1 Million Cups meetings boost business
October 6, 2019
Entrepreneurs looking to start or build a business can find help (and a cup of coffee) at weekly meetings in Columbia and four other communities across South Carolina. That’s the idea behind 1 Million Cups – a Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation initiative to strengthen education and entrepreneurship.
Columbia’s 1 Million Cups sessions take place at 9 a.m. each Wednesday in the Richland County Library’s main branch and are part of a network of 190 such events nationally. Capital Rotary members were briefed on the program Oct. 2 by Sergio Aparicio and Tim Bradford, local 1 Million Cups organizers.
They said 1 Million Cups is not a sales or investor pitch, but a chance for entrepreneurs to explain what they do and what kinds of challenges they’ve faced. Each hour-long session includes networking, coaching, mentoring and encouragement. Aparicio works in the city’s Economic Development Office and is currently pursuing International Economic Development Council certification. Bradford has over 25 years of business management, consulting and marketing experience.
He’s president of The Bradford Group of Companies, LLC with offices locally and in Pittsburgh. South Carolina’s other 1 Million Cups groups meet in Anderson, Charleston, Greenville and Spartanburg.
