Global Entrepreneurship Week Comes to Brunswick

The Lucas Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Coastal Georgia is bringing Global Entrepreneurship Week to Brunswick for the first time, and will put Brunswick on the map for its support of local entrepreneurs. Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) will be celebrated in Brunswick Nov. 13-17 with the theme “Ecosystems. Education. Inclusion. Policy.”

GEW is a global movement to inspire people across the world to share their ideas and take the next step in their entrepreneurial journey. Founded in 2007 by Jonathan Ortmans, president of GEW, Carl Schramm, former president and CEO of Kaufman Foundation, and Gordon Brown, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, GEW has grown to become a comprehensive effort that engages entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and others to advance economic growth and innovation in more than 180 countries around the world. GEW will be celebrated globally Nov. 14-20.

Executive Director of the Art & Lindee Lucas Center for Entrepreneurship Ande Noktes is excited to bring GEW to Brunswick.

“This is the first time we’re doing it in Brunswick, and this is the fifteenth year they’ve done it worldwide. The great part is that our programs are literally on a global map with other activities that are happening around the world to celebrate entrepreneurs,” Noktes said. “I think there are a lot of communities in this country that you can point to and say ‘They’re really great for entrepreneurs’. A lot of people forget that small towns can be supportive of entrepreneurship, too. When you look at the global map, it’s all centered around these big areas like Sacramento, Miami, and Austin. To see Brunswick on the map with places like that is really amazing.”

To celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation, the Lucas Center has collaborated with campus and community organizations, such as the Student Government Association (SGA), Black Student Union (BSU), the School of Business and Public Management, Downtown Development Authority, Golden Isles Development Authority, Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce, and Pearson Certiport.

The community is invited to attend the activities for Global Entrepreneurship Week. Here is a list of activities:

Nov. 13: Information table at Porchfest, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Downtown Brunswick on Dartmouth Street.

Nov. 14: College of Coastal Georgia Campus Kick-Off, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Brunswick campus. Students will receive a Lucas Bingo Sheet to fill out by attending GEW events and compete for a prize. Also, a golden ticket will be hidden on campus for students to find for a prize.  

Nov. 14: Kick-Off Panel Discussion, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Stembler Theatre to discuss entrepreneurship and support in the community. Panelists include College President Michelle Johnston, Executive Director of the Downtown Development Authority Matthew Hill, Pearson Certiport representative Travis Quail, and student entrepreneur Pryce May. The discussion will be facilitated by author Brenda Kempster.

Nov. 15: Tell Your Story and Social Media Challenge, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Stembler Theatre. SGA will be hosting a forum for different entrepreneurs to share their stories. Others are encouraged to share their stories as well with a short video on social media, and include a hashtag for the challenge.

Nov. 15: ACCELER8 Investor Pitch Night, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Stembler Theatre. The community is invited to celebrate and support local businesses who have completed the eight-week ACCELER8 program. Participants will pitch their growth plans and needs to investors, potential financial partners, and community members. The Lucas Center will also award grant money during the event.

Nov. 16: Lucas Challenge: Inaugural Campuswide Pitch Competition from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Stembler Theatre. Twenty-five teams will compete in four categories: general business, technology, sustainability, and food and restaurant. There will be six judges and prizes for each category.

Nov. 17: Tech Talk presented by Justin Henshaw, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Stembler Theatre. Attendees will hear the story of the Golden Isles’ first tech startup, Gage, from founder and serial entrepreneur Justin Henshaw. This is the keynote address for GEW and will explore challenges facing today’s workforce and an innovative tech solution to engage everyone in being their best at work. Henshaw Companies is providing lunch.

Throughout the week, SGA and BSU are hosting a Chef Cook-Off, where students pick one ingredient from The Deck campus pantry, prepare it, and share it to Instagram. Whoever has the most likes at the end of the week wins a prize.

GEW is a wonderful opportunity to show the world that Brunswick cares about entrepreneurship. Noktes is especially excited about ACCELER8 Pitch Night. Pitch Night gives local businesses, who’ve been bootstrapping for years to grow their business, an opportunity to be in front of investors who could help them take their businesses to the next level, she said.

Noktes is also very grateful to Henshaw for being the keynote speaker for GEW.

“Innovation can happen in unlikely places,” she said. “When you see a problem in the world, you have the power to solve it. He didn’t come out of school a computer science graduate. He just saw a problem in the world and wanted to figure out a way to fix it—and he did.”

The Lucas Center has helped over 120 businesses within the last six months through its programming. GEW is an opportunity to put Brunswick on the global map of cities that uplift innovation, entrepreneurship, and small businesses.

To register for Global Entrepreneurship Week events, go to the Lucas Center for Entrepreneurship page on Eventbrite. Contact lucascenter@ccga.edu for information.