TechTown gathered a new bumper crop of potential entrepreneurs at its
FastTrac event, which attracted 700 people interested in starting their own businesses.
That number is about even with previous recruiting events; however, the quality of entrepreneurs has improved. "The feedback was fairly unanimous that this year's group is much more serious about pursuing entrepreneurship," says Vita Merlotti,
SmartStart Support Leader for
TechTown.
FastTrac is a 15-year-old business development program that helps unemployed or underemployed people transition into entrepreneurship through an intensive 3-10 week training program. The program is run by TechTown and paid for by the foundations behind the
New Economy Initiative, such as the
Kauffman Foundation. The Kauffman Foundation has also named TechTown as the place that is leading the nation in participation in entrepreneurial programs.
"We've been out there talking about entrepreneurship and beating the drum in a hard way for 12 months now," says Randal Charlton, executive director of TechTown.
A large cross section of people attended the most recent FastTrac recruiting event. The ranged from graduate student pursuing concepts to serial entrepreneurs, engineers with product ideas and older members of the workforce not yet ready to retire.
"There is a lot of the Baby Boom generation that are recognizing that they need a second act," Charlton says. "These aren't necessarily people who have lost a job but have lost at least a bit of their savings."
Source: Randal Charlton, executive director of TechTown and Vita Merlotti, SmartStart Support Leader for TechTown
Writer: Jon Zemke
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