Dr. Greg Watson will be speaking at the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship and leading the session Breakout 1 titled “Realizing a Fully Functional Start-UP Community”. This session focuses on the key actors and roles involved in developing a succsessful and fully functional startup community.
The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship is holding their 2024 fund/SHIFT Advancement Conference at Pima Community College bringing together college, foundation, workforce, and industry experts.
The second annual conference focuses on
- College & Advancement Leaders- Establish high-level connections with other professionals, foundation leaders, and government officials.
- Industry Leaders– Connect with employers and other industry partners who can fund programs on your campus, hire your students, and serve on your advisory boards.
- Faculty & Workforce Development Leaders– Learn about the future of work, funding opportunities, and the role of artificial intelligence.
Dr. Greg Watson will be speaking and leading the session Breakout 1 titled “Realizing a Fully Functional Start-UP Community”. This session focuses on the key actors and roles involved in developing a succsessful and fully functional startup community.
In the context of entrepreneurship, the “entrepreneurship ecosystem metaphor ” is often used to describe the startup community. A complex network of interdependent actors – individuals[person], organizations[organization], institutions[GovernmentOrganization, CollegeOrUniversity,NGO] and factors that influence an entrepreneur’s journey, including elements both conducive and inhibitive to entrepreneurship [often LocalBusiness] for this startup community, this entrepreneurial ecosystem. Research from Startup Camel suggests that to strengthen the ecosystem, multiple parts of the ecosystem must be strengthened simultaneously – in other words, we function as a system, and no one can truly go-it-alone.
This workshop will explore the Success Characteristics and Players in successful startup communities, both from an academic research perspective as well as perspective of entrepreneurs seeking assistance and support from these systems, and corporate entities seeking partnerships, innovation, growth, and acquisitions from this community.
Speaker Bio: Professor Watson is a leading speaker on entrepreneurship and education. His motivational lectures on modern learning technologies, assessment, and the engaged learner experience have inspired today’s learner and challenged educators to update their approach to teaching.
Dr. Greg Watson is a serial entrepreneur and retired professor of entrepreneurship and former director of the center for teaching and learning. As co-chair of the #5 ranked Entrepreneurship New Venture Development program – he lead a mentor team overseeing student entrepreneurial ventures from the ideation stage to value proposition to validation to launch. With an emphasis on the entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurial spirit Greg helps you discover that dream.
“You didn’t learn to ride a bike in a workshop” (Sandler) – finding the right entrepreneurial mentor, training, program or entrepreneurship course is often the difference between success and failure.