News From The MOSourceLink Network: Our Day in Springfield, Missouri

Each quarter, we head into Missouri’s entrepreneurial communities to ask our Resource Partners about what they need to help the state’s entrepreneurs. These folks are heads down in every community across the state, helping aspiring business owners get started and helping established ones grow, increase revenues and create jobs.

That’s a key part of what we do here at MOSourceLink: build bridges between our service organizations and business owners—because we know entrepreneurs and the businesses they create are better and stronger when they are connected. We do that best when we hit the ground running and go into our communities to meet with the very people we connect and serve.

This is why we hold quarterly Resource Partner meetings in different locations throughout the state. Through activity, discussion and interactive support, we conduct mini think tanks that let us to tackle issues we’re facing and more importantly, figure out how to build collaborations to repair them. Each Resource Partner meeting gives us a chance to learn how we’re serving Missouri’s entrepreneurs and to make connections that can fill gaps and advance entrepreneurship locally and statewide. 

We also use our meetings to check in with our Resource Partners about their recent wins and new offerings they may have for Missouri’s entrepreneurs. Here’s what’s happening in the MOSourceLink network.

• Missouri SBDC has begun hosting live webinar-style learning events in addition to its existing offerings. Certain events hosted live in one location in the state can now be attended virtually, by any entrepreneur, at their local SBDC.

• SCORE Southwest Missouri is hosting the first E3 Women’s Conference on Aug. 22 with a welcome reception Aug. 21 from Rosie in Springfield, Missouri. The conference will focus on three tracks: marketing, finance, and business planning.

• LaunchU, the Missouri Women’s Business Center program for early-stage entrepreneurs, will launch its next six week program in Mexico, Missouri, on Sept. 10.

• The St. Louis Startup Connection is scheduled for Nov. 6. This annual event brings the St. Louis entrepreneurship community together to celebrate and to let select startups present their companies to a packed house of entrepreneurs, investors and other members of the innovation community. This year, ITEN and other St. Louis resource partners are planning additional events throughout the entire week.

• This fall, the Marquette Technology Institute, the educational arm of the Marquette Tech District Foundation, is launching the Youth Coding League for area middle schools. Forty schools have already partnered with MTi to introduce computer programming to middle schoolers who will learn compete for cash and prizes.

• 1 Million Cups is coming to Joplin! 1 Million Cups works with entrepreneurs, empowering them with the tools and resources to break down barriers that stand in the way of starting and growing their businesses. Entrepreneurs can attend their local 1MC events, present for feedback, and network.

• Codefi and the MarquetteTech District Foundation held a health care hackathon July 19-21 with $50,000 in cash prizes. Visit the website for details and winners. 

• The Department of Economic Development is optimizing how it builds and grows businesses in Missouri by localizing its teams in the southeast, southwest, central, Kansas City, St. Louis, and upstate Missouri regions. Take a look at the DED website to locate your specific representative. 

• Wrapping up Cohort 4 of its accelerator program this summer, efactory will host its demo day with the four companies in the program 10 a.m. Aug. 12.

• Innovation Interchange is a new project that will help bridge the gap between available university R&D resources and entrepreneurs and companies seeking expertise, skills and a highly trained workforce to meet R&D challenges. The program will offer a web-based platform to facilitate engagement and opportunity matchmaking. The site is set to launch in January.

• The Joseph Newman Innovation Center in Joplin is experiencing growth via a new facility, a reignited incubation-oriented education focus, as well as coworking. 

• The Missouri Intern Connect, a new program that launched in January from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, is disrupting the standard workforce “brain drain” by helping connect educated talent to Missouri businesses through internship opportunities. It’s free to list or browse résumés and internship opportunities.

• Missouri 4-H and the Missouri After-School Network, which supports summer learning and after school programs across the state, has received a grant to increase its ability to promote and offer college and career readiness programming for Missouri youth. These organizations are already working on another grant opportunity that would build program capacity to offer after-school programs focused on youth entrepreneurship and engagement with local resources.