North Port Celebrates Success of Sarasota County Connect Series
Published on July 09, 2024
The City of North Port is proud to announce the successful conclusion of its inaugural Sarasota County Connect Summer Workshop Series. Each of the four free workshops, held at Solis Hall in North Port’s Wellen Park, have been fully booked.
This remarkable response underscores the entrepreneurial community's strong desire for more programming, resources, workshops and learning opportunities amidst North Port’s booming business environment, City officials said. So far, in fiscal year 2024, over 212 new businesses have opened their doors in North Port.
The series kicked off April 11 with a Business Networking & Panel Discussion. This was followed by the May 9 Boosting Your Brand for AI Marketing for Small Business Workshop, the June 13 How to Solve Any Business Problems: Design Thinking for Entrepreneurs Workshop, and will culminate on Thursday, July 11, with the Business IDEA Lab.
The Business IDEA Lab promises to be an engaging community forum where North Port’s entrepreneurs and business owners can share their innovative ideas with local entrepreneurs, seasoned professionals and industry leaders.
The event will be hosted by internet marketing expert Chris Williams, Managing Director at Aginto, and Vinnie Mascarenhas, Business Attraction and Development Administrator at the City of North Port Economic Development. The panelists include Danielle Santoro, Founder of North Port’s Social Sage Media, which assists businesses in establishing and expanding their online presence through expert social media, online campaigns and website management.
The Business IDEA Lab will also feature insights from SCORE mentors Jose Martinez and John Dalton from SCORE Manasota and SCORE Port Charlotte, and Doug Sullivan, Certified Exit Planning Advisor at SEPA Florida.
Networking and refreshments for the Business IDEA Lab will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the event starting promptly at 6 p.m.
These free workshops have been made possible by the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of Sarasota County and Wellen Park and have been administered by the State College of Florida (SCF) 26 West Center.
“The series' overwhelming success underscores the dedication and entrepreneurial spirit within North Port’s business community, promising a bright future for local economic growth and development,” Mascarenhas said. “The City is eager to continue the momentum with future programming and opportunities for collaboration with our business resource partners.”
For more information about the Business IDEA Lab and Sarasota County Connect workshop series, please contact the City of North Port Communications Division at 941-429-7169 or Communications@NorthPortFL.gov.