekend is a creative and collaborative three-day educational event where anyone can develop and pitch new startup ideas. It's about pitching, business model creation, prototyping, designing, and market validation, in a friendly and supportive team environment. All in just 54 hours.  

Learn more: https://www.techstars.com/communities/startup-weekend 

Problem-Solvers Portrait Series
Target Audience
General public passing through public spaces; community members of all backgrounds and ages. This idea can also be tailored to specific audiences and segments

Source 5–7 local founders and package their stories as ready-to-run photo features for local media.  

Together We Build Futures: Careers in Entrepreneurship

Create an expo-style event where young professionals, career changers, and curious community members can explore 
paths into entrepreneurship—whether as founders, early team members, or ecosystem supporters. Feature interactive 
stations, mentorship chats, and storytelling booths.

One Week to Unleash Your Idea" 7-Day Challenge

Encourage your audience to take one small, actionable task per day during Global Entrepreneurship Week. For example, Day 1 is "write your idea in one sentence," Day 7 is "tell one person about it." This campaign can be designed to create momentum without overwhelming commitment.

"Builders in Our Community" School Take-Home Campaign
Target Audience
Parents and families of school-age children; school communities and parent-teacher associations

A campaign delivered through schools in the form of a simple take-home resource during Global Entrepreneurship Week — a conversation starter, a short family activity, and a local event listing — designed to make entrepreneurship a dinner table conversation for families who would never otherwise encounter it. Teachers are encouraged to introduce Global Entrepreneurship Week in one class or assembly, and parents are invited to participate in a free community event or connect with a local resource.

 

"First Step" Story Campaign

A user-generated content push asking established entrepreneurs to share the single first step they took — not their success story, but the scary, ordinary moment before it. Lowers the perceived barrier for people on the fence.

"Built By Us" Storytelling Campaign
Target Audience
General public within underrepresented communities; national and local media audiences

A content campaign produced by community members themselves, telling the stories of local founders from overlooked backgrounds in their own words and on their own terms. Distributed through community channels — WhatsApp groups, local radio, faith community networks, and ethnic minority media — rather than mainstream startup platforms, reaching audiences where they have existing trust.