There’s only so much you can do alone in business. To take it to the next level, you need to form partnerships. I’ve multiplied my ability to serve my clients in The Launch Pad FT by partnering with other organizations with similar goals.
Doing so has created an ecosystem of support that’s now being duplicated in many other places around Oklahoma.
Let’s see what that looks like.
If you apply to our incubator, you first have to fit three requirements. You have to have a business plan, have a basic understanding of cash flow so you can project out your expenses and income for the first six months, and you have to convince me you have an idea, product, or service that has a viable market.
So what if you need help with one of those? If you do, one of our partners may be able to help you.
SCORE is one of those partners. SCORE is an organization sponsored by the Small Business Administration that provides business counseling through volunteers.
I gave them office space at our facility, which they love. Having them there means I can access all 23 of their volunteers and so can my clients.
Speaking of the Small Business Administration, they’re another partner of ours. Their representative in Edmond often sits in our admissions meetings, and we determine if their services are a fit for the needs of our applicant.
REI Oklahoma is yet another organization we partner with. They provide resources to individuals, businesses, and entrepreneurs. We have some common clients we work with together. In addition, they sometimes refer people to us, and we sometimes refer people to them.
Not only do these partnerships help our applicants, but they also allow us to hold a four-hour workshop six times a year at various Francis Tuttle locations for the purpose of teaching people how to start a business.
Through those workshops, we help entrepreneurs learn all the things they don’t know about or just haven’t thought of yet.
By creating that ecosystem of partnerships, we help our applicants and clients build their businesses and have a shot at being admitted into our incubator.