Emmy-Nominated Documentary on Clarkston Entrepreneurs

“The New Entrepreneur: Odyssey for a Dream” examines the lives of several Clarkston, GA micro-entrepreneurs hoping to start their own businesses. Follow a few candidates through the Village Capital: Start Program, a training series providing selected business owners with the knowledge, tools and network to develop their ventures. In celebration of Georgia World Refugee Day (June 20th), attend the local screening (trailer and registration link below), meet entrepreneurs from the 2013 program, and hear from the fimmakers.

Village Capital: Start Program:

• Social Enterprise@Goizueta and Emory University has launched a series of Village Capital programs designed to provide support and capital to small business owners from underserved communities, with pilots designed to serve recent immigrant and refugee populations in Clarkston, GA.
• The program includes- a careful selection process that ensures that participating entrepreneurs are able to enhance each other’s ventures, a tailored program of mentorship and skill development that involves local business assets, & a guaranteed pool of investment dollars that are allocated at the end of each program based on the decisions made by participating entrepreneurs.
• The plan- 45 entrepreneurs will participate over three years. The three most promising entrepreneurs from each program will also receive low-interest working capital loans.

More on VilCap program in GA:

• In spring 2012, they partnered with the Hub Atlanta, Emory University, Invest Atlanta and 15 promising enterprises for a 10-week accelerator program. Participants focus on building robust and investment worthy businesses through curriculum featuring the lean startup business model/financial literacy, customer validation, and preparation for investment. More.
• Also in 2012, they hoasted The Civic Accelerator, a joint venture between Points of Light and Village Capital.  It was a three-month program focused on impacting U.S. communities by putting people at the center of change. 

GO! 

[Photo Credit: http://www.vilcap.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Clarkston.jpg]