The Michigan Opportunities and Resources for Entrepreneurs Program (MORE) was awarded a grant of $356,250 in 2009, to support phase one of the creation of the Statewide Entrepreneurship Support System (SESS), a comprehensive catalogue and delivery system of resources available to entrepreneurs.In 2010, an additional $1.2 million was awarded to support phase two of the project. 

MORE was created in 2008, primarily as a vehicle for U.S. Department of Labor funds to be targeted in Michigan for entrepreneurism support and education programming.

MORE is working on initiatives and policies to help keep Michigan’s educated talent in the state. By working with colleges and universities, incubator programs, industry associations, high-tech businesses and government agencies, MORE provides quick access to resources required to develop and market new ideas for business.

The cornerstone program of MORE’s work has been Entrepreneurial Opportunity Days, held at area colleges and universities to bring all individuals and organizations together in partnership to share and create valuable relationships.

The need for the SESS project has been identified through the hands-on training and referral that the organization has been doing for the past two years. Essentially, MORE has learned that there are a number of assets in the state that would be highly useful for the growth of entrepreneurs, but these assets remain unknown to most, or hard to access. For example, one local university has a very expensive piece of equipment used for testing certain technological devices. This university is willing to share the equipment with individuals outside the university, but does not market it. This is one of thousands of examples of the kinds of assets MORE would like more easily connected to entrepreneurs.

Also, MORE leadership has come to realize that many of the people advising entrepreneurs are librarians and others who may not have expertise in this area. Entrepreneurs go to libraries and other resource institutions, particularly in more rural areas, as a logical place to start learning.

The MORE Program and its partners will design and host the necessary user web interfaces and back-end database and indexing systems required to support the inventorying project. Additionally, a web service layer will be developed to allow this data to be exposed and utilized by all of NEI’s partner organizations. This layer will allow for listing and searching based on several elementary conditions, such as keyword match.

The user interfaces and search mechanisms will be basic in nature and will provide a traditional library view of a very non-traditional asset inventory. From day one of inventorying, this project will generate an overwhelming library of resources. For this reason, it is imperative that we work to create a better method to guide users (entrepreneurs, business owners, and business counselors) in a timely manner to the appropriate resources within the vast array of assets.

So far, the project is moving forward quickly and strongly.  MORE has already identified thousands of resources to catalogue, and the key business accelerators in the region have all agreed to utilize and promote the product once it is complete. For example, this tool will respond to the need for TechTown to have a referral source for the hundreds of inquiries received monthly that relate to entrepreneurial need but not to the specific resources of TechTown. 

This project could have an enormously positive impact on the growth of entrepreneurs in the state.  As NEI participates in dialogue with those advancing entrepreneurialism, it is increasingly clear that key issues are not the availability of resources but, rather, the coordination of resources and the need for a mechanism to make a much wider and more diverse population aware of these resources so they may be accessed and leveraged.  SESS has the potential to be a first-of-its kind tool and a national model. 

For more information, please visit www.themoreprogram.com.