Photo above provided by the Lansing Regional SmartZone of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership
Over a decade ago, I took a leap with a dream and left my faculty role at Michigan State University to start a business. When I told people what I was leaving to do, many looked at me like I was wild. One person even asked, “Is that going to make money?”
Entrepreneurship isn’t a linear path. It’s risky, and you could see in their eyes that they did not believe in the risk I was taking.
As a software-as-a-service company, our business was fully online, but I was still seeking an anchor to the community. That led me to the Technology Innovation Center in East Lansing. For three years, the TIC provided a place to work and professional space to have meetings; however, most importantly, it provided a place of connection. I was surrounded by like-minded entrepreneurs — people who not only thought my dreams weren’t wild, but who showed me through their own ventures that I could be wilder, that I could dream bigger.
My co-founders and I started Signing Savvy, an American Sign Language learning resource that has been successful for more than 16 years and has been used by more than 35 million learners. I am glad my team and I were wild dreamers.
Now, nearly a decade after my time in the TIC with Signing Savvy, I am back — this time with the Lansing Economic Area Partnership serving as the director of the Lansing Regional SmartZone. The SmartZone supports high-tech and high-growth companies, and it feels full circle to help other entrepreneurs pursue their ventures, encouraging them that their dreams are never too wild.
Last year alone, the SmartZone supported more than 300 companies that raised over $18 million. This April marks the second annual 517 Entrepreneurship+Innovation Week, celebrating the innovation and community driving our region. I hope you’ll join us either at the downtown East Lansing hub or at events happening across Greater Lansing. Many regional partners, notably MSU and the MSU Research Foundation, come together to do this important work, and the momentum is inspiring.
Yet the SmartZone is in danger of losing future funding. Without local and state action to extend support, our region could lose this vital resource.
When technology companies like mine can increasingly operate from anywhere, it is more important than ever for communities to support resources like the SmartZone and the TIC to anchor innovation, expand opportunity and help people follow wild dreams.
Jillian Winn
Director for the Lansing Regional SmartZone of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership
