As Global Entrepreneurship Week approaches, partners in cities across the United States are mobilizing local entrepreneurs, startup supporters and community leaders to participate in GEW 2017 – and Central Arkansas is preparing to make this celebration the best yet.
Kim Lane, chief operating officer at the Conductor of Central Arkansas, was one of the lead organizers for Little Rock and Central Arkansas’ 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Week events, and this year she said the celebration has expanded across the state, bringing the entrepreneurial spirit to more people in all types of communities. GEW 2017 encompasses celebrations across the state, and includes Hot Springs, Russellville, Fayetteville, Conway and Little Rock.
“We’re working with people all over the state, expanding our reach and bringing entrepreneurship to more people,” Lane said.
One reason she said she participates in GEW – and brought the movement to Central Arkansas – is that the impetus behind Global Entrepreneurship Week is that of a celebration.
“Generally, we do a lot of educational and networking events. [GEW] is cool because we’re celebrating entrepreneurship and engaging people who may not typically identify as entrepreneurs – inviting them to think innovatively.”
This year, Lane said, they have added events and partners, including the University of Central Arkansas and Startup Junkie – and their public-private partnership brainchild, the Conductor. The Conductor, which aims to drive innovation, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment in the area, was launched during Global Entrepreneurship Week last year.
During GEW this November, community members will have the chance to meet others interested in entrepreneurship at the new University of Central Arkansas’ Makerspace workshop, powered by the Conductor. At Makerspace, participants have the opportunity to use laser cutters, 3D printers and other equipment for free, with help from trained Makers. Lane said the space provides an opportunity for community members to learn how to use the equipment and make products or items completely free of charge, and transfer those skills to jobs or ventures of their own.
Other events this November include a pitch competition, "Idea Fame Live," and a startup fashion show and local entrepreneur exhibition. Idea Fame Live will be held at a University of Central Arkansas’ home football game – where the live pitch stage will be set up at a tailgate. The pitch competition will be Saturday, November 18. The startup fashion show, held Friday, November 17, features a local student founder who repurposes clothing, and will use student models for the show.
Throughout the week, there will also be specific workshops for entrepreneurs to explore – from sales trainings and Makerspace certifications, to human resources information and law for startups.
GEW 2016, which was the first organized chapter of GEW in Little Rock and Central Arkansas, included 21 community events with more than 350 participants, and had more than 20 community partners that included Apple, Verizon, the City of Little Rock, the Clinton School of Public Service, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and others.
“We did a lot of really low- to no-barrier entry events – we had people who have no idea how to start a business attend many of our events,” Lane said. “We had a lot of workshops with the SBA on how to start a business in Arkansas, how to finance your company and step-by-step on how to obtain government contracts.”
She said she enjoys celebrating GEW because it brings people together who do not typically identify as an entrepreneur.
One successful event from last year that will be expanded in 2017, Lane said, is the High School Startup Day program, that challenges high school students to think entrepreneurially on how to solve everyday problems they face in school.
The students worked in teams of six, and at the end of the morning workshop, each team put together a PowerPoint and a pitch to present to a panel of judges. The GEW High School Startup Day was so successful that organizers replicated the event in the spring at a university in Conway, Arkansas, where students had the chance to compete for a scholarship.
"Overall, our GEW events, and all of our partners reached a lot, hundreds of people," Lane said, from those who have never been to an entrepreneurship event, to students that were challenged to think outside the box and produce solutions.
“It’s important to reduce barriers for people,” she said. “The more that we can invite people in, and train them and give them the tools they need to start their own companies, the better. [GEW] is important because we’re expanding the entrepreneurial mindset throughout the entire community.”
High School Startup Day | GEW 2016
High School Startup Day | March 2017