The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and boutique management consultancy SHORT ENTERPRISES have partnered to establish a network supporting entrepreneurs throughout the U.S. The Initiative's primary focus will be the launch of a new funding platform streamlining access to financing from community lenders. The platform is designed to provide a transparent alternative to expensive predatory online lenders and is focused on financial inclusion and economic empowerment in underserved communities.
Newhouse partners with alumnus on CGI-sponsored project to support entrepreneurship across the U.S.
Via Newhouse School Press Release (October 22, 2014) - The Newhouse School at Syracuse University has joined forces with entrepreneur and Newhouse alumnus W. Michael Short on his firm’s latest endeavor with the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI-A).
Short will announce the launch of this new venture, the Startup Insider Initiative, at the 4th Annual Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EVB) Conference at the CNN Center in Atlanta, October 24-26.
The Startup Insider Initiative, a CGI-A Commitment to Action, will involve the launch of a new e-publication and web platform for entrepreneurs and small business technical assistance and resource providers throughout the United States. CGI-A Commitments to Action are projects that aim to address significant global, national or local challenges.
Newhouse students began working with Short Enterprises on the project in early September and the school’s student-run PR firm, Hill Communications, will assist with the implementation of the public relations campaigns during the roll-out of the project.
“Our students are thrilled to take part in this exciting endeavor,” says Robert Kucharavey, a professor of practice in public relations at Newhouse. “The initiative is giving our students an opportunity to showcase their talents on a high-profile project while learning from a phenomenal social enterprises company started by one of our alums.”
The initiative will feature the best and brightest entrepreneurs and businesses from across the U.S and build a network among participants in order to facilitate opportunities for growth, expansion and job creation. In addition to providing a space for entrepreneurs to connect, Startup Insider Initiative will focus on engaging young women in the entrepreneurial process, supporting social and civic entrepreneurs, fostering an online support community and cross-sector global coalitions in support of youth entrepreneurial programming and supporting the economic empowerment of veterans through entrepreneurship.
“We’re very pleased to have the Newhouse School on board,” says Short. “Bob Kucharavey is one of the most talented and knowledgeable professors I have ever had the privilege of working with and his phenomenal students have already begun to identify effective strategies to engage the project’s key constituencies and I’m so very impressed with the work the students have done so far.”
Short Enterprises is also collaborating and partnering with a number of other organizations on the initiative including the New York State Family Business Center at Le Moyne College, New York State Small Business Development Center at Onondaga Community College and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.
The launch of Startup Insider was inspired by Short’s participation in the Clinton Global Initiative America Community Investing Working Group, which is focused on developing actionable strategies to broaden the domestic social finance market in order to use private capital in areas of small business lending, affordable housing, health and community and economic development.
The working group includes leaders from the MacArthur Foundation, Bush Foundation, Ford Foundation, Global Sustainable Finance at Morgan Stanley, Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs, U.S. Community Reinvestment Fund, Federal Reserve Board and U.S. Treasury Department, among others.
“Startup Insider presents a unique opportunity to support budding entrepreneurs and assist them with gaining traction and exposure, sharing ideas and accessing crucial resources,” says Short. “We’re fortunate to have the support of a number of great organizations and the EVB conference is the perfect venue to announce the launch of our first Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action.”
