The eFactory hosts Nixon, entrepreneur roundtable

Gov. Jay Nixon took part Nov. 6 in an entrepreneur roundtable at Missouri State University’s The eFactory to discuss the state’s recent performance in business creation and the business incubator program’s role in supporting continued growth.

The eFactory’s Business Incubator Director Brian Kincaid said the roundtable conversation centered on state programs facilitating entrepreneurship, including the Missouri Technology Corp., which provided the eFactory with $140,000 in 2014.

“One of the things the governor hit on repeatedly is that all of our entrepreneurs are taking risks to start these endeavors, so collectively we need to be in a support role and provide anything we can to make that process easier,” Kincaid said.

Participants in the panel representing Springfield startups included eFactory tenants Sprocket LLC and Rural First CEO Robb Woolsey, CellARide LLC CEO Josh Holstein and ESM Technologies LLC President Micah Osborne, along with Make People Better CEO Kerri Miller.

According to a news release from Nixon’s office, the governor announced last month the eFactory would receive another $350,000 toward the business accelerator program’s seed capital fund.

“Here in Missouri, we’ve made targeted investments in our small businesses and entrepreneurs so that they can create jobs and grow our economy,” Nixon said in the release. “These innovators, problem-solvers and risk-takers are changing the way the world does business.”

Nixon’s office also announced last month the state led the nation by percentage of new businesses, creating an additional 1,293 businesses in 2013 – a jump of 16.7 percent from 2012 according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

Missouri and the Queen City also received entrepreneurial accolades in 2015: the state is among Forbes’ annual list of the top 10 for startup funding and personal finance website WalletHub ranked Springfield No. 3 in the nation as a Best City to Start a Business. Springfield also ranked first among 150 cities for its access to business resources on the same list.