Gov. Heineman Announces New Small Business Mentoring Initiative
The entrepreneurship and innovation (E&I) division at the Greater Omaha Chamber worked closely with Gallup for three years designing the Entrepreneur Acceleration System. Tom Chapman, director of E&I, met with the program designers to discuss “boots on the ground” observations of local — and national — high-growth entrepreneurs. More than 10 meetings were held to help shape the strategy and implementation of the project.
Chapman, and others on the E&I team, introduced Gallup representatives to start-up groups from around the country during the formation process. This allowed Gallup to clearly understand certain aspects of the start-up culture and gaps in many of the start-up teams.
The E&I team also helped identify potential mentors and companies to participate in the program. Two of the Chamber staff have already signed on as mentors, they are Karen Mavropoulos, project coordinator – South Omaha Development Project, and Ed Cochran, executive director – North Omaha Development Project.
The Entrepreneur Acceleration System is a partnership among Gov. Dave Heineman, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Gallup, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Greater Omaha Chamber.
