An entrepreneur is someone who, through critical assessment of his/her environment, comes up with a new idea and takes the necessary risks to see it to fruition, usually with the ultimate interest of financial gain. Ecologists are trained to think critically about their world, devise novel ways to test observations, and take the necessary risks to see their projects through. Thus all ecologists are entrepreneurs, except that their focus is usually only indirectly on financial gain (i.e. through career advancement and grants). However, few students are aware of the tremendous skills they gain in their ecological training and even fewer apply them to address vacant niches or challenges outside of academia.

Here we propose to explore entrepreneurship in ecology through a series of presentations and hands on activities. Our aim is to broaden our participants’ perspectives of ecology beyond the academic track that many of us are being rigorously trained for. We envision this workshop serving both students and early career ecologists. Finally, this workshop will indirectly expose students to diverse career opportunities. 

Specifically, we will invite ecologists who have been engaged in entrepreneurial initiatives for lightning presentations. Owen Koff, a highly successful sales and marketing executive and South Florida Score counselor, will complement this by leading a hands on exercise focused on helping you turn your idea into a successful business initiative. South Florida Score is a dedicated team of business experts focused on assisting people devise and pursue successful business ventures through teaching and mentoring. We will conclude with a panel discussion, hearing from both the ecological and business perspective of entrepreneurship from our presenters.