Next week marks the third year Baton Rouge entrepreneurs are participating in Global Entrepreneurship Week with an array of events compiled to create Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week from Nov. 17 to Nov. 23.
The University, as well as several organizations like the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, are hosting events designed to “cultivate and recognize entrepreneurship and innovation” in the region, according to Lauren Hatcher, BRAC director of marketing operations.
“An event like BREW offers entrepreneurs a common place and time to share ideas to gain insights and education to help them get their startups moving,” Hatcher said. “I think the region is making a lot of progress and becoming a strong place for entrepreneurs to start businesses.”
The University’s Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute is hosting the Executive Education’s Breakfast to Business at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, where guest speaker John Georges, CEO of Georges Enterprises, will address entrepreneurs and SEI fellows in the Business Education Complex.
SEI is also hosting the Second Annual LSU Elevator Pitch Competition and Entrepreneur Panel Discussion in conjunction with the University Student Incubator, starting at 5 p.m. in the Business Education Complex Auditorium. Both events are free to the public.
The pitch competition involves students having 90 seconds to pitch business ideas, which will be judged by entrepreneurs, according to SEI Director of Executive Education Robin Kistler.
The panel discussion will feature a group of entrepreneurs discussing general ideas behind entrepreneurship or challenges they have faced and how they moved past that, Kistler said.
Other Baton Rouge area organizations and businesses will be hosting events throughout the week, such as SeNSE, which will be hosting the High-Stakes Pitch Night on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center. Admission is $20, and those interested can register at sensehighstakespitchnight.eventbrite.com or purchase tickets at the door.
The event will feature five “sharks,” or panel of entrepreneurs, who will judge local startups and have the option to contribute money to invest in their favorite company. The design is similar to ABC’s “Shark Tank,” and according to SeNSE Programming Chair Christi Domingue-Rangel, more than $400,000 were given to startups by sharks at last year’s event.
The week also gives the opportunity for BRAC to release its 2014 Economic Outlook on Thursday at City Club in Baton Rouge at 7:30 a.m. as a part of the regional stakeholder’s breakfast, which includes data analysis, forecast and insights on the local nine-parish economy for the upcoming year, Hatcher said.
The outlook references information from different data sets and a survey filled out by local businesses, she said.