Delaware Tech’s 1 Million Cups Event Celebrates Entrepreneurship Week

The audience watched in awe as Paul Cullen strummed his acoustic guitar.

Paul Cullen, founder of Tune Your Palate, spoke at Delaware Tech Owens Campus’ 1 Million Cups event on Wednesday, Feb. 24.

1 Million Cups launched in July 2013 at the Owens Campus, located in Georgetown, as a way to educate and connect local entrepreneurs by using a program developed by the Kauffman Foundation.

This week’s 1 Million Cups event coincided with Entrepreneurship Week on the Owens Campus. Like many students attending the event, Natalia Hernandez is majoring in business administration and attended 1 Million Cups as a way to celebrate Entrepreneurship Week on campus.

“I really like coming to 1 Million Cups because I get to learn a lot about what people are doing and how people are improving their business and they come here to get input on how they can improve…” Hernandez said. “It’s really cool to see all of the people that come with their start up businesses.”

During Wednesday’s event, Jenna Beard, co-founder of The Beards Photography, shared her experiences as a new business owner in the community.

“I love entrepreneurship, it has been such a blessing in our life and I think it is really great when people can take their dreams and what they are passionate about and make it into a reality,” Beard said. “One of the biggest things my husband and I found when we started our business was, education is just so crucial for us. We needed to be better photographers and we also needed to be better business people and I think that’s one of the reasons why our business grew so much.”

After Jenna’s presentation, repeat guest, Paul Cullen, explained how he created a business combining his love for food and his knowledge of music. After explaining his food and music business, Cullen answered questions and played guitar for the crowd.

Mike South, an entrepreneurship resource in the community,  says 1 Million Cups is not only good for those looking to become an entrepreneur, it is also beneficial for the entrepreneurs presenting. After each presenter’s six minute presentations, a Q&A was held and the audience was able to ask a variety of questions.

“They ask all kinds of questions and challenge them, asking what they plan to do and whether or not they have a marketing plan and how they are going to use social media to basically advertise and promote their businesses,” South said.

Entrepreneurs, innovators and interested community members from Georgetown and the surrounding area meet at 9 a.m. each Wednesday at Java 101 in the Student Services Center on Owens Campus. Just recently, Delaware Tech expanded its 1 Million Cups program to the Dover and Wilmington campuses.

To learn more about the event, go to http://georgetown.sites.1millioncups.com.