Since its inception in 2010, i.d.e.a.WF has awarded more than $250,000 in cash and about a half million of in-kind services to thirty different winners. In 2018, those winners combined to generate sales revenues of more than $9 million and to employ more than 100 people!
Participants in i.d.ea.WF will be led through the business planning and startup or expansion processes. Six orientation sessions, as well a series of eight unique seminars will teach entrepreneurs exactly what they need to do to plan their business, conduct market research, make sales and financial forecasts, market their companies, pitch to investors, keep accurate business records, understand those records, and pitch their plan to investors. i.d.e.a.WF is sponsored by the Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation and overseen by Lalani Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise, which is located in the Dillard College of Business Administration at MSU Texas. The purpose of i.d.e.a.WF is stimulate the local economy by providing funding and other resources to entrepreneurs in Wichita Falls. Winners can use their funds to open new businesses or expand existing businesses, so long as they primary create jobs.
Benefits