Nine local entrepreneurs have been selected to participate in the second annual Spark! — a local small-business pre-accelerator program developed by the Venture Center and the Little Rock Regional Chamber to provide opportunities, exposure and company growth for local entrepreneurs.
Through mentorship, group sessions, expert-led workshops, feedback on pitches and the opportunity to win thousands of dollars in a pitch contest, Spark! helps entrepreneurs refine the tools they have and acquire the ones they need.
In this Spark! Spotlight series, we’re introducing you to the entrepreneurs in the second cohort and to their small businesses. Meet Cynthia Williams, founder of Educational Research and Consulting.
Little Rock-based Educational Research and Consulting provides social science research, program evaluation and educational support services to nonprofits, federal and state agencies and private organizations. After graduating from Vanderbilt in 2007 with a doctorate in language and literacy studies, Cynthia Hansberry Williams wanted to pursue research in the Little Rock area and began consulting. She ended up creating her own job space when she founded Educational Research and Consulting in 2010, forming an LLC/PLLC in 2011.
“My small business provides opportunities for me to express my research creativity while creating a meaningful job in my community,” she said.”
Read the full article introducing this year’s Spark! class from Arkansas Money & Politics: SPARKING INNOVATION: 2020 SPARK! CLASS FROM VENTURE CENTER GOES VIRTUAL.
We hope you enjoy getting to know each of our entrepreneurs and encourage you to register for the GEW Pitch Competition, which takes place Nov. 17, to see their pitches!
Interested in pitching your own business at the GEW Pitch? Apply here.