The benefits of living in a college town are hard to overestimate, especially in small towns like Starkville.
The proximity of Mississippi State University provides area residents exposure to arts, culture, education and entertainment you generally do not find in a town of about 24,000 people.
Add to that array of opportunities an MSU-supported program whose impact has the potential to go far beyond personal benefits, extending to the broader community and, potentially, the entire world.
MSU’s “Idea Shop,” located on Main Street, is a place where anyone with an idea can find support, encouragement and assistance in turning an idea into reality.
Through a grant from the USDA, MSU started the program last fall. It’s potential in helping entrepreneurs of all ages, students and non-students alike, represents an important resource for our community.
The Idea Shop is open Wednesday through Sunday, providing a “makerspace” that allows people to work on their ideas on the weekends. The center not only provides support, but the facilities and equipment necessary to develop prototypes or, in some cases, finished products.
All too often, ideas for new products or improvements on existing products fail not on the merits of the idea, but for lack of a means of converting concepts into practical products.
Through the support of MSU’s College of Business and School of Human Sciences, with the practical help provided by the university’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach, people with good ideas are one step closer to turning dreams into reality.
In a state that has all too often lagged behind in building business and industry, these home-grown entrepreneurs represent a strategy for progress for our state.
We wonder what it would be like if citizens in every Mississippi city had access to such a program.
Imagine the potential. It could create a firestorm of creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation that would be transformational.
Our community is fortunate indeed to have such a program.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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