Communities across the country are engaging in entrepreneurship-led economic development to give small businesses the best resources they need on their entrepreneurship journey. When trying to bridge gaps and solve problems, there is no “one size fits all” solution. When looking for strategies to bolster small business growth, it helps to look at those who are already leading the way.
This month, as part of the 2025 Global Entrepreneurship Week celebration, SourceLink hosted an interactive webinar entitled, “Ecosystem Unfiltered: Your Questions, Their Wisdom. This session featured four national leaders who drive entrepreneurship-led economic development in their communities. Each shared their unique approach to building resilient and thriving local entrepreneurial ecosystems that stretch from Honolulu to Virginia. Panelists included Rebecca Moudry, (Fairfax CORE / Fairfax Department of Economic Initiatives) Mark Burdette, (West Virginia BusinessLink / West Virginia SBDC) Roxana Martinelli, (MI Small Business Helper / New Economy Initiative) Alyssa Goslee, (Oʻahu Business Connector / City and County of Honolulu Office of Economic Revitalization) with SourceLink’s director and national network builder Rob Williams moderating.
The panelists shared their insights and experiences with attendees, answering questions from the audience along the way. Catch insights like:
- Explore which “sacred cows” need to be challenged in entrepreneurship-led economic development and hear about the thing that our panelists say get in the way of their work.
- Learn how Fairfax tackled rising unemployment by inspiring individuals to become self-employed through its Fed-to-Founder program.
- Discover how Detroit is tackling driving innovation across Southeast Michigan.
- Hear the story of an entrepreneur that launched a business during the pandemic and has now scaled their business and are selling their product in at least 5 states.
Whether you couldn’t join us live or simply want to revisit the discussion, you can watch the full webinar below.
We’d love to hear about what you are doing to support entrepreneurs in your home community this Global Entrepreneurship Week. Please reach out to Krista Markley to start a conversation or to be connected with any one of our featured speakers.
