Many of you know, I am the head of Marketing at an organization called JumpStart. Our mission is to help entrepreneurs.
I love my job – I love working with entrepreneurs and watching and helping them bring their ideas to life. It’s truly inspirational and the energy that you see in these folks…it’s indescribable. They are trying to change the world – one idea at a time!
And our thought was – if everyone could see this energy – maybe more people would invest in these companies, consider starting their own and simply support entrepreneurs through mentoring or other services.
That’s why Startup Scaleup on Tuesday, June 28th is so important to me. It’s our community event – where we take over Gordon Square for the day. Yes, that’s right – we take the entire neighborhood over! We are holding more than 40 sessions throughout 15 different locations all in ONE day. We host panel discussions, networking events, a pitch competition, business planning sessions and so much more – to truly help entrepreneurs and small business owners take their companies to the next level!
Yes, I’m exhausted just writing about it. It has truly taken over my life. But it’s also so worth. Here’s why:
- We have presenters like Anne Harnett, who founded Harness Cycle, presenting about how she started a health and wellness business (and is killing it).
- BREWNUTS! Ok, so I am a bit bias but these are the best damn donuts in the world. Brewnuts will be onsite all day with us serving their amazing donuts. AND Shelley Pippin, the owner, will be presenting about how to find your first, physical space for your business!
- LeBron James! Ok, so he won’t actually be there but his show, Cleveland Hustles will be onsite filming for their upcoming season! WHAT? Yes, I am not kidding. If you are walking down the street and you see a film crew, it just might be them!
- Etsy is coming to Cleveland for the day! If you are as Etsy-obsessed as I am, you need to come to this event. Their team will be talking about how Etsy can help grow your business.
- There’s also pitch competition called Sidewalk to Stage where we’ll be choosing six finalists to get their butts on stage and pitch their hearts out. Three winners will take home $5,000 each! We’re only accepting the first 100 applications so make sure to get there early!
- Jonathon Sawyer – ok, so unfortunately he won’t be bringing his delicious wings from The Greenhouse Tavern but he will be popping into the “Breaking In: How Midwestern Entrepreneurs Can Make It Big In Entertainment” session.
- Women Stuff! Come on, you know me. I wouldn’t be a part of anything that didn’t have some fantastic benefits to women. Make sure to check out the “Women In Tech: How Female Leaders Are Taking Over The Tech Space” and “Out In The Wilderness: The Challenges Of Female Entrepreneurs” sessions to learn from and network with some fantastic female entrepreneurs.
- Ice Cream!!! Need I say more? If you haven’t been to Sweet Moses yet, you are missing out. The old-school ice cream parlor will be hosting sessions all day so you can learn while you’re taking down a hot fudge sundae!
- Find a mentor! I know when I was launching SheInTheCLE.com, I was in need of a mentor in the worst way. They aren’t always so easy to find – but at the Speed Mentoring session at Stone Mad Pub, you can walk in and talk with close to 15 mentors who have launched their own successful businesses and still have enough energy to talk about it!
I could go on and on. Cleveland.com will be there all day live filming and doing interviews. And so far to date, more than 900 people have registered. The weather is looking sunny and in the 70s. It should be a great day.
Come and join us – let’s continue the Cleveland celebration and support our local entrepreneurs! Visit startupcaleup.org to register today!
