The Commonwealth, an Omaha-based nonprofit, is hosting a free workshop on Oct. 20 to help community members validate business ideas and better understand what goes into being an entrepreneur. Titled “So You Want To be an Entrepreneur,” the workshop is meant to act as a precursor to The Commonwealth’s IDEA Lab — a six-week startup incubator and cohort for early-stage founders and small business owners.
The IDEA Lab will help participants further validate a business idea, identify customers, connect with experts and create a business and revenue plan for growing and scaling. It is one of multiple initiatives by The Commonwealth to provide accessible and inclusive support to local entrepreneurs in order to make building wealth equitable and achievable.
“Let’s focus on making sure that there’s some steps that people can take to be VC ready or get backed by whatever capital they need,” said Jenna Smith, co-founder of The Commonwealth. She pointed to Nebraska’s ranking of 49th in the nation for startup survivability.
Smith said the inspiration for the nonprofit came from her and The Commonwealth Co-Founder and CEO Martin Williams assisting congregation members of the Ambassadors Worship Center — a church founded by Williams — with developing their careers and ventures. Seeing a need in the larger Omaha community for entrepreneurial guidance, Williams and Smith decided to launch The Commonwealth as its own entity. While located on the same campus owned by the church, Smith said The Commonwealth is not affiliated with the church and is open to all.
The Commonwealth held the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for its co-working space and resource center in northwest Omaha on Sept. 12. Guests in attendance included tenants and participants of The Commonwealth, community partners and local leaders such as Omaha Mayor John Ewing.
“When we first looked at this building, literally in the year 2005, what we saw was not just the square footage or the offices or walls,” Williams said in his speech during the ceremony. “We saw potential. We saw a place that could serve as the hub for ideas, innovation and community.”
Wanting to act as a connector in the Nebraska startup and innovation ecosystem, Smith said The Commonwealth has formed partnerships and collaborations with local resources, including Nebraska Innovation Labs, Nebraska Enterprise Fund, GROW Nebraska Women’s Business Center, Nebraska Business Development Center, Nebraska Startup Academy and Greater Omaha Chamber.
Smith said the nonprofit soft-launched its co-working opportunities and IDEA Lab program earlier this summer. The Commonwealth has additional offerings available and in the works for local business owners, including networking meetups, pitch events and educational workshops. Smith said they announce info on upcoming opportunities and events on both their website and LinkedIn.
With The Commonwealth still in its early stages, Smith said programming and future offerings are up for adjustments as they balance the needs of participants with the organization’s own capabilities.
“We’re trying to be intentional about creating accommodations for the underdog that don’t shut people out,” Smith said.
Interested attendees of the So You Want to be an Entrepreneur workshop can register online. Seats are limited. Smith said applications for the IDEA Lab cohort will be due Nov. 3, with the programming beginning Nov. 10.
