To help, local leaders decided to do something and created a calendar of entrepreneurial events. Since its inception in 2016, there have been hundreds of events that enables countless interactions among aspiring entrepreneurs. The CT Entrepreneurial Event Organizers promotes collaboration to unite and engage all members of the entrepreneurial community.

How does the calendar help?

First and foremost, the calendar provides awareness of events that allows entrepreneurs to find and network with fellow entrepreneurs, along with meeting potential advisors, co-workers and future founders. The calendar:

Showcases events by location and industry;Highlights organizations across the state, ready and willing to help; andOutlines future events to plan accordingly.

In time, the calendar will raise awareness about what events to attend based on your needs because your time is valuable. Founding and running a business is difficult, by understanding the purpose and intended audience, you can identify the organizations and events that will move the needle for your business. Secondly, in our efforts to create a vibrant community, we all share the responsibility to create awareness around our events. By sharing the calendar with your audience, your organization will gain awareness. Members of other organizations will learn about your events. The calendar is a free, collaborative cross-marketing opportunity, and will enable the growth of the community. By participating in sharing the calendar, then your organization will be recognized on ctevents.co as a collaborating member of the CT ecosystem and give you the opportunity to connect with partner organizations. We all want the best turnout to our events, so connecting with organizations in your area or with a similar mission will help event coordination. We need to work together to ensure entrepreneurs can attend all of the events that meet their needs.

Early Results from the Entrepreneurial Calendar

Since the inception of the calendar, local leaders made great strides in connecting entrepreneurs with resources and the calendar is one of tools available to help.  For example, one organization changed an event date to avoid a conflict with a larger event (a pitch contest). Prior to the calendar, entrepreneurs would be forced to choose or an event may suffer from lack of attendance. As a result, the organization held the event on a different date and focused on preparing pitches (to create a better pitch contest). This is how a calendar helps! However, there is always more to do. As entrepreneurs and organizations grow accustomed to finding events, we need to do more to share success stories and lessons learned. Together, we can strengthen and advance our goals by connecting with entrepreneurs across the state.