By Gil Pound 

A Georgia College & State University professor is fostering entrepreneurship in and around the campus community thanks to a $130,000 grant received from the Knight Foundation. 

Dr. Nicholas Creel, associate professor of business law in the College of Business & Technology and director of the GCSU Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, was awarded the funding to further the center’s mission. 

“Our goal with the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship is to tap into the latent entrepreneurial talent of the campus community as well as the community at large,” said Creel. “This grant will help us accomplish that.” 

Three initiatives will benefit from the funding. Two are existing programs that promote entrepreneurship among high school youth while the other is a new venture that will establish an on-campus incubator space to house multiple startup businesses. 

Entrepreneurship for all ages 

CREATE Milledgeville’s Youth Entrepreneurship Program, or YEP, will receive $20,000 over the next two years. CREATE (Cultivating Rural Entrepreneurs and Transforming Economies) Milledgeville is a committee of local business professionals, including Creel, focused on fostering entrepreneurship in the area. The group in the past has hosted several events aimed at helping entrepreneurs. YEP is the committee’s latest endeavor. 

Funded entirely through private donations in this its first year, YEP is a “Shark Tank”-style program that provides 10 high school juniors and seniors with seed money to get their business ideas off the ground. After a few months of running their businesses, the participants present to judges who then rank the top three and award them prize money ranging from $1,500 for first place to $750 for third. 

Winners of this year’s competition are set to be announced Feb. 12. 

Starting next year, Creel’s grant will increase students’ seed funding and prize amounts, making the program even more attractive to young entrepreneurs. 

“Fostering entrepreneurship in young people develops critical thinking, adaptability and problem-solving skills that are essential in today's rapidly changing economy, regardless of whether they ultimately start their own ventures,” Creel said. “It empowers students to become creators rather than just consumers, preparing them to identify opportunities and drive innovation in whatever career path they choose.” 

Rural Youth in Business – another entrepreneurship program geared towards high schoolers – will see $40,000 over two years beginning this summer. Creel calls it a "one-week crash course" in entrepreneurship where participants will be immersed into the Georgia College environment. They will eat at on-campus dining halls, take tours, attend classes and learn from local business professionals. 

"We're trying to make sure that rural individuals see that college can be for them," said Creel. 

Grant funding will cover costs for 20 students each year, which is an increase over previous sessions. Recruitment will begin in the coming weeks, though registrations will be accepted until the week before the program kicks off this summer.  

The grant’s remaining $70,000 is earmarked for furnishing a to-be-determined on-campus business incubator. 

“It will have an internal and external focus,” said Creel. “We are hoping to nurture four starting businesses at a time, three of which are student-run and another that’s community-based. It will bring businesses in at those most vulnerable startup points and give them space to work and grow.” 

The Knight funding will provide for office equipment such as desks, computers and videoconferencing technology. Those resources won’t be the only ones available to the fledgling businesses. Georgia College faculty across varying disciplines can be tapped as experts to give advice and data. 

“Part of my role is to get you the nerd you need,” Creel said. “I don’t know anything about how long cheese can be stored and shipped, but we’ve got biologists who do.” 

The timing of the incubator being outfitted and occupied by businesses is dependent upon an available space being identified, which Creel is working with GCSU administration to determine. 

Header Image: Associate professor of business law Dr. Nicholas Creel recently received a $130,000 grant to foster entrepreneurship. (Photo: Anna Gay Leavitt)