Success Stories

Fire protection in California’s rural and heavily forested Humboldt County is provided by a patchwork of more than three dozen different agencies, many of whom rely entirely on volunteer firefighters.

BAR U EAT started, quite literally, in a home kitchen. Unsatisfied with the granola and protein bar options in local stores in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Sam Nelson decided to make his own.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 220,000 Americans moved to Florida in 2021, making it the nation’s top destination for domestic migration. With support from the Economic Development Administration, a Florida-based company is helping many Americans move to the Sunshine State.

Over the last decade, Spokane, Washington has experienced a boom in growth. Much of the Lilac City’s recent economic success can be organically attributed to an innovative business landscape driven by a local sense of creativity and industry — the city’s motto, in fact, is “Creative by Nature.” But a large portion of that success is also creditable to the work done by a burgeoning, local economic development ecosystem. A major component of that ecosystem is Washington State University’s (WSU) Center for Innovation.

The landscape and opportunities for entrepreneurs in Wyoming are growing. IMPACT 307, a business incubator program at the University of Wyoming, is now expanding statewide.

With a focus on rural communities, a venture fund in western Colorado is helping to create new opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses. The Greater Colorado Venture Fund (GCVF) started in 2018 and focuses on supporting early-stage startups.

The name St. Petersburg conjures up visions of warm, sandy beaches, a variety of theme parks, and two-time Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Like many cities today however, St. Petersburg is looking to redefine itself, with an eye on technology and the innovation that drives it.

An EDA grant to Indianapolis-based venture development firm Elevate Ventures has provided free entrepreneurship training to more than 500 entrepreneurs from across Indiana since 2019 – more than twice what was projected.

As home to the fifth largest seaport in the United States and a maritime industry valued at $38 billion, Washington state may not seem like a place that needs additional resources to support maritime-directed economic development. But four-year-old Seattle-based nonprofit Washington Maritime Blue is helping fill a very specific gap in the region’s economic landscape.