CO.STARTERS at Mercer University Shaping New Community of Entrepreneurs
The Mercer University Eugene W. Stetson School of Business & Economics recently launched CO.STARTERS, a new business development program providing the resources and connections necessary for the Middle Georgia community to turn ideas into action.
Since October, CO.STARTERS has been helping small-business owners to develop their businesses by building and testing simple models that receive feedback in real-time. CO.STARTERS is a nine-week long, cohort-based program that also uses community support to help in the process of business leaders developing their models. Instead of approaching startups like large corporations, the programs model encourages the testing of small models before diving into creating a broad model of business. Registration is open to the public and includes a fee of $199.
Although the relationship between CO.STARTERS and the Mercer Innovation Center is fairly new, the CO.STARTERS program has already had a global impact, serving communities throughout the United States, and even all the way to New Zealand and Australia.
“We are excited to be adding CO.STARTERS to the Mercer Innovation Center program offerings,” MIC deputy director Stephanie Howard said. “This hands-on program will be an asset to the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Macon-Bibb community.”
Enoch Elwell, CO.STARTERS founder, commented how many communities across the country are overlooked as business centers but often have a wide range of talented entrepreneurs. These communities need extra support for entrepreneurs to provide them with the tools and resources to thrive.
“CO.STARTERS provides a structure for these communities to achieve their economic growth goals and gives them an easy way to build the connections they are already trying to grow,” Elwell says.
