EnterCircle 2024 is coming up fast on Nov. 12-16 at the link in the Nocatee Town Center. This year follows the theme “Unlocking Serendipity,” where attendees can learn from inspiring speakers how to harness the power of the unexpected to fuel the growth of their nonprofits, businesses and communities.
EnterCircle is a Sapna Foundation initiative. Sapna Foundation’s mission is to alleviate poverty through innovative solutions including delivering education and training for youth, creating workforce development programs and fostering entrepreneurship with an emphasis on women-, veteran- and minority-owned businesses.
The five-day entrepreneurship week will feature a mix of keynotes, panel discussions, breakout rooms and networking sessions. Attendees are encouraged to connect, collaborate and share new ideas with Ponte Vedra’s entrepreneurial community.
Day one of the program welcomes St. Johns County students who are competing in the St. Johns County School District Innovation Team Challenge. This event will give the teams a chance to workshop their business innovations before the district competition in January. Feedback on their ideas will come from Mari Kuraishi, president of The Jessie Ball duPont Fund, and Marcia Conner, an executive adviser, analyst and best-selling author. Registration for this day is closed to the public.
Day two is Social Enterprise Day and Business Expo. This is a dynamic event dedicated to exploring innovative approaches to business that prioritize social impact alongside financial success. The day will cover topics such as community wealth building, innovative funding sources and the future of social enterprises. Speakers represent organizations including The Florida Blue Foundation, Jacksonville Jaguars, The PGA Tour, The City of Jacksonville and more.
The business expo will feature local Ponte Vedra businesses from a variety of industries.
Attendees can purchase tickets for $50 and expo tables for $200 at www.entercircle.zone/socialenterpriseday.
Day three is a Youth Symposium for local St. Johns County high school career academy students. Students are able to attend thanks to a partnership between Sapna Foundation and the Career and Technical Education department at St. Johns County School District.
Students will hear from inspiring speakers on topics like personal finances, creating art with AI, the exciting world of space tech, public speaking insights and more. Registration for this day is closed to the public.
Women’s Day on day four features keynotes, networking and a sales workshop that will empower women to harness the power of the unexpected. Topics include “Together To Gather,” “Making Lemonade out of Lemons,” a panel discussion “From Chance to Change” and more.
Along with this action-packed program, there will be a woman-owned business expo featuring a variety of local businesses.
Attendees can purchase tickets for the expo for $60 and woman-owned businesses can purchase an expo table for $200. Register and secure a table at www.entercircle.zone/womensday24.
Day five is Kidpreneurs Day. This is an expo where young entrepreneurs will have the chance to showcase and sell their products and business ideas. Whether it’s sweets, bracelets, games or other creative ventures, kids can present their businesses to the community.
If a child has a business idea they’d like to exhibit, parents can apply for $25 at entercircle.zone/kidpreneuersday. This event is free for the community to attend.
EnterCircle is made possible by its sponsors: Hyundai of St. Augustine, St. Johns County, St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, St. Johns County School District, The Ponte Vedra Recorder, Unlockt and Hirelocal.
More information on EnterCircle and registration for all events can be found at www.entercircle.zone.
The EnterCircle schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, Nov. 12
9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. St. Johns County Schools Innovation Challenge Team workshops
Wednesday, Nov. 13
Social Enterprise Day
8:30 to 9 a.m. Registration, coffee, continental breakfast
9 to 9:05 a.m. Welcome — Raghu Misra, the link, Sapna Foundation
9:05 to 9:30 a.m. Innovation Keynote — Sriram Bharatam, Kuza Biashara Limited
9:30 to 10:15 a.m. Social Enterprise Panel Discussion — Dawn Lockhart, Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida; Cindy Funkhouser, Sulzbacher Center; Kristin Keen, Rethreaded; Monte Walker, Habijax
10:30 to11:15 a.m. “Community Wealth Building — Doing Well By Doing Good” — Dawn Lockhart, Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida; Ann-Marie Knight, UF Health; Whitney Myer, Jacksonville Jaguars; Emily Bellock, PGA Tour; Susan Towler, Florida Blue
11:15 to 11:45 a.m. Social Enterprise Challenge Opportunity — Raghu Misra, the link, Sapna Foundation; Dawn Lockhart, Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida
11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lunch and Keynote: “Systems Thinking: Get Out of the Scarcity Trap” — Marcia Conner, executive advisor, analyst, and best selling author
1 to 1:30 p.m. “Stadium of the Future and its Regional Impact” — Gregory Grant, City of Jacksonville
1:30 to 2:15 p.m. “Innovative Capital Resources & Non-traditional Sources of Revenue/Funding” — Gregory Grant, City of Jacksonville; James Coggin, The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida; Iris Jones, Self-Help Credit Union
2:15 to 3:30 p.m. Closing and Business Expo — Raghu Misra, the link, Sapna Foundation; Dawn Lockhart, Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida
Thursday, Nov. 14
Youth Symposium
9-10 a.m. Arrival and Registration
10 to 10:03 a.m. Welcome
10:08 to 10:38 a.m. Public Speaking Insights — Chris Engl, Toastmasters Club of PV
10:38 to 11:08 a.m. Innovation and Systems Thinking — Marcia Conner, executive advisor, analyst, and best selling author
11:08 to 11:38 a.m. “How I Built a Space Tech Company” — Andrew Rush, Star Catcher
11:38 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lunch
12:30 to 1 p.m. Startup Insights — Jordan Walker, Yac
1 to 1:30 p.m. “Unleashing the Technology of the Body to Live in a Peak State” — Rob Swymer, Peak State Performance
1:50 p.m. Wrap Up and departure
Breakout Sessions
10:38 to 11:08 a.m. Personal Finances Workshop — Adam Lowe, Higher Pixels
10:38 to 11:08 a.m. “Creating with AI” — Tery Spataro, Tery Designs and Creations
Friday, Nov. 15
Women’s Day
8:30 to 9 a.m. Arrival, Registration, Networking
9 to 9:03 a.m. Welcome and Introduction of speaker — Marithza Calderon-Ross, Action News Jax, St. Johns Parks Foundation
9:03 to 9:45 a.m. Keynote: “Together To Gather” — Jessie Shternhus, ImprovEffect
10:07 to 10:27 a.m. “Making Lemonade Out of Lemons: How Life’s Unexpected Challenges Turn Out to be Blessings” — Krista Joseph, St. Johns County Commissioner
10:29 to 10:49 a.m. Special presentation — Marcia Connor, executive advisor, analyst and best selling author
11:09 a.m. to 12:09 p.m. Panel Discussion: “From Chance to Change: Connecting the Dots of Opportunity” — Joy Andrews, St. Johns County administrator; Karen Bowling, City of Jacksonville; Dawn Lockhart; Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida; Lori Pugh, Woven Path Consulting
11:09 a.m. —12:09 p.m. Workshop: “Crafting Your Roadmap: Essential Elements of a Sales Plan” — Jen Cart, Stellar Growth Strategies
12:09 to 1:09 p.m. Circle of Creation Awards Lunch
1:11 to 1:51 p.m. Serendipity Speed Networking
1:53 to 2:23 p.m. Keynote: “The Magic of Serendipity: Unlocking Happiness Through Chance” — Amy Dix, Choose Happy
2:23 to 2:30 p.m. Wrap Up and Raffle
Saturday, Nov. 16
9-1 p.m. Kidpreneurs Day
