Hilton Head businessmen launch start-up to help schools develop programs in entrepreneurship
Two Hilton Head Island entrepreneurs have recently launched a startup for startups.
e2advisors, which develops entrepreneurship programs for academic institutes, began in October by Wes Bray and Mickey Goodman, who both recently relocated to Hilton Head.
The business partners met at Kraft General Foods, and both have a background in academia and entrepreneurship.
"Today especially, entrepreneurship is the driver behind the whole global economy," Goodman said.
Millennials in particular are interested in launching start-ups: A 2014 survey by Bentley University found that 67 percent of millennials were interested in starting their own business.
The Hilton Head entrepreneurs attribute that to the younger workforce seeking greater flexibility in their careers and the onset of new technology that allows more people to work remotely.
Both Bray and Goodman want to tap into the potential of Southeastern universities, especially small liberal arts colleges such as Catawba College in North Carolina, one of their clients.
Many large public schools already have entrepreneurship programs, but the partners feel there is potential for all schools to incorporate entrepreneurship into their academic or extracurricular programs.
"It's not one size fits all," Goodman said. "It's the concept of education, incubation and acceleration."
A pitch contest might be all some schools need. For others, e2advisors will develop a degree, a major, a minor or a concentration in entrepreneurship. The curriculum has seven to nine "core" topics, including finance and digital marketing.
Bray was one of the developers of the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute, which helps entrepreneurs at the university start ventures. e2advisors has modeled their curriculum and program after YEI, but there is room for modification to fit each school's requirements.
A big component of these programs and curriculum is to "vet out" ventures and flesh them out to increase the chance that an idea will receive capital from an investor, Bray said.
"The failure rate is 90 percent," Goodman said. "It's the nature of the game."
Locally, Goodman and Bray see potential for the entire Lowcountry to be one "entrepreneurial ecosystem," which could span from Charleston to Savannah.
But both say it would be difficult to attract the types of innovative start-ups being launched in areas such as Boston and Boulder, Colo., to Beaufort County.
"Tourism, golf, tennis, ideas around that stuff would stay in this area," Bray said. "Medical and tech companies would go somewhere else."
Both entrepreneurs agreed, though, that there is an "unbelievable" networking business talent pool in the area that could be fostered and would help bolster start-ups through mentorship and investing. Incubators such as Bluffton's Don Ryan Center for Innovation are also critical to help launch start-ups, they said.
"There is nothing more exciting than taking an idea and growing it into a business," Bray said.
Pitch contest now accepting applications
The Hilton Head Island Economic Development Corporation has created a business pitch competition to give entrepreneurs a chance to compete for the opportunity to bring their business idea to life on Hilton Head Island.
Local entrepreneurs can submit their new business or business expansion idea to the HHIEDC to compete for the opportunity to be selected as one of six entrepreneurs to compete in the final business pitch competition, which will be Feb. 23 on Hilton Head.
Local business leaders will be judges for the competition. Applicants will be notified by Feb. 15 if they have been selected to pitch. Applications must be received by Feb. 1.
Details: http://www.hhiedc.com/idea
Follow reporter Ashley Fahey on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Ashley.
Related content:
- Hilton Head Island Economic Development Corporation to launch contest, November 6, 2015
- Bluffton sets up nonprofit to guide start-up incubator, October 11, 2011
This story was originally published January 17, 2016 at 3:04 PM with the headline "Hilton Head businessmen launch start-up to help schools develop programs in entrepreneurship."