Lenawee Now and Launch Lenawee are pleased to announce a new partnership. This partnership will grow a collaborative system that will help entrepreneurs in Lenawee County at every stage in the process.
“Growing our entrepreneur system is important for the future economic growth of our community,” explains Jim Van Doren, Executive Director of Lenawee Now. “Lenawee is known for entrepreneurs who grew their businesses into large employers for our community, state, and nation over the past years. Our next big business is an idea right now in the head of a fellow Lenawee resident.”
Any idea is a good idea, that is the premise behind Square One, Lenawee Now’s pitch competition. “We wanted to bring those ideas out of the woodwork,” says Tim Robinson, Director of Operations at Lenawee Now. “And boy did they! Our first competition was a great success!”
Lenawee Now plans to continue holding the Square One competition. Winners, finalists, and even contestant entrants will be directed to Launch Lenawee. “We had an overwhelming response to our first pitch competition,” says Gary Clemetson, Director, Entrepreneurial Services at Lenawee Now. “Not only did we have so many great ideas from Square One, the phone continues to ring off the hook with budding entrepreneurs that were inspired by the competition. We are referring them all to Launch Lenawee to get started.”
Launch Lenawee is part of the LaunchMyCity family of programs, built by Rotarians and their community partners to develop programs so entrepreneurs can access capital and community support. The six-month program has four pillars: mentoring, education, networking, and micro loans. Students in the program will meet with their mentor each month, attend classes, and meet business community members through networking events.
“This is a proven program that is a result of research and support from organizations such as Launch Detroit, Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Start Garden, and the Dallas Entrepreneur Center,” explains Mark Murray, organizer of Launch Lenawee.
Launch Lenawee operates out of the Adrian Armory Events Center. “At its core, it is a small business incubator,” says Murray. “The Armory will act as the front door for aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners to come inside to create a successful business.”
Launch Lenawee has the support of many entrepreneurial resources within Lenawee County, including Lenawee Now. Lenawee Now participates as an advisory board member, furnishes class instructors and support services for program participants.
Graduates of the Launch Lenawee program are then referred to Lenawee Now’s Business Acceleration Team. The Business Acceleration Team works with entrepreneurs to develop business plans, financial projections, and conduct market research that can help them fund or open their business.
“We are very excited about this partnership,” says Van Doren. “The future is all about connecting, collaborating, and creating. We are building a great ecosystem for entrepreneurs in Lenawee and it takes all of us working together to make that happen.”