Bellingham's Global Entrepreneurship Week starts Nov. 18 with grand kickoff

Western Washington University’s Small Business Development Center has combined resources with other organizations to sponsor Global Entrepreneurship Week from Nov. 18-24 to celebrate Whatcom County’s entrepreneurs and showcase local talent and resources.

The Port of Bellingham will host the Grand Kickoff Event to start the week on Nov. 18 at the Squalicum Boathouse. Keith Carpenter from Wood Stone, manufacturer of specialty cooking equipment and stone hearth ovens, will be the event’s keynote speaker from 5:15-6 p.m. Local organizations that support entrepreneurs will have tables with resources at the event as well.

Entrepreneurs are invited to join the week-long activities designed to celebrate, support and grow their business and start-up ideas. The week begins with the kickoff event at the Port of Bellingham and ends with the Startup Weekend on Nov. 24. All events during Global Entrepreneurship Week are free with the exception of Startup Weekend.

Groups organizing Global Entrepreneurship Week in Whatcom County are Western’s Front Door to Discovery, Western’s Small Business Development Center, the Port of Bellingham, Technology Alliance Group, the BIG Idea Lab, Sustainable Connections, Bellingham Whatcom Chamber of Commerce and the NW Innovation Resource Center.

Western’s Small Business Development Center is part of the most comprehensive small-business alliance in the U.S., with more than 1,000 active SBDC programs across the country. Western’s SBDC receives support from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Whatcom County, the Port of Bellingham and the City of Bellingham. Since 1983, Western’s SBDC has given back to the business community, and helped shape the economic future of Whatcom County by providing free, confidential advising, technical assistance and research to business owners and managers in an effort to help businesses thrive.

For more information, contact Jennifer Shelton, Western’s Small Business Development Center’s director at 360-778-1762. For a list of activities, visit the website at http://www.kickstartbellingham.com/.