Entrepreneur Collaborative Center, the Hub of Entrepreneurship

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2019

The Entrepreneur Collaborative Center (ECC) was launched in December 2014, and has transformed the delivery of entrepreneurial and small business support services in Hillsborough County. The 8,000-square-foot facility is a satellite home for more than 85 non-profit organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions, all serving the regional community. It is a common ground to come together to host meetings, collaborate and communicate with each other, and focus on supporting community building within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The space, its infrastructure and staff, are all provided to partners at no charge. It successfully builds capacity of non-profits through shared resources and encourages our partners to activate the space with their programs. Entrepreneurs have access to business service providers, resources, mentor-ship, and specialty training. The ECC assists the entrepreneur in navigating the system by combining resources and leveraging expertise that already exists in the community. Through co-location of the County’s services and those of non-profit service providers and professional organizations, customers have access to a wide knowledge base. The customer also becomes part of a larger entrepreneurial community that convenes at the ECC, and can avail themselves of many different opportunities to make professional connections and creative collisions that can advance their business.