May 3, 2014
Tampa Bay Area is going through several small seismic shifts in its entrepreneurial ecosystem. The energy is unmistakable, and especially apparent to visitors such as Kanwal Rekhi of TiE Silicon Valley (seen in the video below talking to Alexis Muellner, Editor of Tampa Bay Business Journal).
While we at SiliconGlades have been rolling out disparate free initiatives, the underlying theme has been the celebration of entrepreneurship with mindfulness. With AlligatorZone, we are finally starting to see some dots that we will be able to connect to form a template for creating an elegant tapestry of economic development that can be taken to small-town America, and small-town world.
I was recently at a Great American Teach-in session in an elementary school talking about entrepreneurship, and I paused before I mentioned the word ‘angel investors’. I asked the class teacher for help because I did not know how to explain ‘investor’ to a class of 4th graders. She asked, “How many of you watch Shark Tank on TV”, and several hands went up. That is when I believe, the idea of a more community-oriented and upbeat program got germinated. The program ought to be a gathering place for the community as well. Kids and families routinely feel sympathetic towards the tearful entrepreneurs shown on reality TV. They routinely think of new uses of a product being showcased. The kids seem to invariably get excited about every new entrepreneur walking in front of the panel, especially kid entrepreneurs and mompreneurs. Kids are often incorrigible makers, even in modern times, so their excitement about new products is not surprising.
Why the name Alligator Zone? It’s Florida, it’s well-known for the Everglades region, and just as the prospect of a lurking alligator in one’s backyard can keep people up at night, every startup entrepreneur faces unknown dangers (metaphorical alligators) that keep them up at night. Alligator Zone is a non-judgmental public forum where an entrepreneur can show her or his offerings to the general public and seek opinions. They can poll the audience on their pain points, pricing models and delivery mechanisms. The startup founder can ask the audience questions about features, must-haves and nice-to-haves.
The library seemed to be the perfect location to take this program. The Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative has already been working closely with the community for the CoderDojo Tampa Bay Area program. It was obviously the first choice when we approached them for supporting AlligatorZone for a venue and promotion. Here’s a link to the official library poster: http://tinyurl.com/lh34fu8 HCPLC has moved on this as fast as any tech startup, and we are indeed proud to be working with them on Alligator Zone. Please sign up and be a part of a highly energetic audience at Alligator Zone.
Sign up at AlligatorZone.eventbrite.com.
Ask your friends, family, neighbors and school friends to come out and meet area-entrepreneurs and help them out with feedback and suggestions. With Alligator Zone, our hope is that we will be adding yet another blip on the radar screen of the world that is keenly watching for new booming economies. Follow the program on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AlligatorZone
This post was written by one of our volunteers from SiliconGlades. The twitter handle is @SiliconGlades and the website is www.siliconglades.com where other community initiatives are listed for your reading pleasure.
