USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C o m mu n i t y N ewsp a p er is a pu bl ica t ion of E sca m bia-S a n t a Rosa B a r Assoc ia t ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icial Ci rcu it
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 19, No. 37
Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com
September 11, 2019
1 Section, 8 Pages
Coffee and a Presentation
1 Million Cups builds community and local business one cup at a time by Kaitlyn Peacock
Starting a business can be one of the most stressful and exciting things in a person’s life. It’s a very personal thing, to take an idea and make something out of it. In recent times, Pensacola has been built on these small ideas. Most downtown businesses are locally-owned small businesses and every large business started as a small one. As the community and economy of Pensacola grows, the value of an idea has grown in proportion. It’s easy to come up with an idea. It’s harder to build on that idea, and even harder to know if you’re idea is a good one or how to profit from it. That’s where 1 Million Cups comes in. 1 Million Cups is an experience-based educational program from the Kauffman Foundation, a 501(c) (3) organization. It is built on the concept of how many business ideas are thought about, explained and expanded upon over cups of coffee. The meeting offers the chance for two presenters to introduce attendees to their idea or business. After giving a sixminute presentation, audience members are given twenty minutes to ask questions about the business and the presenter. The goal is through these presentations and questionanswer sessions, would-be entrepreneurs learn the value
of their idea, how to explain it to potential customers or investors and to refine their business. The Pensacola chapter of 1 Million Cups includes several organizers who help coach presenters and assist in organizing the meetings. “It’s a gateway and a platform for folks who are interested in starting a business, have an idea,” Wes Hudgens, one of the organizers, said. “It’s a platform for entrepreneurs to get up and share their idea, get feedback from the community and hopefully find out how we can support them for them to be successful.” Hudgens isn’t one of the many small business owners of Pensacola. In fact, he works for Gulf Power as a community relations specialist. 1 Million Cups brings him, other largebusiness employees and small business owners together to support the greater business ecosystem of Pensacola. “It’s about the building of the ecosystem and the concept of being mutually supportive of one another,” Patrick Rooney, director of CoLab Pensacola, said. “By sharing stories, experiences, wisdom, lessons learned and always seeking to enlarge that ecosystem because even in a small city like Pensacola, we are still challenged to know what’s going on.”
Through attending meetings, business leaders are able to connect to the larger Pensacola community. Attendees do not have to be past or future presenters, though it is recommended that anyone interested in presenting attend a meeting first, and you do not even have to be a business leader to participate. The goal is to further the ideas of the community and to help support one another. Maria Schuffman, a local entrepreneur and one of the coaches for One Millon Cups, explained anyone can learn from the meetings and that it’s a great place to feel out whether you want to start a business or not. “Let’s say that you are an entrepreneur here or want to be an entrepreneur, it’s great to come to a 1 Million Cups meeting because you are going to meet entrepreneurs who are successful, entrepreneurs who have not been successful but are successful now and that means that you get to learn their lessons without having to go through the same thing,” she said. The Pensacola chapter is one of only a few 1 Million Cups in the country. Every chapter must be approved by the Kauffman Foundation, and the Foundation has high standards for proving that a community is ready for and in need of something like
1 Million Cups. The Pensacola chapter was founded in part by Kenzie Fitzpatrick, who now works as the southeast regional representative for 1 Million Cups. After being a part of the Tallahassee chapter for two years, she returned to Pensacola and knew that the city needed a chapter of its own. After finding a mentor and sponsor, plus several others willing to help set up the chapter, she applied to bring 1 Million Cups to Pensacola. Her application was approved. “There’s only 180 chapters in the U.S. for 1 Million Cups,” Fitzpatrick said. “It takes a lot of time, effort, resources and people to bring a chapter here, but I knew that if we brought it, people would be able to practice presenting their business, meet with the community members and it was a safe place where you don’t have to pay a membership, you don’t have to pay to present. It is truly for the community, by the community.”
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Presenters to 1 Million Cups have gone on to pitch their business to larger companies outside of Pensacola using the information they gained during their presentation. While the meeting is generally locally focused, the organization gives attendees access to the wider 1 Million Cups community. Every presentation from every chapter is recorded and posted online for others to watch and learn from. Fitzpatrick described the organization as “giving a smaller business a louder voice on a larger platform,” something that reflects the hunger for more growth and innovation not just in Pensacola but in the growing U.S. economy. Pensacola’s 1 Million Cups currently meets once a month, but the group is aiming to start meeting every week. Meetings are always Wednesday at 9 am at Pensacola Socialdesk. For up to date scheduling or to browse past presentations, visit 1millioncups.com/pensacola.
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