Speaker Series
April 24, 2025 | May 2, 2025 | June 19, 2025 | July 10, 2025
Join us for a monthly virtual speaker series where we dive into big questions and topics shaping the professional field of entrepreneurial ecosystem building. As an emerging practice, there’s no one-size-fits-all playbook, so we’ll do our learning by listening to peers, thought leaders, and on-the-ground practitioners from across the U.S. and beyond—representing communities big and small and supporting all types of entrepreneurs, from main street businesses to high-tech startups and social enterprises.
Each season, we'll explore a new theme, and each month, we’ll spotlight a new community, program, model, or approach that fits that theme and the story behind it—sharing candid lessons, creative approaches, and practical insights from those building more supportive environments for entrepreneurs—as a pathway to foster more resilient, equitable, and vibrant communities.
Season 1:
How Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building Gets Funded
In Season 1, we’ll explore one of the most important—and least understood—aspects of entrepreneurial ecosystem building: how ecosystem builders sustainably fund their work. Season 1, co-hosted by the Ecosystem Building Leadership Network (EBLN), the Entrepreneurship Funders Network (EFN), Make Startups, and the Startup Champions Network (SCN), will explore a range of real-world funding models—from government grants and philanthropic support to earned revenue strategies, workforce dollars, and donor-advised funds. This series is free and open to all—register below and join the conversation via Zoom.
Do you have suggestions for future stories or funding models to feature? Or a theme for Season 2? Please share them with us at hello@ebln.us.
A Blended Funding Model To Support Tech Startups in Tampa, Florida
Tampa Bay Wave is a nonprofit tech accelerator and ecosystem building organization that has supported over 600 startups, which have collectively raised more than $1.1 billion in capital. Its funding model combines federal grants and local partnerships with public and private sector entities to support its programs.
Economic Development Meets Community Philanthropy in the Heartland
E2 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, Hutchinson, Kansas and Ord, Nebraska
Hosted by ESHIP Alliance
E2 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (formerly the Center on Rural Entrepreneurship) focuses its work in rural America. In session 2, ESHIP Alliance Executive Director Andy Stoll will host a discussion with Don Macke, co-founder of e2 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, for a conversation on how rural communities are blending economic development dollars, local sales tax revenue, and donor-advised funds to build sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems. With over 50 years of experience, Don will share real-world strategies and success stories from places like Hutchinson, Kansas, and Ord, Nebraska—communities that have turned local assets into lasting support for entrepreneurs.
The (Not Yet Complete) Story of NEI: The Funders Take on an Ecosystem Building Funding Model
The New Economy Initiative (NEI), Detroit, Michigan
Hosted by EFN
An exploration of the New Economy Initiative (NEI)—a nearly 20-year, $120 million philanthropic effort to grow an inclusive culture of entrepreneurship in metro Detroit to help more than 14,000 businesses. EFN Executive Director Ify Aduba will host a discussion with Pam Lewis and Wafa Dinaro as they reflect on NEI’s founding, evolution, and continued impact on economic opportunity in southeast Michigan.
See a link to the recording below and the slide deck here