Urbana, IL

Today, Spotlight Michigan had the opportunity to travel to Urbana, Illinois. Even in East Lansing, we had heard rumblings of the great entrepreneurial initiatives on the campus of University of Illinois. To gain a better sense of city-led and campus-led entrepreneurial activity, we met with the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation and the Illini Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

What we learned, however, was not necessarily expressed by either the Economic Development Corporation or the Academy: it’s all about the LEADERSHIP.

The narrative from the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is that the retention of smart, young, and entrepreneurial company starters is not contingent on the amenities. They feel like Urbana has that. It has a vibrant research park and the University is active in the facilitation of University technology spin-offs. Instead, what Urbana could benefit from is a coordinated effort between all the passionate leaders of the university, local businesses, and economic developers.

The EDC knows that networks are important. When asked about network building initiatives to keep young people in Urbana they pointed to the Young Professional Association and the localization effort of Micro-Urbanist.com (an initiative to network and brand the assets of Champaign-Urbana’s urban centers). However, in walking around town, it was hard to find Micro-Urban branding in the city center. And what was more surprising was that the Young Professional Association, hailed as a key to retaining talent, was inactive and hadn’t met in months.

Both initiatives are low-cost, valuable pieces of the overall puzzle to retainin talent. But, it became clear that more leaders would take these initiatives to great heights. Networks were not enough. You need funding and a larger base of great, dedicated leadership. Those making significant changes in Urbana are stretched for time and money. A wider base of passionate leadership would take limited financial resources very far.

Coming from our meeting with the Kauffman Foundation, we were particularly excited to see how the Kauffman Campus Initiative grant money was aiding programs on the campus of the University of Illinois. The Kauffman Foundation generously donated $4.95 million to fund entrepreneurial education in the form of the Academy of Entrepreneurial Leadership with the promise that the university would match funding.

According to the Academy, Dr. Tony Mendes led the program with passion and drive focusing on creating a campus-wide effort to cultivate creativity cross-disciplinarily. When it was apparent that funding was not going to be met, the university could not afford to keep the program’s momentum.

Funds like Kauffman’s Campus Initiative have the potential to launch Michigan State University’s entrepreneurial culture into the stratosphere. However, it is essential that these funds be met with passionate leaders who are willing and able to see programs through to maturity.

Leadership can take limited resources and extend the reach of a strong core entrepreneurial movement. Conversely, a large amount of resources like a beautiful research park or million dollar grants from Kauffman are nothing without leadership.

2.5 hours to South Bend….  Last Stop!

Thursday March 11. 2010