Press Room

July 28, 2015

Clemson University’s extension program offers ELI programs to citizens of Columbia, South Carolina in order to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset in lower and middle-income communities.  They received a Community Development Block Grant to attempt to assist 60 burgeoning entrepreneurs in Columbia.   Learn about their efforts.

July 8, 2015

The University of Connecticut’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has utilized ELI programs to assist local populations to understand more about the entrepreneurial mindset as part of their mission to increase entrepreneurial activity throughout Connecticut. Read more about their efforts here.

May 15, 2015

Pikes Peak Community College (PPCC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado was the first community college in the nation to implement ELI programs as a required course for students who did not test college ready.  In addition to reducing student drop out rates, the effort resulted in a 28% impact on student persistence (re-enrollment) and a 14% impact in college-level course completion. Read the article about the results at and watch a video produced by PPCC on the…

May 14, 2015

The Colorado Lending Source, a not-for-profit small business financing expert, won the National Association of Development Companies (NADCO) Innovation in Economic Development Award for their offerings of ELI programs.  This award recognized only two organizations nationwide for their work to use “innovative means in order to meet the economic development goals of a specific community or population.”   Read more about the award.

April 15, 2015

The Rural Innovation Conference has been organized to facilitate the sharing of innovative and/or entrepreneurial  ideas and concepts related to the growth of rural business and industry.  The conference will provide a forum for sharing information among stakeholders that make up the rural innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in central Utah and throughout the state. We will be hearing from three keynote speakers, including Bree Langemo, familiar with the rural innovation and entrepreneurial landscape, as well…