The Business Plan Clinic at B-W and the Civic Innovation Lab are teaming up to help "civic entrepreneurs” move their concepts forward.
The Lab, funded by the Cleveland Foundation, is a non-profit organization that provides mentorship, networks, visibility and funding to innovation-based, start-up businesses.
It seeks civic entrepreneurs -- those with ideas that can have a tangible impact on the regional economy. It funds start-up businesses that will attract and retain talent or resources, encourage entrepreneurship, increase international opportunities for the region or make Greater Cleveland a more vibrant place to live and work. So what better fit than the Business Plan Clinic, which works with local companies, coaching entrepreneurs and helping them develop an executive overview for their companies?
“We think this can be a great partnership,” said Jennifer Thomas, director of the Civic Innovation Lab. “The entrepreneurs who come to us have some great ideas, but sometimes they need help putting their ideas into a business-plan form.”
Students from the B-W Business Plan Clinic work with these civic entrepreneurs to put their ideas into a succinct, executive-summary format for a 10- minute presentation to potential mentors, she said.
“Working with the Business Plan Clinic helps them gain the expertise to move their ideas forward,” Thomas said.
Phil Bessler, director of the B-W Business Plan Clinic, associate professor of business administration and Herzog Chair in Free Enterprise, said that working with the Civic Innovation Lab benefits both the entrepreneurs and the students.
“Students have the opportunity to put classroom learning to work in a realworld situation,” he said.
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