The Breckenridge Port Authority learned about entrepreneurial ecosystems during their meeting Wednesday.

Justin Neppl, with the Small Business Development Center, Wahpeton, shared information about creating a business incubator in the region.

The board originally wanted to hire a part-time economic development consultant to bring new businesses to the city, and had identified Neppl as the logical choice.

Neppl said he would prefer to help in another way lead the development of an entrepreneurial network for the area.

Traditionally, economic development has been, you hire somebody and expect them to pick up the phone and bring businesses in, retain business and grow local businesses, he said. That expectation is very unrealistic. Having one person managing all that is a failure, plus ultimately entrepreneurs dont really care about economic developers, they care about other entrepreneurs.

He said that was the underlying theme of the book he brought along which was recommended by several people during his research, called Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem inYour City, by Brad Feld.

Its what Fargo has done put up programs that attract other entrepreneurs. Economic development is still there and a necessary government position, but not in same way most think it should be, Neppl said.

He proposed instead of paying him, the board set a budget to create programs to connect entrepreneurs in the Twin Towns and surrounding areas.

I would go forth and have those same conversations with the Wahpeton EDC and CDC, (asking) that they would match the budget thats set, he explained.

He wouldnt try to duplicate existing efforts, such as Fargos One Million Cups, which meets weekly.

Its a fantastic place that a lot of entrepreneurs get to meet others, and hear pitches on business ideas and get feedback from the community. They also ran Startup Drinks for a long time, which was an after-hours thing.

He envisions the group meeting regularly to discuss a particular business topic or see a presentation and allow networking.

Working with the SBDC for the past three years has shown him how businesses get going, he said.

When a business wants to come to town or someone wants to start a business, theyre going to local entrepreneurs. Theyre getting together and solving problems, he said. If you had this group established, they would go to the entrepreneuers, now they have a mentor, and they would then be kicked back to the economic development office who can pair them with the right programs or answer questions they may have from a government standpoint.

Asked if the area would be at a disadvantage, competing with a larger communities like Fargo-Moorhead or Fergus Falls, Neppl said people and businesses dont care about boundaries, which are created by government.

Thats one of the things the book states and I agree 100 percent, he said. The more we can collaborate, the better off we are. We should be contacting Fergus (Falls) all the time and networking with their entrepreneurs over there and seeing how we can improve.

He also pointed to Battle Lake as an example of a community with a tight-knit group of business owners.

Its something we lack here, he said.

Board member Dennis Larson, also a Wilkin County commissioner, said the county board is interested in working with the city regarding economic development in some form, but was unsure how to explain the idea to them. He invited Neppl to a commissioners meeting for a presentation.

You have to get entrepreneurs excited first, and everyone else will come along. Thats where the money will be, so all of a sudden bankers will be interested, insurance agents, investors, and government. Once you excite the entrepreneurs, youre good to go, Neppl said. The Jay Schulers of the world would love something like this here. We need a platform that theyll attend and find value in and network.

Statistics show an average of 10 percent of a communitys population are entrepreneurs, Neppl said That would mean about 300 people in Breckenridge are potentially entrepreneurs or are interested in starting a business, and about about 1,100 people between the two towns.

Maybe our entire entrepreneurship percentage isnt as high as Fargo, but we could attract them. Theres an ability to add, he said. When you start sharing an idea with an entrepreneur, thats always a good thing. They can start networking for you to get the idea executed into a business.

See the article here:

Interest in creating entrepreneur ecosystem - Wahpeton Daily News