Schoeniger lecture "Redefining Entrepreneurship" caps a full day

Left: (l-r) Toriano Parker, Deuces Live, Inc.; Mike Jalazo, Pinellas Ex-Offender Reentry Coalition; Kelly Sims, St. Pete Greenhouse; and Gary Schoeniger, Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative, participate in ASPEC's Panel on Entrepreneurial Initiatives in Community Development. Mr. Sims describes the Ice House Entrepreneurship training he leads through the St. Pete Greenhouse. Participants receive training, mentoring and advisory services, and start-up funds for new ventures.

by Amanda Hagood
photos by Donna Littell

On November 2nd, 2016, Gary Schoeniger, founder of the Kauffman Foundation's Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative, paid an action-packed visit to Eckerd. To a day that already included conversations with faculty, students, alumni, ASPEC members, and community leaders from around St. Petersburg, Schoeniger added a keynote address, "Redefining Entrepreneurship," and book signing attended by 120 campus and community members.

Right: Gary Schoeniger, center, chats with ASPEC Director Ken Wolfe, left, and Eckerd alumnus Fred Wells.

Schoeniger is an internationally recognized thought leader in the field of entrepreneurial mindset education, which seeks to understand not just how entrepreneurs create and sustain new ventures, but also what outlooks and habits of thought encourage entrepreneurial behavior, and how and under what conditions entrepreneurial learning occurs. Schoeniger lamented the prominence of what he calls the "Silicon Valley" narrative in our cultural perceptions about entrepreneurship.

"While elite Silicon Valley success stories may capture headlines, they do not accurately reflect the process that most entrepreneurs undertake," Schoeniger said.