Innovate Raleigh Summit, September 10, 2014

Breakout Session #3: How can entrepreneurs be city influencers?

Moderators: Jason Hibbets with RedHat, Jay Dawkins with Cityzen, and Laura Baverman with ExitEvent

 

How can entrepreneurs be city influencers?

✦ Tell the story of local individual successes

• Increase media awareness

‣ Rankings are good, but stories are better

‣ Remove the natural humility

‣ Tell the story loud and proud

• More communication outside the region

✦ Increase collaboration between students and entrepreneurial groups

• Keep university talent here by plugging students into a rich ecosystem

• More fun/casual meetings of people who wouldn’t normally interact

✦ Engage entrepreneurs to solve transportation challenges

• Google Fiber initiative

• Car to go

• Pedestrian-friendly

• More connections to hubs

• Make it harder to park

• Grassroots efforts

✦ Incentivize diverse funding options

• Policies to incentivize funding

• It’s not just about venture capital

• Encourage corporations to invest locally

• Encourage exited entrepreneurs to invest locally

• Provide tax incentives for investment

• Publicize wins/returns

• Creative financing

✦ Create continuous engagement

• Innovate Raleigh 365

• Reinvigorate a thriving TedX presence in Raleigh Make it a regional eort

‣ Get more communities involved

✦ Encourage youth entrepreneurship

• Drive social entrepreneurship

• Provide more paid internships and job opportunities

• Teach entrepreneurship skills to young kids  

Edit tags