MONROE — The Greene County Development Authority and New Glarus Bank are once again hosting a five-part training series for Greene County entrepreneurs. The free five-part series incorporates targeted training sessions and will also feature a pitch competition with cash prizes.
Sessions will be led by experts from the Small Business Development Center on Wednesdays through April, including a session by Maia Donohue, director of the IDEA Hub accelerator at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and author of The Startup Mentor.
The series kicks off on Wednesday, April 3 with “Where Do I Start?,” where SBDC consultant Nora Roughen-Schmidt will discuss business plans, financial documents and legal entity formation.
Remaining sessions will include “Start Your Business in 10 Minutes” by Maia Donohue, followed by more information from the SBDC on “Funding Your Business” and “Growing Your Business,” culminating in a pitch competition.
“Attending the 2023 Small Business Series was one of the best decisions I made to bring my small business vision to life,” Lauren Siegenthaler, Owner of Erda + Arch, LLC and former participant and pitch competition winner, said of the program. “I loved the opportunity to sit down with peers who all had amazing dreams and learn from one another. The series gave us the gift of mentorship from a trusted local resource that cares deeply about the health and wealth of small businesses. I attended this class with a dream and not only walked away with an LLC, but also with confidence that I'm not alone in navigating life as a small business owner.”
The pitch competition will give all participants the opportunity to present their business idea to mentors and lenders. It is open to participants who attend all sessions and have not previously won. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three best business pitches, and all participants will receive valuable feedback to help them succeed in future pitches and grow their business.
All sessions will be held on Wednesdays from 6pm to 7:30pm at the Monroe branch of The Bank of New Glarus, located at 701 8th Street.
The event is free and open to Greene County residents. Registration is required: http://bit.ly/GCDCSBS. Questions can be sent to gcdc@greencountydevelopment.com or by calling 608-328-9452.
