Current in Entrepreneurship Blog

The annual NACCE, the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship, was held Oct. 30th-Nov. 1st at the Lowe’s Vanderbilt in music city Nashville TN.  Using a theme of the Beat of Collaboration and showcasing self-employed songwriters, the event was one of the best conferences in memory.  Center stage featured special guest interviews one of which was CodeBoxx who empower entrepreneurs through technology using an academy which teaches coding as solution for business. Two successful NACCE programs were featured in sessions, one about the new STRIVE veterans entrepreneurship program offered in partnership with IVMF Syracuse University to teach entrepreneurship to active military and veterans.  Planners hope to enroll 50 community colleges into the curriculum over the coming years thanks to a Dept. of Commerce MBDA grant.  The other has met the need for inner city, disadvantaged entrepreneurship funding, the EEP or Everyday Entrepreneur Program.  Chris and Stuart Weismiller partnered with NACCE two to three years ago to start the program by contributing a fund that has grown significantly.  Chris and Stuart were successful as entrepreneurs, Chris in tech and Stuart in financial planning and later serving as President at the local community college.  Their generosity has helped many qualified entrepreneurs who otherwise would not have received funding. Another exposure was Slingshot, a new source for tailored educational curriculums that designed one for startup enterprise utilizing artificial intelligence.  Closing night’s receptions in the exhibit hall permitted that day’s Halloween attire, and some outfits were truly scary.  Your editor gave a breakout session on motivation in entrepreneurship education which reinforced the use of intrinsic or experiential learning or learning by doing. Reference was made to Daniel Pink’s best-selling book Drive.