Success Stories

For entrepreneurs, finding support for their potential business can be a challenge, especially for women, minorities, and those in rural communities. Fueled by a $250,000 Economic Adjustment Assistance (PDF) investment from EDA, a program in New Mexico was focused on improving access to entrepreneurial support by tapping into existing community resources.

Starting a small business can be a struggle, and for many entrepreneurs, knowing where to start can either make or break their potential business. Luckily, small businesses in Colorado Springs, Colorado can turn to an entrepreneurial support program, which will meet owners where they are and offer assistance every step of the way.

Exponential Impact launched in 2017, after Colorado Springs city leaders recognized a need for entrepreneurial support in the community.

Agriculture in California is more than just vineyards and avocado groves. According to data from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, farmers in the Golden State produce more than one-third of the United States’ vegetables, two-thirds of its fruits and nuts, and manage more dairy cows than any other place in the United States. In fact California is the largest food-producing state in the country, and a critical lynchpin in the nation’s agricultural ecosystem. It is also globally competitive, producing 80 percent of the world’s almonds and one-third of the world’s processed tomatoes, while remaining a significant exporter of citrus, sushi rice, and other crops. But issues of workforce, water, and land availability are coalescing to challenge the future of food in California.

Whether it’s developing a business incubator, building new broadband infrastructure, or expanding a wastewater management system, economic development is often a heavy-lifting activity. Sometimes, though, no challenge is as great as bridging the divide between academia and practice. At the University of Oregon, the Institute for Policy Research and Engagement (IPRE) is helping Oregon’s economic development community remove the barriers that separate research from action.

In 1965, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) was established and the sport of pickleball invented. Created by former U.S. Representative Joel Pritchard (WA-02) at his Bainbridge Island, Washington cabin, pickleball has since been named the state sport of Washington. Recently, it has seen a surge in popularity, becoming the fastest-growing athletic pastime in the United States. Now, these two children of 1965 — EDA and pickleball — are being reunited through a Port Angeles, Washington, nonprofit.

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.