FROM START UP
TO SCALE UP:
Startup Waco is the Hub for Entrepreneurs in Waco
by Jon Passavant, CEO of Startup Waco, and Kailey Davis, Marketing Partner Startup Waco
W
aco is a community of innovators and makers, bridge-builders, and world-changers. It is a place that welcomes dreamers and doers and embraces small business owners and entrepreneurs because they aren’t just strangers, they’re our neighbors. They wake up at 5 a.m. to brew your coffee, they served the meal you ate on your first date, and hand-stitched the quilt your kids snuggle under each night. Small business owners and entrepreneurs are incredibly essential to the growth, spirit, and economic health of Waco. They are the lifeblood of our community. Startup Waco was formed out of that very belief. The vision that if Waco, Texas would continue its pioneering legacy, we needed to formalize an entrepreneurial ecosystem. As a nonprofit, Startup Waco serves the Greater Waco community by being a catalyst for a new culture of entrepreneurship. Designed with an inclusion mindset, Startup Waco champions entrepreneurs of all types by breaking down traditional barriers, collaborating with like-minded institutions and filling gaps. Startup Waco functions as the ecosystem hub for the startup business community, ensuring all aspects 14 | SPRING 2022
of Waco’s broader ecosystems work intentionally and collaboratively. We often hear small business owners in Waco say they could not have gotten where they are without the support of other entrepreneurs in our community. None of us can do it alone! Together, we can share resources and insights that will help our entire community succeed. Startup Waco plays a collaborative role in establishing Waco, Texas as a source for innovation, paving the way for future growth. Startup Waco accomplishes this goal by offering meaningful, strategic support to entrepreneurs of all types, with an emphasis on traditionally marginalized communities, so that businesses may successfully start up, scale up and flourish. Startup Waco’s programs and events are the most tangible ways we meet the needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs in our community. We hold the fundamental belief that for cities to thrive, economies must thrive. And for economies to thrive, small businesses must thrive. That’s why Startup Waco’s singular focus is to come alongside entrepreneurs, offering support in all forms. Our programs and events
