Edson E+I on Main Street

A great university gains much of its strength and relevance from the vibrancy and growth of the communities that surround and shape it.

A central part of Edson E+I’s mission is to broaden, deepen and power new strategic partnerships with organizations, innovators and entrepreneurs beyond our campus borders. Main Street entrepreneurs can come to Edson E+I for access to incubation and acceleration programs, a variety of spaces, and free events and workshops, and they also enjoy a multitude of opportunities to share their own expertise and wisdom with students through mentoring relationships and more.

The Edson E+I team provides a broad array of services to the community:

Community workshops and events provides everything from intimate hands-on sessions and seminars to large-scale collaborative public events throughout the Phoenix area on a variety of entrepreneurial topics.

Entrepreneurship training includes Lean Startup and Business Model Canvas methodology, as well as online courses offered through the E+I Startup School.

The E+I Mentors Network assists hundreds of student, faculty and community entrepreneurs from early stage to ideation to more advanced ventures.

Community spaces like the ASU Chandler Innovation Center (ACIC) and 1951@SkySong provide makerspace, co-working space and event space for community use, helping entrepreneurs, creatives and our community members of all kinds succeed in pursuing their aspirations.

E+I Exemplar: Prepped

ASU Prepped has changed the way we work and do business; now we are more prepared. Thank you for the opportunity given to us!

— Ricardo Aguirre, Tamales y Tacos Puebla

Prepped has given us the confidence and knowledge to successfully grow our business and reach a market of customers that we did not think was possible.

— Heather Davis, Flyin’ K BBQ

Prepped is a program of the J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute and the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, in collaboration with the College of Health Solutions and the School of Sustainability.

Prepped empowers Main Street food entrepreneurs, particularly women and underrepresented minority entrepreneurs, with the tools and technical skills to scale their businesses.

Originally funded through the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the program has been such a success that it is now funded through the support of a passionate but anonymous private donor.

Prepped supports individuals running early stage and emerging mobile food businesses such as food trucks, food carts, farmers market products, baked goods, caterers, beverage services and other non-bricks-and-mortar food businesses. This program helps entrepreneurs share business skills and best practices in a cohort-based setting by complementing their core food-based products and services. It supports them in achieving greater exposure, broadening customer bases and increasing revenue. Training topics include food handling and certification preparation, business planning including food costing, social media and marketing planning, food writing, and other topics to help business owners grow and succeed.

100 small businesses served

67% of owners identify as women

66% of owners identify as minority