{"id":1142,"date":"2021-03-26T15:03:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T15:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/williambissett.com\/?p=1142"},"modified":"2021-03-26T15:39:10","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T15:39:10","slug":"charlotte-angel-connection-episode-117-juan-garzon-executive-director-of-innovate-charlotte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/williambissett.com\/2021\/03\/26\/charlotte-angel-connection-episode-117-juan-garzon-executive-director-of-innovate-charlotte\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlotte Angel Connection Episode 117: Juan Garzon, Executive Director of Innovate Charlotte"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n Today, Juan Garzon<\/a> jumps back on the Charlotte Angel Connection \u2013 his second time and first since his appearance as the 4th<\/sup> guest (listen to Juan\u2019s first podcast here<\/a>).\u00a0 Juan is the Executive Director at Innovate Charlotte<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most of us have known Juan, or known of Juan, for nearly a decade now as he has been an integral part of the startup ecosystem.\u00a0 Between his work over the years with Pitch Breakfast<\/a>, launching the Start Charlotte newsletter (now Charlotte Inno<\/a>), or any number of other things Juan has done to help startups over the years, Juan has been a tireless advocate of all things startup related in Charlotte.<\/p>\n We wanted to catch up with Juan to discuss his new role as Executive Director at Innovate Charlotte.\u00a0 We\u2019ve spoken with Walt Frye and Keith Luedeman as they lead the organization in the past and wanted to hear from Juan how it will expand\/grow as the ecosystem continues to build up strength and momentum.<\/p>\n As you may know or recall, Innovate Charlotte is a nonprofit organization with a mission to enhance, elevate, and accelerate entrepreneurial success in the greater Charlotte region. Their focus is on cultivating an intentionally inclusive and high impact ecosystem that stimulates innovation, economic growth and societal change.<\/p>\n Juan explains the VMS and Navigator Program along with other initiatives they offer to the Charlotte\u2019s startup ecosystem.\u00a0 We discuss the growth of entrepreneurship making Charlotte a destination as well as creating more opportunities for home-grown entrepreneurs. We also dive into how the City of Charlotte is getting involved to help grow entrepreneurship \u2013 with a goal of building a more diverse start-up community.<\/p>\n