For many people, talk of entrepreneurship and incubators provokes thoughts of Millennials and Generation Z. However, the reality is quite different. According to a recent Kauffman Foundation Index, approximately half of all new entrepreneurs are age 45 or older. That is why LIU Brooklyn’s Center for Entrepreneurship is partnering with Stage2Startups on a program to help older entrepreneurs become startup founders and offer support to this new community.
In partnering with Stage2Startups, LIU forged an alliance with a team of entrepreneurs with years of corporate experience. The founders of Stage2Startups created their company after noticing a need in the market based on their own experiences, and the Center for Entrepreneurship has provided a platform for Stage2Startups to use in filling that need.
The partnership launched on August 2 with a panel on funding options at the Center for Entrepreneurship’s lab on the LIU Brooklyn Campus. Among the distinguished speakers who addressed the audience of aspiring entrepreneurs were Chanel sales executive turned surf bikini company CEO Helena Fogarty, Lower East Side Credit Union representative Angel Garcia, NYC Small Business Solutions representative Calvin Fletcher, and Raise the Credit and Business Kings CEO Andres Rosa.
Dawn McGee Strickland, director of LIU Brooklyn’s Center for Entrepreneurship, moderated the panel. Before joining the University, Strickland was part of a startup team that raised over $5 million in venture financing, and previously served as a founding board member of the Laundromat Project, an award-winning arts and social justice organization.
Future programs in the series will include insight into equity and partnership agreements and other legal issues, technology, sales and marketing. All programs feature experienced entrepreneurs and may also include subject matter experts.
