South Florida Business Journal
Startup Quest tackles unemployment by focusing on entrepreneurship
As Florida emerges from the great recession, it is important to develop new and creative ways to address the problem of unemployment among degreed professionals.
Startup Quest is one such program, launching statewide and led locally by Workforce One who is rolling it out in Broward County this month with an inaugural class of over 100 individuals seeking new pathways for employment and self-employment.
The kickoff event was held on Thursday, and over 500 people attended to learn more about the program.
Unlike traditional workforce development programs that match individuals with existing jobs or retrain them for positions that may or may not exist, Startup Quest provides hands-on training to professionals who want to become entrepreneurs.
The program empowers individuals to form their own companies or become more valuable employees for startups where they may become employed. Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, the program was created by Alachua County-based FloridaWorks, the University of Florida, and local industry partners who formed a consortium with local workforce investment boards who are rolling out the program statewide.
Critical to the success of the program are the CEO-mentors and coaches who lead small participant groups by incorporating inventions developed at Florida universities, NASA, and other research labs as cores around which simulated companies are created.
The concept of marrying this rich technology resource base with members of the local community to create companies and jobs is novel and one that is being embraced across the country. Entrepreneurs who have experience in every aspect of starting and growing a new venture share their wisdom and guide participants through the process of creating actionable, market-driven business plans while imparting knowledge of technology development, emerging markets and industries, entrepreneurship, financial analysis and management techniques.
Participants graduate with not only marketable skills and increased self-confidence, but also with roadmaps on how to bring new companies and products to market.
Truly a group effort, Startup Quest fosters consensus-building across multiple, disparate organizations within regions and across the state.
It is one example of how individuals exercised some creative problem solving to bring a new approach to an old, persistent problem, helping to drive Florida's economy by providing opportunities through previously untapped resources and create companies and jobs for generations to come.
If you are interested in learning more about the program, visit http://workforceone.startupquest.org.