entrepreneurship

Business Improvement Grant: BIG Ideas to Help Small Communities
By: Sunnie Dawn Baker There are many tools that work together to help make Ada a place where people want to live,…

From STEM Student to Tech Entrepreneur: The Journey of Andon Russell
By: Sunnie Dawn Baker When Andon Russell joined the Chickasaw Nation STEM Academy at age eight, he had no way of knowing…

Snapshot of the Conduit Initiative: A Multi-Pronged Approach to Entrepreneurship
By: Sunnie Dawn Baker There is no single way to build a tech entrepreneurship ecosystem. There is not a simple set of…

More Than Just Oil Changes: The Human Touch of Garage on the Go
By: Sunnie Dawn Baker Sometimes an opportunity presents itself when you least expect it. And sometimes, if you are like Parker Deliz,…

Behind the Scenes: The Crucial Role of Business Retention and Expansion in Economic Development
By: Sunnie Dawn Baker Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) is at the heart of economic development. Economic development organizations like the Ada…

From the Court to the Sky: How Basketball Taught Two Brothers Entrepreneurial Success
By: Sunnie Dawn Baker Basketball is about more than just dribbling, shooting, and passing the ball. It teaches lessons that can be…

Empowering Ada’s Workforce: A Digital Skilling Initiative for Economic Growth
By: Sunnie Dawn Baker Workforce Development is crucial to economic development in a community. Businesses cannot function properly, and the possibility for…

Building a Tech Ecosystem: Ada’s New Wave of Community-Driven Meetups
By: Sunnie Dawn Baker Technology work can be isolating, but it doesn’t have to be. While much of the work is done…

Building Dreams: Inside Ada’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program
By: Sunnie Dawn Baker After serving in the Navy for ten years and then six years with the Chickasaw Nation, Matt Stephens…

Ecosystem Building Revisited: Learning, Sharing, Connecting
By: Sunnie Dawn Baker “Entrepreneurship drives economies, but the success of entrepreneurs depends on those around them. That’s why we build ecosystems—or…