Savannah Entrepreneurs Discuss Innovation at Georgia Tech-Savannah’s February Learners & Leaders Series
Staff Report From Savannah CEO
Friday, February 24th, 2017
Nearly 30 business leaders convened at Georgia Tech-Savannah today to learn about the history and process of innovation, especially as it applies to entrepreneurs. Jennifer Bonnet, general manager of Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center; Blake Ellis, CEO and founding partner of CommerceV3; and Yvonne Jouffrault, founder and chief product nerd at Tour Buddy Apps and entrepreneur-in-residence for ATDC all spoke to the group as part of Georgia Tech-Savannah’s “Learners and Leaders” series.
“Innovation is a process. It takes a lot of trying and failing, trying and failing,” Jouffrault said. “Innovation involves an ideation stage, where entrepreneurs identify a problem, why it exists and how to solve it, and the implementation of the idea.”
Participants at the series learned about the importance of innovation, how it has evolved in Savannah and the Southeast, what the process of innovation entails, what its common barriers are, and how to create an environment of innovative thinking.
“Innovation isn’t necessarily where you expect it to be,” said Ellis. “Unexpected connections -- like those just happen spur of the moment in a coffee shop -- are what matter most.”
Georgia Tech-Savannah’s Learners and Leaders series is an effort launched in 2014 to help companies in the coastal region stay current. To date, members of the coastal community have heard speakers on topics of relevance to the business community, including mobile apps, coaching and mentoring, leadership and logistics. To register or learn more about upcoming programs, go to pe.gatech.edu/Sav-Learners or email [email protected] for details.