From April 29 to May 5, the Small Business Administration will recognize outstanding entrepreneurs and small business owners across the United States and its territories during National Small Business Week.

The Venture Center at Fox Valley Technical College is a significant driver of economic development through small business start-up and growth training around the region. In just more than 15 years, the Venture Center has served thousands of aspiring small business owners, helped 300-plus businesses launch and grow, and created more than 1,000 jobs in the New North.

Under the innovative leadership and vision of award-winning director Amy Pietsch, the Venture Center received an Innovation award in 2009 from the MIT Club of Wisconsin, and its E-seed^TM entrepreneurial experience has become a national train-the-trainer model. Her instructional team is made up of successful entrepreneur subject matter experts who cover all aspects of the small business start-up and growth process.

The Venture Center is the state’s first training resource to prepare military veterans for small business enterprises through the successful Envoy program. It also holds weekly networking sessions free and open to the public on Wednesdays from 9-10 a.m., called 1 Million Cups.

Have a business idea? Stop by the Venture Center in FVTC’s D. J. Bordini Center at 5 Systems Drive in Appleton.

Read more about entrepreneurship from FVTC President Dr. Susan May in the national journal, Community College Entrepreneurship, A Keen State of Awareness (Winter/Spring 2018 edition). 

Celebrate Small Business Week with others in the Fox Cities // Tuesday, May 2