For one day, Harris-Stowe State University will become a laboratory of sorts for minority entrepreneurs to discover various business opportunities in bioscience, IT and advanced manufacturing.
On Friday, June 12, BioSTL (along with ITEN and St. Louis Makes) will host “VISION 2015: Growing industries, new opportunities, find your fit” at the university, 3026 Laclede Ave.
The event is a continuation of last year’s piloted Bioscience & Entrepreneurial Inclusion Initiative, which intended to identify and nurture high-potential women and minority bioscience entrepreneurs in St. Louis. Last year, BioSTL offered a series of free talks, networking events and training sessions to attract more minorities into these fields.
Now Cheryl Watkins-Moore, director of bioscience and entrepreneurial inclusion for BioSTL, said the initiative is going a step further by hosting the region’s “first of its kind” event to highlight the entrepreneurial opportunities for minorities.
“Through this event we are connecting women, minorities, veterans, immigrants and other interested individuals to resources and opportunities in these growing industries to help them find their fit,” Watkins-Moore said.
BioSTL decided to join forces with ITEN and St. Louis Makes to make a power-packed symposium that gives attendees an opportunity to not only hear from key players during the various panels and speaker sessions, but also gives them a chance exchange cards with funders and organizations.
“Bridging the diversity gap in the St. Louis startup ecosystem is not something one single organization can tackle alone,” said Jim Brasunas, executive director of ITEN.
Watkins-Moore founded a start-up company is St. Louis called UPstart Innovations, LLC – a medical device technology development company. She is basing much of the format for the symposium on what she found helpful in her personal experience. She participated in the Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) program at the BioSTL-sponsored BioGenerator, whose labs and offices are located in Cortex.
“One of the things I saw was that folks who are not in this ecosystem have no clue how to get involved,” she said.
St. Louis is now recognized nationally as a leading start-up community in the country, she said, and it’s known for having the “perfect storm” of collaborative spirit and resources.
“People are more than willing to help young entrepreneurs build their businesses,” she said, but that story doesn’t always make it to minority populations. Through the inclusion initiative, they are trying to take it there.
“When you have a diverse environment, you can reach higher levels of innovation,” she said. “Let’s document it.”
The symposium’s keynote speaker is Johnathan M. Holifield, architect of Inclusive Competitiveness and a co-founder of ScaleUp Partners LLC. The consultancy ScaleUp works to connect “disconnected Americans” to the innovation economy.
The day will also include a showcase, highlighting the innovations of new entrepreneurs and innovators within existing corporations.
Watkins-Moore is particularly excited about the “Community Connections Marketplace,” where attendees can meet potential funders, higher education leaders, mentor and training resources, facilities support partners and career support groups. These are people who many of the participants, “would never have access to or figure out who are the people they need to get access to,” she said.
Participants also might be selected to pitch an idea to the “The Dolphin Tank,” hosted by Springboard Enterprises, and receive constructive feedback.
The $25 registration fee covers breakfast, lunch and a cocktail reception, along with the day of programming – from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event can host 300 people. However, Watkins-Moore anticipates that those slots will get filled quickly because there are three hosts.
And holding the event at Harris-Stowe was imperative to the organizers, she said.
“We wanted to host it at our only HBCU in the city,” she said. “We are taking over the entire campus for that day.”
For more information about the Vision 2015 Symposium, visit www.visionstlouis.com.
