Broward County Honors Kauffman Foundation graduates

The Broward County Office of Economic and Small Business Development (OESBD) recently graduated 14 entrepreneurs from its second Kauffman Foundation FastTrac® NewVenture™ Program.

“We are pleased to recognize and congratulate our second class of NewVenture graduates and are looking forward to welcoming our third group of participants for the upcoming spring course,” said OESBD Director Sandy-Michael E. McDonald. “We are excited by the possibilities this program brings to Broward County by way of educating, engaging, and empowering local entrepreneurs.”

This four-month educational program allows participants to complete 10 challenging and fast paced modules held at the Innovation Hub at Broward College. Participants learn to refine their business concept, identify the components of a strong business plan and access the appropriate resources to have an effective business.

Upon completing the program and giving an oral presentation, the top three scored business plans become eligible for seed money grants to fund their business.

The top three from the second graduation group are as follows:

1. Marlene Brunot, Brunot Maps


2. Janice Weinsoff, Have U Heard


3. Matthew Fornaro, P.A., Attorney at Law

OESBD, used a competitive application process to select participants and incorporated the training program into its regular roster of free service offerings. The program currently has 29 graduates to date.

The next session is scheduled from April 27 thought August 10.

An information session about the program will take place on Thursday, March 23 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Broward College Innovation Hub.

Registration is now open for this event.