Five Reasons to Apply for the 7th Annual Swim with the Sharks Pitch Competition
The pitch competition is back and by popular demand we have significantly extended the timeline to apply for the pitch. WE are in full swing to find the next start-up winner in Delaware. If you think your start-up has the right stuff, then please apply now.
Not sure whether you should apply? We think it is a no-brainer if you are a start-up under 5 years old, but we will break it down for you. Here are five reasons you should apply to compete in the Swim with the Sharks Pitch Competition.
- $10,000 Cash Grand Prize and other additional in-kind services
What can we say? Cash is king and for a start-up $10,000 can help jump start your business.
2. Brand Awareness
Gain exposure for your business.
3. Find possible mentors for you and your business.
The judges that will be listening to your pitch are already mentors out in the community and have demonstrated their potential to help businesses. They can connect you with people who can be beneficial in supporting you such as other mentors, business partners, or advisors.
4. Perfect your business plan pitch
Take every opportunity to practice your pitch over and over and over again.
5. Receive input from professionals on your business plan and pitch
Feedback can be hard, but it’s good. The judges are there to help you progress and grow.
And one extra bonus just in case by now we still haven’t convinced you it’s worth applying…
It won’t cost you a thing to apply. So you have nothing to lose.
Protected: How To Be a Creator of Wealth Business Growth Training Video
Delaware’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: It Takes a Village
written by Dora Cheatham, Director, Economic Development Council, New Castle County Chamber of Commerce & Program Manager, Emerging Enterprise Center
Last week’s Delaware Entrepreneurial Summit – co-hosted by the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce Emerging Enterprise Center and the Delaware Small Business Development Center and held at the DuPont Country Club – with the aim of gathering together entrepreneurs, mentors and small business resources – was proof positive yet again that Delaware’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is unlike any other. Keynote speakers gave a big picture view of entrepreneurship and innovation, while entrepreneurs and innovators who had been there, done that and had the scars to prove it shared their knowledge, expertise and experiences both in the traditional and scientific startup arenas. Small business resources were on hand for assistance and there was networking – lots of networking.
Guest Speaker Michelle Christian – SBA Regional Director – articulated what we in Delaware know all too well but so often fail to shout from the rooftops: that as a state, our entrepreneurial resources work in tandem – rather than compete – to help budding entrepreneurs and startups. This doesn’t mean that every entrepreneur or startup is a star in the making. What it does mean, is that good ideas, the ones that pass the “sniff test”, have an entire support system behind them ready, willing and able to help them succeed.
Take D150 Fueling for example. The brainchild of three friends from Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey who met on the University of Delaware rowing team, the idea for a fueling innovation system that sends fueling professionals to refuel business vehicles at a customer’s lot was incubated at the University of Delaware’s Horn Program. An invitation to apply for an NCC Innovates Sponsorship Award from New Castle County’s Department of Economic Development won them a year’s membership in the Emerging Enterprise Center Resident Program, which was announced at last year’s Entrepreneurial Summit. On winning the award D150 stated that one of the reasons they wanted to keep their ties to Delaware is “the great community and how much people are willing to help us out.” Since winning the award, D150 have generated over $3.5 million in revenue, created 5 full time and 2 part time jobs, invested in additional vehicles are on track for continued for continued growth throughout 2019.
On a wholly different entrepreneurial SAS Nanotechnologies illustrates an even broader ecosystem that Delaware enjoys. Founded by Dr. Sumedh Surwade, it all started with his PhD and Post-doc research in Polymer Science and the fundamental and application aspects of nanomaterials.
After completing his research, Dr. Surwade landed at Delaware Technology Park (DTP) where he continued to refine his technology and develop environmentally friendly, self-healing anti-corrosive coatings. He also began to formulate his business idea. While at DTP, he learned about the Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (DESCA) and the DESCA TechConnect Workshop. Dr. Surwade says:
“DESCA events were my main source of networking and these helped me tremendously in connecting with experienced professionals. Going through the TechConnect Workshop and getting direct and honest feedback on my technology from experienced industry professionals was very useful. Their feedback helped me to broaden my thinking, evaluate different applications of my technology and focus on commercialization.”
DESCA also helped Dr. Surwade form his Advisory Board, connected him with strategic partners, and brought him into contact with Lou DiNetta of the Delaware SBDC who worked closely with Dr. Surwade to help him win an SBIR Phase I Grant in the amount of $225,000 and apply for a Phase II award in February of 2019.
Realizing the important of connecting and networking, Dr. Surwade also joined the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce where he learned about, and was encouraged, to pitch for the Emerging Enterprise Center’s annual Swim with the Sharks Pitch Competition, sponsored by New Castle County’s NCC Innovates Initiative. This led to another win: $10,000 in cash, a 6 month membership in the Emerging Enterprise Center incubator, 6 months of accounting services and IT consulting services. At the Emerging Enterprise Center, Dr. Surwade has a place to hold conferences, meet with customers and seek additional advice and resource assistance – most recently, connecting him with the Delaware Manufacturing Extension Partnership (DEMEP) to help him source a toll manufacturer and connect him with additional strategic partners.
Just a few months after his Swim with the Sharks win, Dr. Surwade was invited to pitch again at DESCA’s Venture Forum where he was approached by a VC firm seeking to invest in SAS Nanotechnologies.
Since emerging from the research world, SAS Nanotechnologies have navigated what is commonly known as the “valley of death” in science innovation with the help of organizations that are dedicated to helping them commercialize their technology successfully.
These are just two of many stories that illustrate how “it takes a village” working in unison to drive economic development, and a myriad quotes that can similarly illustrate the concept – but let’s go with one from Henry Ford: “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”
An Incubator that Works For You and With You: The Emerging Enterprise Center
What is the Emerging Enterprise Center? It is a small business incubator that is co-located in the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce (NCC Chamber of Commerce).
The Emerging Enterprise Center (EEC) began as an initiative that came out of the NCC Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Council (EDC). In 2008, the EDC saw a need for a place to help startup businesses from failing in the first 5 years and a vision that would nurture a strong and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem as well as build jobs and revenue for New Castle County and Delaware.
At the time, the EEC was the first and only incubator in the state and while it is a separate entity from the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, the two entities work hand and hand with each other to partner with resources, events, and making connections for its members. The EEC continues to expand its programs by leveraging the NCC Chamber of Commerce resources, facilities, and initiatives.
The EEC is not just about cost-effective space for young businesses; it is more about one-on-one mentoring and the connections that we can facilitate for growing businesses. The EEC attracts everything from the traditional main street businesses to fintech startups, with programs that range from pure co-working space with business amenities to more comprehensive programs, with one-on-one mentoring. Each business moves at its own pace with guidance that helps them focus on the needs and skills that will help them take their business to the next level.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, about two-thirds of businesses survive at least 2 years and about half of that survive at least 5 years**. In addition, most entrepreneurs will attest that starting a business can be very lonely. The EEC works to help decrease those numbers by offering specialized services and mentoring. Does it work? Historically, International Business Innovation Association member incubators have reported that 87%* of all graduate firms are still in business.
The EEC is unlike most incubators in the country right now. It is quite normal for a chamber to offer support to business incubators, but it is very unusual for a chamber to embed its own home-grown program inside the existing chamber of commerce. Research shows that there are fewer than 10 programs like this among the International Business Innovation Association*. The EEC has found that by being co-located with the NCC Chamber of Commerce, its clients work in close proximity to practical business people doing business everyday and have the capability to network with them to help understand that building relationships is so important. This affiliation is one of the many reasons that makes the EEC unique from other incubators in the area.
The EEC has one full-time certified mentor that works directly with each business to help develop business skills and hold each business accountable to the tasks they need to do to keep their business growing.
Young businesses can enter the coworking plus, business accelerator or resident program. Businesses that are older but still need some help can take advantage of the coworking or coworking plus programs.
Since its inception, the EEC has worked with 42 companies, while they were in the incubator, these 42 companies have generated $62 million in revenue and created over 200 jobs in the county.
For more information about the EEC programs, please call the NCC Chamber of Commerce at 302-737-4343.
Sources:
*https://impactindex.inbia.org/ecdata/
** https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Business-Survival.pdf
5 Reasons Why Every Entrepreneur and Small Business Owner Needs to be at the 2nd Annual Delaware Entrepreneurial Summit
If you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner in the tri-state area, you should attend the 2nd Annual Delaware Entrepreneurial Summit presented by the Emerging Enterprise Center and Small Business Development Center on April 10.
This full day event is packed with quality content, information and resources for those looking to build, connect, and grow as entrepreneurs and business owners.
Whether you are thinking of starting a business, a start-up, or an established small business that is looking to grow, the Entrepreneurial Summit has got you covered. But if that’s not enough, here are 5 more reasons why you should be there:
1. Workshops and Panel Discussions – Whether you’re looking to sell your product, win over customers, or partner with new businesses, the Entrepreneurial Summit has you covered with workshops in two tracks. The technical/science track is geared specifically for those start-ups or small businesses that are in high tech fields while the alternative track is geared towards the more traditional entrepreneur.
2. Networking – Network with over 100 entrepreneurs, small business owners, venture capitalists, resources and professionals in the tri-state area about developing your business.
3. Awards Luncheon – The New Castle County Chamber of Commerce and the Emerging Enterprise Center are always looking to recognize those achievers and at this event we look forward to announcing the Entrepreneur of the Year and the Entrepreneurial Advocate of the Year.
4. Keynote Speaker – Come and hear from our keynote speaker and learn about his/her route to entrepreneurial success.
5. Delaware and tri-state area Resources Tabletop Expo – Meet and have one-on-one conversations with resources that are available to entrepreneurs to help them start and grow their businesses.
Organizational Inertia
All organizations need a discipline that makes them face up to reality.
All organizations need to know that virtually no program or activity will perform effectively for a long time without modification and redesign. Eventually every activity becomes obsolete. Among organizations that ignore this fact, the worst offender is government. Indeed, the inability to stop doing anything is the central disease of government and a major reason why government today is sick. Hospitals and universities are only a little better than government in getting rid of yesterday.
Businessmen are jest as sentimental about yesterday as bureaucrats. They are just as likely to respond to the failure of a product or program by doubling the effort invest in it. But they are, fortunately, unable to indulge freely in their predilections. They stand under an objective discipline, the discipline of the market. They have an objective outside measurement, profitability. And so they are forced to slough off the unsuccessful and unproductive sooner or later. In other organizations – government, hospitals, the military, and so on-economics is only a restraint.
All organizations must be capable of change. We need concepts and measurements that give to other kinds of organizations what the market test and profitability yardstick give to business. Those tests and yardsticks will be quite different.
Action Point: Make sure your nonprofit organization has rigorous tests and yardsticks to measure performance.
Identifying the Future
(excerpt from The Daily Drucker: 366 Days of Insight and Motivation by Peter Drucker)
The important thing is to identify the “future that has already happened.”
Futurists always measure their batting average by counting how many things they have predicted that have come true. They never count how many important things come true that they did not predict. Everything a forecaster predicts may come to pass. Yet, he may not have seen the most meaningful of the emergent realities or, worse still, may not have paid attention to them. There is no way to avoid this irrelevancy in forecasting, for the important and distinctive are always the result of changes in values, perception, and goals, that is, in things that one can divine but not forecast.
But the most important work of the executive is to identify the changes that have already happened. The important challenge in society, economics, politics, is to exploit the changes that have already occurred and to use them as opportunities. The important thing is to identify the “future that has already happened” – and to develop a methodology for perceiving and analyzing these changes. A good deal of this methodology is incorporated in my 1985 book Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which shows how one systematically looks to the changes in society, in demographics, in meaning, in science and technology, as opportunities to make the future.
Action Point: Identify the major trends in your market that have already appeared. Write a page on their likely longevity and impact on your life and organization.
Are You Making the Most of Your Social Media Platforms?
Did you know that almost 90% of marketers say their social media marketing efforts have increased exposure for their business? In case that is not powerful enough for you to want to learn more and achieve increased traffic, 48% of Americans have interacted with companies on at least one social media network. But to be a part of these statistics, you need to keep these factors in mind:
- Which channels you use depending on your target audience as well as how well you have identified their patterns and behaviors.
- The voice of your brand should be consistent and friendly and represent what suits the business
- The content should be visual, relevant, and engaging.
The main goal is to get the fans to interact and not just follow. You should use your social media presence as a place to connect and produce engaging content with clear and consistent messages. If you don’t have a clear message to convey to your fans, the engagement will be limited and you have a 51% chance of having them unfollow you.
There are many social media platforms out there for you to connect with your fans. One of those platforms you use needs to be Facebook. Although, most think Facebook is dying, stats don’t lie. Facebook is still king of the social media platforms right now. Seventy nine percent of internet users in the US log into Facebook. Facebook continues to command the largest audience and the time users spend on the site is still growing. However, due to the recent algorithm updates, organic reach for brands is lower than ever. So you have to get a little creative to best reach your target audience.
However, nearly a fourth of social media influencers believe Instagram is the top avenue for marketing strategies. As Instagram emerges as a top platform, more and more brands will be focusing heavily on marketing strategies for Instagram. Instagram drives the most engagement per post compared to any social media platform. 84 times more than Twitter and 10 times more than Facebook.
Twitter ranked last as platform to use for ads but 47% of marketers agreed Twitter was the best social media channel for customer engagement. Due to its real-time feed and updates, Twitter has proven to be top channel for customer service, allowing customers to easily and quickly contact brands.
For LinkedIn, you do have to focus on making sure each post contains highly relevant and targeted information but you don’t’ have to produce the volume of posts required for a successful Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter campaign. The typical LinkedIn user only uses the network for an average of 17 minutes per month. Users come to LinkedIn for information and expertise, so it’s an ideal platform to establish yourself as an expert in the industry.
It also drive more than half of all social traffic to business to business blogs and sites. Of the 2 billion Millennials globally, 87 million of them are on LinkedIn. Of those 87 million Millennial users, 11 million are in decision-making positions.
If you take anything away from this, it is that social media is more important than ever for marketing. The platforms you use and the content you produce for each are just as important to your campaign to get engagement and fan investment.
If you want to learn more about maximizing your social media platforms and using social media to promote your brand, you need to attend our Business Growth Training workshops for 2019.
Register for our workshops: http://www.eecincubator.com/business-growth-workshops.html
See this site for more stats on social media: https://ignitevisibility.com/social-media-statistics/
Social Enterprises – An EEC Soft Landings Company is on the Rise!
Social Enterprises was founded in the US in 2015. It is a company to give consultancy to entrepreneurs and investors who want to invest in the US. People know that in 2016 world trade amounted to 16 billion dollars. The US has 3.9 billion dollars and 24 percent of world trade. Thanks to Social Enterprises, more than 250 companies were established in the USA since 2015 to take advantage of the opportunities the US offers. These small-scale companies are entering the world market by opening up to the US market. More than 300 hundred entrepreneurs and investors came to the US to found their companies. Social Enterprises, in other words, is a bridging company that open the US’ doors to Europe.
Having considered that there are many companies in the world, it is a fact that business consultant firms are needed to make them more successful. According to official records, there are about 200 million companies in the world. 80 percent of them are local, and 70 percent of them want to open up to the world. Social Enterprises takes part here. It is serving its customers in many ways to transfer their companies from being local to global, from opening a bank account to accountant services and any other operations without any intermediary to customers who want to establish a business. It does not only set up a company in the US, but it also provides services to legal counselling by delivering institutionalisation of companies.
On the other hand, the institutionalisation of the companies is impossible before understanding the US system well. The founders of Social Enterprises, Samet Oynamış and Fatih Pekar, are aware that consulting firms that have not been integrated into the US market cannot solve the US system by watching from the outside, and they experienced themselves firstly by entering into the US business system itself and giving information to entrepreneurs. The founders are now encouraging and consulting many enterprises from all around the world to convey their experiences. Moreover, Social Enterprises is trying to be integrated to e-world. The founders are focusing on e-government systems, services and e-government solution systems.
Furthermore, Social Enterprises directs software and technology companies to “International Soft Landing Program” focused on providing companies from the tech and innovative space the opportunity to learn about doing business instead of Silicon Valley of San Francisco. Participants in the program will receive exposure to key areas including marketing, sales and so on. These courses the ones which entrepreneurs have to know about. For example, for “must-known” issues, Social Enterprises highly recommends the Delaware Emerging Enterprise Center to entrepreneurs. This centre is a professional business incubator that helps start-up businesses learn entrepreneurial skills. Its business growth workshops are designed to improve critical business skills necessary for start-up and growing companies.
Finally, Social Enterprises provides consultancy services to all business people from Europe to the US through their partnerships in America, their own experiences and business visions. Social Enterprises invites from Europe to the US.