By Shaun Ryan, The Ponte Vedra Recorder
November 12-16 was a week to “unlock serendipity” when the Sapna Foundation presented its fourth annual EnterCircle Entrepreneurship Week, an opportunity for professionals and students to learn from inspiring speakers and each other.
The focus this year was on recognizing ways the unexpected can benefit nonprofits, businesses and communities. As always, attendees gathered at the link, a unique space in Nocatee where entrepreneurs collaborate to grow their businesses and the community accesses an array of events, classes and camps.
The Sapna Foundation seeks to alleviate poverty using innovative solutions.
EnterCircle kicked off Tuesday, Nov. 12, with the St. Johns County Schools Innovation Challenge, which gave student teams a chance to workshop their business innovations in anticipation of a district competition in January.
Then, on Wednesday, Nov. 13, things really got underway with Social Enterprise Day and Business Expo. Topics included community wealth building, innovative funding sources and the future of social enterprises.
Sriram Bharatam of Kuza Biashara Limited, delivered the innovation keynote. His organization offers small business learning, training and empowerment in Africa.
A Social Enterprise Panel Discussion followed with Dawn Lockhart, CEO of the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida; Cindy Funkhouser, president and CEO of the Sulzbacher Center; Kristin Keen, founder and CEO of Rethreaded; and Monte Walker, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Jacksonville.
The next event was “Community Wealth Building — Doing Well By Doing Good,” a presentation by select leaders representing an array of corporate entities primarily from across St. Johns and Duval counties. Each spoke about ways in which their corporations give back to their communities. Paid volunteer hours encourage employees to get involved and the collective financial commitment by the businesses represented on the panel account for millions of dollars in donations.
The panel was comprised of Lockhart; Patricia McElroy, senior vice president and foundation president for Vystar Credit Union; Whitney Myer, senior vice president and chief community impact officer at the Jacksonville Jaguars; Emily Bellock, senior director of community outreach for PGA Tour; and Susan Towler, executive director for corporate social responsibility with the Florida Blue Foundation.
Following the panel discussion was a survey of attendees, Social Enterprise Challenge Opportunity, and a presentation by Lockhart about Catalyst Northeast Florida, a data-rich resource.
Closing out the agenda was “Innovative Capital Resources & Nontraditional Sources of Revenue/Funding” with Lockhart; Gregory Grant of Jacksonville’s Office of Economic Development; James Coggin, senior director for grantmaking and impact investing at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida; and Iris Jones, consumer credit counseling services manager for Self-Help Credit Union.
Throughout the day, a business expo introduced attendees to participating businesses in the area.
The second day of EnterCircle 2024 was the Youth Symposium. One hundred students from Creekside and Ponte Vedra high schools attended to glean valuable insights from speakers who have navigated their own journeys from high school to career success.
Adam Lowe, head of operations for Higher Pixels, got things started with his presentation, “Life is a Math Problem.” Employing insights he gained in his own experience, he took the attendees along on a tour of life from childhood to the “Golden Years,” explaining the essentials of making the most of each stage to achieve a satisfactory outcome.
Breakout sessions followed: a personal finances workshop with Lowe and “Creating with AI” with Tery Spataro of Tery Designs and Creations.
Entrepreneur and president of the Ponte Vedra Beach Toastmasters Chris Engl followed with his presentation, after which Marcia Conner, executive adviser, analyst and bestselling author, spoke about innovation and systems thinking.
The morning session wrapped up with “How I Built a Space Tech Company,” presented by Andrew Rush, co-founder and CEO of Star Catcher, which is building the first energy grid for space. The world is beginning to realize life as it had once only existed in science fiction, and these students will be a part of an exciting future.
Motivational speaker and resilience coach Rob Swymer gave his audience some things to think about with his presentation, “Unleashing the Technology of the Body to Live in a Peak State.”
Finally, Pete Cochrane, co-founder and host of Two Recruiters and a Microphone, spoke about his diverse background and work in recruiting. He described his own professional journey and offered key lessons he learned along the way.
EnterCircle 2024 culminated Friday, Nov. 15, in Women’s Day during which speakers from government, private enterprise, the media and more offered attendees indispensable advice and observations.
Marithza Calderon-Ross, meteorologist with Action News Jax and now executive director with St. Johns County Parks Foundation, started things off with a high-energy welcome and introduction of keynote speaker Jessie Shternshus, CEO of The Improv Effect.
Shternshus’ business employs improvisation to help professionals become more confident, creative and capable of making an impact. Her topic was “Together to Gather.” Attendees engaged in activities that encouraged connecting with others, an essential component of “Unlocking Serendipity,” the theme of this year’s Entrepreneurship Week.
St. Johns County Commissioner Krista Joseph followed with her presentation, “Making Lemons Out of Lemonade: How Life’s Unexpected Challenges Turn Out to be Blessings.” It’s a theme Joseph is qualified to explore, having endured great personal tragedy and discovered ways to bring positive outcomes out of it.
The day continued with additional speakers, a panel discussion and presentation of Circle of Creation Awards. Circle of Creation was an initiative held in May and designed to create networking and educational opportunities for entrepreneurial women.
Other speakers on the schedule Friday were: Marcia Connor, executive adviser, analyst and best-selling author; Jen Cart of Stellar Growth Strategies; and motivational speaker Amy Dix of Choose Happy, who wrapped up the day with her presentation, “The Magic of Serendipity: Unlocking Happiness Through Chance.”
An artist, she employed her painting skills to surprise her audience. She painted a picture of gymnast Simone Biles, winner of 11 Olympic medals, live on the stage at the link. But Dix didn’t approach her painting in the usual way. Using acrylics, she painted it upside down and, only when it was finished, did she turn it around to reveal the completed image.
The event concluded with a raffle.
The link is located at 425 Town Plaza Ave., Ponte Vedra.
For more information about the link or EnterCircle, go to thelink.zone.
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