The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce welcomed Cameron Cushman, Director of Innovation Ecosystems at UNT Health Science Center and founder of Sparkyard, was featured online by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce March 24.
Cushman works to improve and connect the entrepreneurial ecosystem for innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors in Fort Worth.
Cushman highlighted Sparkyard, a platform that connects entrepreneurs to resources that will help launch or scale their companies. From developing a business plan to funding a vision, Sparkyard offers an abundance of tools and resources for entrepreneurs and startups to jumpstart their businesses or ensure success.
Cushman shared valuable insight about previous economic downturns and the opportunities they created. Half of the current Fortune 500 companies were founded during a recession or bear market, including Microsoft, Intel, Dell, Home Depot, Staples, and Charles Schwab.
While Fortune has the largest companies, Inc 5000 has the fastest-growing companies, and about half of Inc 5000’s companies were also founded during a recession, including Airbnb, Uber, WhatsApp, Github, Slack, and Square & Stripe during the 2008-2009 recession.
“Small businesses are the backbone of this community,” said Brandom Gengelbach, President of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, “We want them to prosper and succeed and I think Leaders Online is a fantastic way to reach some of our smaller businesses who might be struggling right now.”
The full video in available here: