I once had the opportunity to watch my daughter dance Marie in “The Nutcracker” and experience the thrill of hearing friends and strangers alike comment on her amazing performance, talent and beautiful smile.
This exhilarating feeling returned last week when The Creative Coast hosted the Savannah City Council workshop at the Creators’ Foundry, a former warehouse on West Boundary Street.
In addition to the mayor and council members, the room was filled with more than 70 community leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, city department managers, Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) representatives, newspaper journalists and TV reporters and camera crews.
Taffanye Young, with Savannah’s Community and Economic Development department, presented the progress of the Mayor’s Roundtable, which was formed to help make Savannah more business-friendly.
The strides this group has made during the past two years is largely because of the contributions of local business leaders Ruel Joyner and Greg Parker. One of the early recommendations of this group was for Savannah to begin catering to and luring
higher paying tech-based business to the area. So we seized the moment and invited eight entrepreneurs to make presentations to council members.
For me, the meeting was like watching an exquisite ballet. Every detail, including the entrepreneur presentations, was beautifully orchestrated by Yvonne Jouffrault, a local entrepreneur and Creative Coast volunteer board member.
A procession of young startup companies including Bowerbags, Oak.Works, Quickit, Urban STEM, Green Badger, Gauge Interactive, CREATOMBuilder and Aetho introduced themselves to workshop attendees and began sharing stories of securing more than $500,000 of equity investments, employing dozens of people and introducing products with the potential to scale globally.
I watched as Mayor Edna Jackson bobbed her head in agreement and every council member engaged in discussions with the presenters. The excitement in the room was exhilarating.
Like the six-hour daily rehearsals required of dancers, I knew the “backstage” work and commitment that went into these startups’ performances. The Creative Coast has coached these companies along the way as they found business partners, drafted plans, secured clients and sought investors.
Also — like dancers with broken ankles or badly blistered toes — we have seen these companies lose investor deals, chase client payment and work through a variety of startup challenges.
You see, every entrepreneur has at least two master’s degrees: one in success and one in failure. Celebrating milestones for both success and failure is a critical aspect of building an effective startup ecosystem.
The City Council workshop was one great milestone that allowed us to reflect upon The Creative Coast’s years of hosting community building events such as FastPitch competitions and StartUp Lounge investor meetups, as well as providing thousands of mentoring and coaching sessions for local entrepreneurs.
The ovation for this performance belongs to The Creative Coast’s incredible supporters. Hundreds of companies and individuals throughout our community donate to the work of The Creative Coast because they know investing in the innovative economy is a direct investment in creating wonderful job opportunities for their children and grandchildren.
I am incredibly grateful for their time, energy and donations and for the financial support of the Savannah Economic Development Authority and the city of Savannah.
Take a bow, Savannah. Your support is building an economy fit for the future.
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