MBAs Across America is a movement of graduate level business students and entrepreneurs working to revitalize America.
They, like I, believe “that the future of America lies in the hands of entrepreneurs, not just in New York and Silicon Valley but in small towns and big cities far from the coast and away from the hype.“
Do you agree?
There are 28 million small businesses that create two of every three new jobs and employ more than 50 percent of the workers in America. The percentages in Savannah are even higher.
Steve Case, founder of AOL explains, “If we want to remain the leader of the free world, we need to have a leading economy, and if we want to have a leading economy, we need to double-down on entrepreneurs.”
Locally, you can “double-down” on Savannah’s economy by investing in the Creators’ Foundry and The Creative Coast as we work diligently each year to help more than 500 entrepreneurs refine business plans, connect with resources and investors and ultimately launch businesses.
The Creators’ Foundry (http://www.creatorsfoundry.com) is the beautiful and historic 16,000-square-foot former industrial warehouse at 415 W. Boundary St., which The Creative Coast is transforming this fall into a vibrant center for innovation. Last week we welcomed more than 100 supporters to a “sneak peek.” It was this project that attracted an incredible team from MBAs Across America to Savannah.
Four brilliant Masters of Business Administration students from the Stanford Graduate School of Business came to the Creators’ Foundry to set direction for our BIZlab incubation program, the LAUNCHPad for established and growing businesses and GEEKPond, a hub for entrepreneurs, creators and investors.
As someone who grew up in 13 homes in Georgia, New Jersey, California, Ohio, Virginia and
Missouri, I know what it is like to recognize real friends quickly. Seth Godin describes it as finding your tribe and connecting on passions.
As a kid, I did so through tennis. Today, I do so through building America one entrepreneur at a time. This week The Creative Coast joined tribes with Stanford students Rachel Witalec from Detroit, Ak[filtered word]a Joshi from India, Roger Breum from Orlando, and Alex Gart from Denver who transformed the phrase “a world of knowledge” into a practice.
Additionally, these future business leaders illustrated how important good trusting relationships are in any business but even more so in startups. Trust matters more so when you are dealing with the unseen in the creation phase than in the certainty of a sustaining glide. Faith is required to listen to and embrace a vision versus seeing things in actuality.
Godin further says “tribes are what change the world,” and he encourages us to “find something worth changing, then get people interested and create a movement.”
I feel incredibly blessed that the founders of MBAs Across America launched their movement and welcomed the Creators’ Foundry on their journey. I am even more thankful that our team presented plans, spreadsheets, surveys, contact lists and resources, using the word “we” throughout Friday’s wrap up session.
My faith abounds in the MBAs Across America tagline, “On the ground for a week. Engaged for a lifetime.”
If you would like to see Savannah grow as a center of entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity for the Southeast, become a Creative Coast supporter today. The future is unlimited when you have a strong tribe!
Bea Wray is the executive director of The Creative Coast, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the creative and entrepreneurial community within the region. Bea can be reached at 912-447-8457 or bea@thecreativecoast.org
By Bea Wray