Entrepreneurs: Your attention please

By Nicholas Ketchum
Deputy Editor

Where are the entrepreneurs at WCC? They could be meeting behind some campus pine trees.

The Damon B. Flowers Building, or Plant Operations and Facilities, might be the most nondescript building on campus. It’s obscured, too, since the building—just west of the Gunder Myran building—is mostly hidden by large pine trees in front.

However, once you find it, the “Entrepreneurship Center” sign above the building’s entrance indicates that more than just plant operations occur here.

Claire Abraham, the Entrepreneurship Center coordinator, has worked with students, entrepreneurs, and businesses at the center since its inception in 2014.

“We really try to distribute the idea of entrepreneurship across campus,” she said in an interview. “We don’t just serve students; we also serve entrepreneurs and small businesses in the community.”

According to its website, the Entrepreneurship Center is “a meeting place and resource hub open to the public. . . . to help entrepreneurs bring their ideas to market.”

The Center offers comfortable and contemporary co-working space, replete with fluffy seating, wifi, desk space, whiteboards, and of course, computers. The space is open and free for students and non-students alike.

Hot tea and coffee are offered on-site—also free.

Twice monthly, the center also has a business librarian on-staff to help answer questions, guide research, or connect people with helpful tools. The center also offers two-week loans of its collection of business-related books for anyone in the community.

Around campus, the center helps organize a variety of free, expert-led workshops and events. “All of our workshops are based on client questions,” Abraham said.

“We’re open to any questions from students and non-students,” she said.

On its website, the center periodically features one of its clients in its EC Entrepreneur Spotlight, where a particular entrepreneur’s story also serves as inspiration for others thinking about making the plunge. Current (and past) features can be viewed at ec.wccnet.edu/spotlight.
Annually, the center puts on “Pitch @ WCC”, where individuals and businesses pitch their ideas for a chance at winning cash prizes. Last year, Alicia Myers won $1,000 in the contest after pitching her idea for custom English-as-a-second-language tutoring. She is also currently showcased in their Entrepreneur Spotlight.

The center is open Monday–Thursday: 9-4:30 pm and Friday: 12-4:30 pm, in the Damon B. Flowers Building (behind the pine trees), in Room PO120. You can also get more information at ec.wccnet.edu.

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