Marquette’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
At Innovate Marquette, we are dedicated to bridging the gap to gaining access to the resources, technology, and capital necessary for entrepreneurs, startups, and businesses to call Marquette home. While many view entrepreneurship as a lonely road, we see it as a collective endeavor requiring careful nurturing and collaboration from the larger community.
While Innovate Marquette works closely with tech enabled start-ups we are part of a greater entrepreneurial ecosystem, partnering closely with other economic development organizations both locally and throughout the state of Michigan who are aligned with our values and mission. Together we supply our growing community with everything it needs to flourish. As one out of Michigan’s twenty-one SmartZone locations, Marquette has been classified as a growing technology and innovation hub, with the right resources and accelerators available to facilitate entrepreneurial collaboration and incubation for new and emerging businesses.
Since being selected to join the highly competitive 2020 cohort of the Rural Innovation Initiative, Innovate Marquette has been hard at work, building and developing new and exciting innovation hub strategies with our regional partners to bolster and expand our existing entrepreneurial ecosystem. This includes being selected for the 2021.
What Exactly is an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem?
An entrepreneurial or business ecosystem is classified as a diverse set of individuals, businesses, and systems that support the creation and growth of new ideas and possibilities in the community.
In order for an ecosystem to succeed, it needs to have four very important elements: people, technology, capital, and infrastructure.
Innovate Marquette is dedicated to providing and facilitating accessible opportunities for businesses to leverage new technology, receive capital funding, and build the physical infrastructure needed to attract the best talent from around the world to the Marquette area.
Each entity within the ecosystem affects and is affected by others, creating a constantly evolving relationship between one another that must be characterized by flexibility and adaptability in order for the whole to survive.
The most successful entrepreneurial ecosystems act as talent magnets and innovation incubators, leading to greater economic and populace growth within that geographical region.
Innovate Marquette believes that Marquette’s community has what it takes to not only attract but retain some of the most innovative individuals and organizations in the market today.
Thanks to our incredible partners Innovate Marquette is able to offer access to the necessary capital funding, resources, and collaborative opportunities within Marquette’s business community today. Learn more about the partners who help bring our mission for accessibility, sustainability, and creativity to life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Business incubation is the careful process where an individual or an organization supports the establishment and early growth of an idea or business concept. A business incubator, like Innovate Marquette, provides sponsorship, resources, and opportunities for new businesses to strengthen and move into full fledged business models over time.
Once a business concept has been successfully incubated from its early stages, it moves into its next stage of growth. A business accelerator, like Innovate Marquette, offers access to technology, education, mentorship, and financing opportunities to companies looking to move into the later stages of business.
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