Where Do Entrepreneurs Go For Help? Entrepreneurs Resources Forum

WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Anyone who has been identified as or is seeking someone who:

• is a new entrepreneur
• is a small to medium-size business owner
• mentors other entrepreneurs
• is a business/entrepreneurship educator
• leads or is a part of a team in the creation of a new venture
• is an equity investor or formal advisor to one or more ventures
• is a first adopter, (i.e., buys goods and services provided by entrepreneurs and new ventures)
• provides services (e.g. legal, marketing, accounting) to entrepreneurs and new ventures
• works for a large corporation in research, business or product development or market-facing activities

PURPOSE OF THE FORUM Participate in actively helping to create a map of the current entrepreneurial ecosystem for the four-county region: Sonoma, Marin, Napa, and Solano, of the SF North Bay, through a facilitated forum of entrepreneurs, influencers, educational institutions, and supporters.

WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM MAP? An ecosystem map is a simple method of indicating who the participants in the ecosystem are and how they are connected. The map may also describe roles and differentiate relationships by type, direction, and degree/scale of interaction. The particulars of the map matter less than what it is used for: identifying central players, key relational structures, and their linked areas of expertise. Once validated by entrepreneurs and community members, ecosystem maps can become valuable tools for developing resources and strategies that can be used constructively by anyone with entrepreneurial aspirations and connections.

WHY HAVE AN ECOSYSTEM MAP? A better understanding of actual ecosystems provides a conceptual framework [where] community stakeholders can ask relevant questions, envision better approaches, and meaningfully evaluate resultant outcomes.” Philip E. Auerswald, Kauffman Foundation Research Series, October 2015 The goal of the project is to enable the business community and the higher education system in the SF North Bay Region to produce and encourage innovative, critical thinkers to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. The Mapping process will help to identify assets and gaps in the current ecosystem, leverage entrepreneurial “hotspots,” as well as influence and determine future innovative economic planning.

WHERE AND WHEN
December 11, 10a-1:30p
The Daily Desk
490 Chadbourne Rd, #A100
Fairfield, CA 94534

The Forum will be facilitated by Georgia Abbott, MBA – CEO of Abbott & Associates, a business development consulting firm with global corporate and educational clients, and Xavier Nazario, your Regional Director of Business & Entrepreneurship, serving the SF Bay Region.