Entrepreneurial ecosystems

Building entrepreneurial ecosystems in Missouri

In an entrepreneurial ecosystem, community organizations, institutions (e.g., governments), and infrastructure support local entrepreneurship. The ecosystem shapes a community's level of ambition, innovation, and risk-taking acceptance, and it fosters entrepreneurship. Building an entrepreneurial ecosystem requires a community to think about the environment in which businesses operate, not about a specific business.

  • Missouri Small Business Insights Series – Cheetah Businesses

  • Homegrown: Entrepreneurship in Your Community

    • Homegrown entrepreneurship grpahic
    • Partner with MU Extension to host a Homegrown: Entrepreneurship in Your Community workshop, and you can participate in building and strengthening your community's entrepreneurial network. The workshop — scheduled as a daylong program or two shorter sessions — aids community leaders in creating a network that sends supportive signals to its entrepreneurs. By strengthening your area's entrepreneurial network, you can encourage local economic growth and development.
    • In partnership with University of Wisconsin Extension with funding from NCRCRD.
    • More information (PDF)
  • Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities

    • Sunset on downtown Hermann, MO.
    • Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities aims to create, connect, and promote community economic revitalization through entrepreneurship as a driver for economic growth across communities in Missouri where entrepreneurs and innovators flourish and are celebrated. The event highlights best practices for fostering a culture of entrepreneurship. Breakout sessions are held in local businesses and venues, giving participants a unique way to learn and experience host communities.
    • Warsaw, MO, Sept. 20-21, 2023

    • Conference Website
    • SIGN UP FOR CEC UPDATES

Publications and projects

MU Extension publication: Engaging Small Businesses in Rural Economic Development

MU Extension publication: Entrepreneurial Dynamics in Missouri Counties

Project: Entrepreneurial ecosystems in northwest Missouri

Journal article: Opportunity, necessity, and no one in the middle: A closer look at small, rural, and female-led entrepreneurship in the United States

Journal article: Entrepreneurship, Broadband, and Gender: Evidence from Establishment Births in Rural America

Journal article: The Future of Work in Missouri: Rural-Urban Entrepreneurship