Student get opportunity to Enov8t

Local high school students can get innovative with a new University of North Carolina Wilmington camp focused on entrepreneurship June 21-25, 2010.

Participants of the camp, named Enov8t (innovate), will learn about building a business from concept to completion, including identifying and evaluating business ideas, writing a business plan, understanding basic financial management, marketing and selling. Instruction will teach teens how to build a successful team and how to be a strong leader. The week of innovation will culminate with a “rocket pitch” event where campers will present their business plan to local business leaders.

Registration is still open for the unique Enov8t camp, which will be held 8:45 a.m. -4 p.m. June 21-25 in the state-of-the-art UNC Wilmington Computer Information Systems Building. The camp is open to rising 10th through 12th grade students. For cost and registration information, visit www.uncw.edu/enov8t.

Jonathan Rowe, director of the UNCW Entrepreneurship Center, and Fran Scarlett, regional director of the UNCW Small Business & Technology Development Center, will lead campers. Guest speakers and UNCW student leaders will educate and encourage campers with discussions, mentoring and hands-on activities.

Cape Fear Future Commission Formed

Cape Fear Future will receive greater input and support from influential business and government leaders who will serve on the newly formed Cape Fear Future Commission. The role of the 47-member Commission will be to communicate and provide input on Cape Fear Future initiatives, identify and propel important initiatives forward, and help leverage existing efforts and organizations. The Commission includes representatives from New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick County. The goal of Cape Fear Future is to attract and retain knowledge workers and further develop the area’s skilled workforce.

The Commission held its kickoff meeting Tuesday, April 20, where Commission members received an update on the work of the three CFF Task Forces that are focusing on area Quality of Life, Entrepreneurship and Education. Commission members also heard from guest speaker Fred Eshelman (Executive Chairman, PPD, Inc.).

Each of the three focus areas is instrumental in creating an environment that will attract and retain knowledge workers in order to promote sustained economic growth and greater prosperity for the region. Many additional areas of focus have been defined through community input and the work of the consulting group Catalytix, which will be addressed as the process moves forward.

The Quality of Life Task Force, led by Chris Boney (LS3P Associates Ltd.), is developing policies and projects aimed at improving the special characteristics of Wilmington’s unique quality of place in order to attract and retain knowledge workers and businesses. Focus areas include: establishing a consolidated regional effort to enhance and maximize tourism efforts; re-energizing the arts community, and promoting and improving a vibrant downtown.

The Entrepreneurship Action Team, led by Jonathan Rowe (UNCW Entrepreneurship Center), is a catalyst for entrepreneurial growth in Southeastern North Carolina by linking together emerging and high-growth ventures, entrepreneurs, and relevant support organizations to create business growth, jobs, and innovation. CFF will work in partnership with the established UNCW Entrepreneurship Center and others in this effort.

The Education Task Force, led by John Gizdic (NHRMC), will seek to increase involvement and representation of business leaders on educational decision-making committees; establish an assessment of workforce readiness of local students by area businesses; provide advocacy for high quality K-12 education for all students (grass-roots and school board efforts); and enhance STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education programs and offerings.

“By working toward these enhancements to the region, Cape Fear Future will help ensure that businesses in the region have skilled workers as the Baby Boomers retire and the younger demographic shrinks, and that the area will be a magnet for knowledge-based businesses,” said Chamber President & CEO Connie Majure-Rhett. “The establishment of the Commission is a key part of Cape Fear Future and we are pleased that so many important leaders have stepped forward to serve.”

The Cape Fear Future Commission Kickoff meeting will be available for viewing on the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce (www.wilmingtonchamber.org) and City of Wilmington websites (www.ci.wilmington.nc.us.) beginning April 22.

Idea for Wilmington Public Market Spurred by CFF Trip

In November 2009, a group of Wilmington business leaders and elected officials visited Charleston, SC for a series of meetings, presentations and site visits tied to the Cape Fear Future initiative. Topics included downtown development, CVB promotion, planning, design and historic preservation. The group met with Mayor Riley, top level officials from a variety of agencies (CVB, SC Aquarium, Charleston Civic Center, Preservation Society, Gibbes Museum of Art and many more), as well as developers, architects, and other private business owners.

The site visit to the Charleston public market has led to a proposal to create a public market in Wilmington again. The addition of a public market in Downtown Wilmington would enhance quality of place and encourage additional growth, development and economic benefits within the Central Business District.

A public market also supports recommendations made in the Vision 2020 plan and would help reconnect citizens with downtown Wilmington and the riverfront, increase off-peak visitation, and enhance the identity of Wilmington as a unique place. Not to mention that it would establish a living symbol of the city’s heritage: a market once stood in the middle of Market Street (which the street name was derived from) between Front and Water Street, but was demolished in 1881.

Learn more about the Wilmington Public Market at: www.wilmingtonpublicmarket.org

Entrepreneurs to "Speed Date" with Business Leaders/Investors

Emerging startup companies and entrepreneurs in Southeastern North Carolina will pitch their business ideas to business leaders and investors speed-dating style at the University of North Carolina Wilmington on Oct. 28. The event takes place at 5:30 p.m. in the Madeline Suite.

Local cutting-edge technology companies and innovative products will be highlighted as participants compete to “sell” their companies and growth strategies in less than five minutes. This Rocket Pitch event is designed to be a networking opportunity for more than 75 area entrepreneurs, business leaders and investors who may be struggling for resources during the recession. It comes just two weeks after Fortune Small Business Magazine and CNN Money online ranked Wilmington 14th on their list of the best midsized cities in the U.S. for launching a start-up business.

The UNCW Entrepreneurship Center -- which aims to be a catalyst for entrepreneurial growth in Southeastern N.C. by bringing together emerging and high-growth ventures, entrepreneurs and relevant support organizations to create business growth, jobs and innovation -- is hosting the event. For more information on this event, visit www.uncwec.org.

Wilmington Ranks #14 for Small Business Start Ups

Recognizing Wilmington's entrepreneurial spirit, Fortune Small Business Magazine has ranked Wilmington number 14 of the best midsize cities to launch a start-up business. The article in the November 2009 issue notes that there aren't a great deal of large employers in the area, which adds to the entrepreneurial air.

“In Wilmington, if you can’t find a job, you create one,” the article states.

Cape Fear Future was noted as a progressive program as well, citing the Wilmington 2.0 campaign as the city’s new project to foster technology-focused business.

The rate of small business growth in the area has been impressive: a 12.8 percent rate between 2004 and 2007, according to the article.

Read the entire article on the CNN Money website:
http://money.cnn.com/smallbusiness/best_places_launch/2009/snapshot/355.html

What Should Wilmington's Brand Be?

Inspired by Cape Fear Future, the Greater Wilmington Business Journal's latest Power Breakfast, held on Tuesday, September 22, tackled the subject of Wilmington's brand. Journal Publisher and CFF Leadership Team member Rob Kaiser asked the audience to think about the image that came to mind when he mentioned several cities, including Savannah, Charleston, Raleigh, and New York. Each has a clear brand that is readily identifiable, but what about Wilmington and the Cape Fear area?

The five panelists who debated the issue included Melanie Cook of Coastal Carolina Tomorrow; Tom Looney, Cape Fear Future's entrepreneur in residence; Jeff Morvil, president of Morvil Advertising and Design; Chad Paul, managing partner of Harbor Island Partners and Rick Randall, CEO of Trans1 Inc. Learn more about their thoughts on Wilmington's brand by reading the Journal's follow-up coverage: "Wilmington Brand Debated at Breakfast Event"

Report Shows How Employers Can Impact STEM Education

NC Magazine has reported that the US Chamber's Institute for a Competitive Workforce is supporting a new study that outlines what employers can do to improve the way science, technology, engineering and math are taught. STEM is a Cape Fear Future priority area.

The report, called “The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy” was conducted by the Carnegie-IAS Commission on Mathematics and Science Education. There are four general areas in which the report urges action:

1) Place mathematics and science at the center of education innovation, improvement and accountability to enable higher levels of learning.

2) Establish common standards and assessments for the nation in mathematics and science.

3) Improve math and science teaching, including new ways of recruiting teaching talent.

4) Redesign schools and systems to deliver excellent, equitable math and science learning.

Read the entire article in NC Magazine online.