College of Coastal Georgia’s Lucas Center for Entrepreneurship will soon bring the first Global Entrepreneurship Week to the Golden Isles.
Events are planned for Saturday through Nov. 18 for GEW, a global recognition of the power of entrepreneurship. The theme this year is “Ecosystems. Education. Inclusion. Policy.”
GEW aims to inspire people to share their ideas and become entrepreneurs. GEW President Jonathan Ortmans founded the initiative in 2007 alongside Kaufman Foundation CEO Carl Schramm and former United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
This will be the 15th year of GEW events around the world.
“The great part is that our programs are literally on a global map with other activities that are happening around the world to celebrate entrepreneurs,” said Ande Noktes, executive director of the Lucas Center. “I think there are a lot of communities in this country that you can point to say, ‘They’re really great for entrepreneurship.’ A lot of people forget that small towns can be supportive of entrepreneurship too.”
The Lucas Center worked with the Golden Isles Development Authority and others in the community to bring GEW to Brunswick as part of their broader goals to grow entrepreneurship in the region.
Local coordinators had significant freedom to plan whatever kind of events they felt would best serve the community, Noktes said.
“The great thing about GEW is they give you complete control,” she said. “They really are just an amplification mechanism.”
Numerous events are planned throughout next week, including a keynote address, pitch night and pitch competition.
An information table will be set up from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at PorchFest in downtown Brunswick.
A CCGA Campus Kick-Off is planned from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, and a panel discussion will follow from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in Stembler Theatre on the Brunswick campus. The discussion will focus on entrepreneurship and support in the community, and panelists will include college president Michelle Johnston, Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Mathew Hill, Pearson Certiport representative Travis Quail and student entrepreneur Pryce May. Author Brenda Kempster will facilitate the discussion.
An ACCELER8 Investor Pitch Night will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Stembler Theatre. Noktes said this event is among those she’s most looking forward to.
“It’s open to anyone from the community to come and see the presentations from the small businesses,” she said.
Twelve local businesses went through an eight-week growth program, and they will bring their stories to the pitch night in hopes of finding support for further growth.
“We have some grant funds that we’ve set aside in the form of prizes to help them accelerate those goals,” Noktes said. “Some of those participants will be receiving grants of up to $3,000 from the Lucas Center, and we will also have investors who will be there and who will have the opportunity to support the businesses with the capital needs that they have.”
The Lucas Center will host its inaugural Campuswide Pitch Competition from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday in Stembler, and 25 teams will compete for prizes.
Justin Henshaw will give a Tech Talk keynote address from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, and he will share the story of the first local tech startup, Gage.
When entrepreneurs share their stories, a ripple effect is created and a spirit of entrepreneurship in the community is fostered, Noktes said.
During her time with the Lucas Center, she said she’s heard many share that they have a business idea but little idea how to start turning it into reality. Others say they excel at creating the goods or services their business offers but don’t know much about the business side.
Noktes took this feedback into account while planning the local GEW events.
“Our priority was to create events that would support those two needs,” she said. “That’s helping people who have ideas and figuring out how to take their idea and put it into action. It’s also helping small businesses that are maybe really great at making barbecue or really great at fashion but they don’t have the skill set around running a business that can help them grow.”
GEW events are free and open to the community.
For the full calendar of events and to register, visit the Lucas Center for Entrepreneurship page on Eventbrite.