26 West Center

11/01/2024

Kindle the fire within to be bold, be authentic and be where you are. The 26 West Center and Women's Power Forum are here to help drive connections, offer resources and build community.

10/31/2024

Preparations are underway for tomorrow's Women's Power Forum sponsored by the 26 West Center. Here's what you can expect:
- Dynamic Speaker Sessions
- Salsa Dancing
- Happy Hour Shopping
- Inspiring Power Women Panel Discussion
and more.

Don't miss it! Grab a remaining ticket now: https://tinyurl.com/womenspowerforum

10/13/2024

SCF Bradenton remains closed for the week of October 14–18. All 26 West Center, on-campus classes, workshops and activities are canceled. SCF faculty and staff will be operating virtually. Please continue to monitor SCF.edu for more information.

10/07/2024

All SCF campuses and activities are closed due to Hurricane Milton. Operations are expected to resume on Monday, October 14. Be safe and please continue to monitor SCF.edu for more information.

10/03/2024

Tonight, attendees of Sarasota County Connect got a backstage pass to learn what bankers look for when determining if a business is investable including personal credit, history and experience, a business plan, projections and more.

A big thank you to Greg Manning, ABCP, EDFP-BCA from the Florida SBDC at USF for sharing insight on financing for business growth.

10/02/2024

Don't miss the return of Sarasota County Connect tomorrow evening. Join us at Solis Hall in Wellen Park Florida for a FREE workshop to learn about funding options and how to access capital for your business.

Seating is limited. Hurry and register to grab a remaining spot: https://26west.scf.edu/sarasotaconnect-oct/

09/26/2024

Sarasota County Connect is back with the “Financing Your Business for Growth” workshop featuring a panel of experts ready to share how to access capital and funding options.

The event is free, but seating is limited. Learn more and reserve your spot at: 26West.SCF.edu/SarasotaConnect

09/26/2024

Sarasota County Connect is back with the “Financing Your Business for Growth” workshop featuring a panel of experts ready to share how to access capital and funding options.

The event is free, but seating is limited. Learn more and reserve your spot at: 26West.SCF.edu/SarasotaConnect-Oct

09/07/2024

It was an amazing morning at the Women's Forum at as members of the 26 West Entrepreneurship Center team attended this inspirational event. Our very own Kim Richmond served on the Women in Entrepreneurship Panel.

08/30/2024

The Digital Collective 26 West Center was on site at Parrish Community High School filming a video to mark the partnership between the School District of Manatee County and Gettel Automotive Group brought about by the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation. Gettel Automotive group presented a check for $25,000 for the third year in a row to support this innovative Automotive Program at Parrish Community High School. This is demonstration of the partnership between education, business, and our community to build a skilled workforce with hands-on Career and Technical Training.

08/23/2024

We're lucky to be able to do some pretty cool things at the 26 West Entrepreneurship Center. We are expanding our team with a new position - Business Development Manager. If you're a biz dev pro and like to create really innovative solutions for businesses, take a look at the job description. This could be a game changer.

You can now apply online by clicking on the job title you are interested in and clicking on the "Apply" link! After viewing the Job Description, click the 'Apply' tab. If this is the first time you are applying using our online job application, you will need to create an account and select a Usernam...

08/07/2024

What's a GPT? It's a mini knowledge base that can be used to do just about anything...from searching for flights to responding to your emails. AI can make you 10x more productive, but it won't replace you. The 26 West Center is at The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce at our "Boost Your Brand: AI Marketing for Small Business" with 26 West Instructor Coach, Zeev Wexler.

07/30/2024

It's always fun to spend time with our clients. Today we were on location at North Port Economic Development taking video headshots of the team. Here are a few behind-the-scenes pictures of the video shoot.

07/11/2024

Sarasota County Connect is back in Wellen Park tonight for our Business IDEA Lab, answering the “real” business questions with our panel of experts and sharing community resources for business owners and entrepreneurs.

07/10/2024

We are helping develop the next generation through experiential learning. Interns from S-One Holdings Corporation stopped by 26 West to learn about the entrepreneurial journey and discover how the Entrepreneurship Center operates to serve our local business community with workshops, programs, a digital marketing agency, student incubators, a Personal Branding Lab, and more.

Come experience the 26 West Entrepreneurship Center and sign up for a tour at 26West.SCF.edu

06/29/2024

It’s 🎓! Congratulations to the 150+ middle and high school participants of the 2024 Summer Youth Employment Program. The future is bright.

06/21/2024

Celebrating along with the amazing business in our community as Rising Star Finalists for the 2024 Greater Sarasota Chamber Small Business Awards.

06/20/2024

What does the future look like?

We're counting down the days to graduation next week for the 150 middle and high school students participating in the Summer Youth Employment Program. The program is a collaboration between CareerSource Suncoast and the 26 West Entrepreneurship Center to prepare our future workforce with soft skills and workplace experience.

After completing The Power of YOU Job Skills Training Workshop and Job Fair in May, students are currently wrapping up their four-week, paid internships with local employers.

The future is bright. Check out the program's feature segment on Suncoast View.

https://www.mysuncoast.com/video/2024/06/17/summer-youth-employment-program-with-careersource-suncoast-suncoast-view-june-17th-2024/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1Nk5agVSyv7v2GVp4hQZQe2WjWJOwFdWF6b50oFCGaFGoDR8xakykuOuI_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

06/20/2024

The GrowBiz@26 West Founders shared their Roadmap Updates last night at the 26 West Center. One Founder secured his second investor and two Founders have launches planned this fall. All have made impressive progress on their businesses. is hard, but our GrowBiz Coaches have gone above and beyond to ensure that the journey is paved with support in so many different ways. This is the ultimate entrepreneurship ecosystem.

06/13/2024

An exciting day for the 26 West Entrepreneurship Center working with ABC 7 WWSB for a story on the CareerSource Suncoast Summer Youth Employment Program followed by the third workshop of the Sarasota County Connect Series. You can catch the 26 West Entrepreneurship Center all across Manatee County and Sarasota County serving our local entrepreneurial and business communities.

Learn more at 26West.SCF.edu

06/05/2024

"If you can't describe your vision, no one will believe you," according to 26 West Instructor Coach, Monica Quintero. It was a fantastic kick-off to our entrepreneurship workshops at the Greater Sarasota Chamber.

05/20/2024

Sarasota County Connect continues on Thursday, June 13 at 5:30 p.m. with the How to Solve Any Business Problem: Design Thinking for Entrepreneurs Workshop. Don't miss this chance to be a part of this growing community of businesses and entrepreneurs.

Learn more about the Sarasota County Connect Summer Series in the article below and visit 26West.SCF.edu to register for the June workshop.

https://www.townchronicle.com/articles/cover-story/business-is-about-to-boom/

On April 11, lightning struck Solis Hall in WellenW Park. Not literal lightning, but an electrical strikes of excitement at a meeting of business n minds at an event called “Sarasota County Connect Business Networking & PanelPCCP Discussion.” you feel it?” Kim Richmond queried the audience. .....

05/17/2024

Celebrating our inaugural student cohort for the 26 West Entrepreneurship Center's The Power of YOU Program in partnership with the State College of Florida Collegiate School (SCFCS). Congratulations! 🎉

State College of Florida