Some of the nation’s most innovative economic developers and ecosystem builders recently gathered for Restart 2020, a three-day virtual event designed to help attendees formulate a strategy for 2021 that includes entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial training as an essential component of job creation and economic recovery. The event began with a…

CO.STARTERS is a Small Business Too: Part IV By Jose Alfaro, CO.STARTERS COO Perhaps the single most common question we hear from entrepreneurs is, “How can I improve my marketing?” By now, you’ve probably read thirty Medium pieces and Forbes articles about how marketing is really about storytelling, and storytelling is really about branding, and branding is really…

The near mythical narrative surrounding a presidential administration’s first one hundred days began with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In fact, FDR brought the term “first 100 days” into the public’s consciousness during a radio address on July 24, 1933. Regardless of how anyone views his politics, FDR began his first presidential…

CO.STARTERS is a Small Business Too: Part III By Jose Alfaro, CO.STARTERS COO After-and only after-you talk to a number of your customers, it’s time to form a plan. As a business, your job is to offer your customer solutions to their problems. …

Here’s the bad news: This election will leave scars, and we have a lot of things that need to be fixed. The past few years have left a lot of people, locally and nationally, asking “What’s next?” Here’s what’s next: 1. We build strong communities at the local level. Strong communities are created at the local level, not via…

After nearly a decade of solely focusing on products and strategies to support new entrepreneurs, we at CO.STARTERS have expanded our focus to include existing businesses. This shift has been a long time coming, but it was certainly accelerated by the economic effects of COVID-19. Adaptation is a learnable skill. The chief mission of our…

What is design thinking, anyway? — Hopefully by now you’ve read our recap of Shelley Prevost’s stellar talk on how to get yourself calm. As she explained, it’s imperative to reach a place of calm before you shoot for creativity. …

Spread only good things and shop masks made by our very own CO.STARTERS graduates. — Masks are everyone’s new accessory and a proactive way to protect yourself and those around you. In the spirit of spreading positivity while helping reduce the bad, here is a simple and small way you can support small businesses who are working hard to pivot and address the current need…

What do you get when you cross an entrepreneur, an angel investor, and a psychologist? You get our latest guest in our Straight Talk With Starters series—Dr. Shelley Prevost of The Big Self School . …