This annual event gives residents a chance to get to know North Texas’ local community of innovators, while also providing aspiring entrepreneurs with a variety of informative sessions and networking opportunities. Participants can take part in-person and virtually.
Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) returns Sunday, Nov. 13 through Sunday, Nov. 20.
This popular event offers a variety of workshops, panel discussions, informational sessions and networking events that showcase North Texas’ entrepreneurship community while also engaging with larger industry trends.
In 2021, Fort Worth’s Global Entrepreneurship Week celebration was the largest of its kind in the United States. A total of 4,717 people attended 135 sessions across both in-person and virtual events.
This year’s event is also expanding beyond Fort Worth to highlight the larger North Texas region, including cities in Tarrant, Dallas, Denton, and Collin counties. While all sessions are available in-person, there are also a variety of ways to participate online via HopIn.
A complete list of GEW events is currently available online on the GEW North Texas website.
Fort Worth highlights
While there are plenty of sessions highlighting people and programs from all over North Texas, this annual event also showcases many of Fort Worth’s entrepreneurs and supporting organizations within the local ecosystem.
Several interviews and panel discussions with local movers-and-shakers will spotlight growing areas of opportunity in Fort Worth, and how the City of Fort Worth and its partners are fostering innovation and entrepreneurship here at home.
- Fort Worth Networking Event
Thursday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. (Ensemble Coworking) - GEW Wrap Party
Sunday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. (TCC Trinity River Campus) - Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber: Seminario para Negocios Hispanos (Seminar for Hispanic-Owned Businesses)
Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 11:30 a.m. (Town Hall suite at La Gran Plaza) - Fifth Annual State of Entrepreneurship – Keynote speaker Victor Hwang, Founder & CEO of Right to Start
Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. (The Social Space) - HSC Next: Breaking Down Barriers to Business – Improving Permitting & Licensing in Fort Worth
Thursday, Nov. 17 at 9 a.m. (HSC Next, 550 Bailey Ave.) - HSC Next: SBIR Phase 0 Launch
Thursday, Nov. 17 at noon (HSC Next, 550 Bailey Ave.) - Techstars: Startup Weekend
Friday, Nov. 18-20 at 6 p.m. (Trinity River Campus)
Business Assistance Center highlights
The Dee Jennings Business Assistance Center in Fort Worth is home to a number of organizations who actively support the local small business and entrepreneurship communities. Several of them, – like Accelerate FW, TechFW, and SCORE Fort Worth – are hosting sessions as part of GEW North Texas.
These events will be held at the Dee Jennings Business Assistance Center, located at 1150 South Freeway, unless otherwise noted.
- TechFW: Women Supporting Women
Monday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. (UTA Fort Worth Campus) - Accelerate FW: Accelerate Your Business: LinkedIn – It’s Business, Not Social
Monday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. - Accelerate FW: Access Capital to Build Your Business
Monday, Nov. 14 at 2:30 p.m. - Accelerate FW: Bank Fraud Protection in the Digital Age
Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 9:15 a.m. - Accelerate FW: Cybersecurity for Small Business Owners
Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. - Accelerate FW: Understanding Insurance for Small Business
Thursday, Nov. 17 at 9:15 a.m. - SCORE Fort Worth: This is SCORE
Thursday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. - Accelerate FW: Unlock Free Money for Your Business with Employee Retention Credit
Friday, Nov. 18 at 11 a.m.
Lastly, several GEW sessions will focus on some of Fort Worth’s emerging industries, and the local opportunities available to innovators in those fields.
- Grow Southeast Farm Crawl
Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. (Mind Your Garden Urban Farm) - AyuVis Research Inc. Fireside Chat: Entrepreneurs Embracing Pandemic-Related Challenges
Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 10:30 a.m. (HSC Next, 550 Bailey Ave.) - Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors Global Committee: Going Global and How To Get There
Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 11:30 a.m. (Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors) - iOpen Innovations: What Hotel Guests Want – Safety
Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. (Sinclair Autograph Collection) - Eosera Inc.: EmpowHERment Pitch Competition
Thursday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. (HSC Next, 550 Bailey Ave.)
 Online options
For those who aren’t able to participate in GEW North Texas in-person, there are still plenty of opportunities to take part in virtual sessions all week long.
- Center for Transforming Lives: Level Up Business Development Program
Multiple dates and times (Virtual) - Fort Worth Public Library: Startup Sessions – How to Sell Online with Free E-Commerce Tools
Monday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. (Virtual) - Fort Worth Public Library: Small Business Storytelling with Thistle Creative Reuse
Monday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. (Virtual) - Fort Worth Public Library: Startup Sessions – Establish a Professional Domain, Website, and Email for Your Business
Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. (Virtual) - Fort Worth Public Library: Startup Sessions – Launch Your Business with Customer-Focused Marketing
Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. (Virtual) - Fort Worth Public Library: Startup Sessions – Connect with Customers and Manage Your Business Remotely
Thursday, Nov. 17 at 10 a.m. (Virtual) - Fort Worth Public Library: IP for Authors with Jode Millman
Thursday, Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. (6301 Bridge Street) - Fort Worth Public Library: Startup Sessions – Make Your Small Business More Accessible
Friday, Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. (Virtual)
Podcasts galore
New episodes of HSC’s Innovate Fort Worth podcast, which spotlights local innovators and their stories, will be released daily during Global Entrepreneurship Week.
You can download and listen to them on Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
HSC Next: Innovate Fort Worth with Eddy Badrina from Eden Green Tech
- Monday, Nov. 14 at 3 p.m. (Virtual)
- HSC Next: Innovate Fort Worth with Carlo Capua from the City of Fort Worth
Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. (Virtual) - HSC Next: Innovate Fort Worth with Munatsi Manyande from the DASH Network
Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. (Virtual) - HSC Next: Innovate Fort Worth with Dr. Robert McClain of HSC Next
Thursday, Nov. 17 at 3 p.m. (Virtual) - HSC Next: Innovate Fort Worth with Cam Sadler – LIVE
Friday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. (HSC Next, 550 Bailey Ave.)
