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Two of the areas that matter most to Philadelphia – and on which I am most focused as a City Council member – are education and entrepreneurship.  The former because the future of Philadelphia as a viable city depends upon our radically reinventing publicly supported education.#  The latter because of my personal background as an entrepreneur and my sense that the kind of risk-taking, creativity, and courage evidenced by entrepreneurs shows us an approach for grappling with the most serious problems facing the City, including education.

So how and when do these two strands come together?  I’d like to highlight one recent and one upcoming example of how they intersect right here in Philadelphia.

I recently had the pleasure of participating in "EduCon 2.4" – an annual education innovation conference hosted by our very own Science Leadership Academy (SLA).  The guiding principles behind EduCon – which range from inquiry-driven education to integration of technology in the classroom (and beyond) to collaborative learning – begin to give a sense of the entrepreneurial spirit that permeated the weekend.  As SLA’s dynamic principal, Chris Lehmann, explained "[t]here is no reason to assume that kids have to use the same tools they used back in the 1950s.  In fact to do so is to prepare them for a world that has already passed."  From the "lightning round" five-minute/20-slide presentations of innovative ideas to the crowd-sourced "21st century curriculum" session, EduCon was a master class in how innovation can and must be brought to bear in preparing our young people for the jobs of the future.  

In my recent policy paper on education, the overarching theme I stressed was the need to expand what works in education, shut down what doesn’t, and do both with a sense of urgency.  This theme echoed in the panel discussion kicking off EduCon, where the speakers – including photographer Zoe Strauss, a robotics professor from Penn, and a Google programmer – emphasized the importance of taking risk, learning from failure, and understanding innovation as a process that eliminates the unnecessary/unworkable.  I am hopeful that the new School Reform Commission (SRC) will embrace this view as it grapples with the profound challenges facing the School District.  

Now for the upcoming education/entrepreneurship intersection.  

In conjunction with Philly CORE Leaders, next month I am hosting the inaugural Philly SEED (Supporting Entrepreneurship In Education):  a crowd-funded opportunity for educational entrepreneurs, both non-profit or for-profit, to compete for prizes and, even more importantly, present their ideas before an engaged audience of potential funders, users, collaborators, and community members.  

Philly SEED is modeled off the Philly Stake dinner series (itself modeled off the internationally replicated Sunday Soup program), a micro-granting program where attendees pay on a sliding scale (usually $10-20) for a locally sourced dinner during which they hear brief presentations about creative community projects.  The attendees then vote on their choices for first, second, and third prize.  Once the votes are tallied, the winning groups take home monetary prizes of varying sizes (e.g., $1,000 for first prize, $600 for second, and $300 for third) funded by the attendance charge.

Philly SEED takes the premise of Philly Stake and Sunday Soup and tweaks it:  the presentations will focus solely on education entrepreneurship in the Philadelphia area.  Following a meet and mingle period, during which presenters will be available to answer attendee questions on their concepts, presenters will be given three minutes each to "pitch" their idea to the entire audience, which will then vote on the winners.

Also, to increase the value proposition for the presenters, the organizers will do targeted outreach to ensure education entrepreneurs, principals and teachers, venture capitalists, and heads of education-focused foundations are in attendance.   While the prizes will be a draw for presenters, so too is the chance to pitch their ideas to an esteemed and knowledgeable audience.

The 10 presenters will be divided into two categories from which applicants will self-select when they apply to participate.  "Emerging Entrepreneurs" are those who are just getting started with their idea:  generally, applicants in this category will have less than $25,000 in revenue-to-date, a small staff (1-2 people), and a short time period since inception.  "Expanding/Established Entrepreneurs" includes those who are solidly off the ground and looking to expand:  generally, applicants in this category will have more than $25,000 in revenue-to-date, a larger staff (3-5 people), and have been in existence for more than a year.

The "Emerging Entrepreneurs" presenters will compete for a cash prize, as funding is of the utmost importance for this category of presenters and the cash prize (targeted at $5,000) could make a critical difference to an entrepreneur in the initial growth phase.  The "Expanding/Established Entrepreneurs" presenters – who are at a later growth stage, likely seeking venture capital or foundation funding, in need of business services, and for whom $5,000 might not make as much of a difference – will compete for two prizes:  (1) a meeting with a venture capitalist or the head of an education-focused foundation and (2) pro bono assistance from an attorney or accountant.

The first Philly SEED event will take place on Wednesday, March 28 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at WHYY (150 N. 6th Street, Philadelphia).  Presenter applications are available online; the deadline for applying is March 19th at 5pm and selected presenters will be notified by March 23.  

I hope Flying Kite readers will help spread the word to education entrepreneurs and come out for what promises to be a great night on March 28.

GREENSPACE is a recurring column by City of Philadelphia Councilman At-Large Bill Green, a native Philadelphian. He is Chair of City Council's Finance Committee and lives in Chestnut Hill with his wife Margie and their two children. Send feedback here.