Jacksonville-based incubator and entrepreneurial hub PS27 is set to both expand in scope and in geography.
PS27 Foundation announced it will be hosting a veterans forum in Gainesville at Santa Fe College Nov. 2 with the aim of taking existing veteran-owned smaller businesses to the next level.
The entrepreneurial group has hosted targeted events like the Black Founders Forum and the Female Founders Forum but has yet to help the group CEO and Founder Jim Stallings said is close to his heart: veterans.
"We've been wanting to do this for years," Stallings told the Business Journal. "When I first came out of the service, this didn't exist."
Stallings said his background in the Marine Corp. provided a natural starting point for his civilian role as a leader and entrepreneur and said he wants to help the next generation of veteran achieve even higher goals.
Although this forum isn't specifically targeted to business owners in the tech field, he noted a lot of veterans leaving service today have a lot of high-tech skills. Coupled with their problem solving abilities and previous leadership responsibilities, he said it makes veterans natural entrepreneurs.
Are you a military veteran making a difference in the business community? If so, we'd like to hear from you.
Stallings said the upcoming event will be more hands on, workshop format as opposed to a lecture series by keynote speakers. The workshops will be focused on B2B sales calls, marketing, accounting and financing, among other topics.
Unlike many events, he said, participants will be working on their specific issues in small teams directly with mentors. And in many cases, he added, that help will continue from their mentors for the following months to make sure they are hitting their goals.
This event also marks the first of its nature for PS27 outside of Jacksonville.
Stallings said the business and veteran community in Gainesville has been very generous and they will be growing thier relationship with the university network.
"I've just been really impressed (with Sante Fe)," he said. "We wanted to make sure that we are in that market and that we've got connections into that market. They also now have connections to us here in Jacksonville."
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