Disney Entrepreneur Center
The Orlando area was made famous by its largest resident corporation, the Walt Disney Company, but now the Mickey Mouse mega-company is giving pack. Willing to at least share its stranglehold on the Central Florida economy and pave the way for the development of other successful companies, Disney opened the Disney Entrepreneur Center with the help of then Mayor Richard T. Crotty. The center serves as a public/private partnership committed to the pillars of education, support and development for business owners in the Orlando area. Efforts are funded entirely through sponsorship support.
The Disney Entrepreneur Center provides a single location, conveniently situated on East Robinson St. in downtown Orlando, where a multitude of business assistance and development organizations can be housed together, making it easy on entrepreneurs to find the aid and advice they need without driving all around town. While the name “Entrepreneur Center” might lead you to believe the organization caters only to the needs of new business initiatives, the DEC is willing and able to provide assistance to business owners at any stage of their company’s development, whether it’s the initial business plan or how to close a company’s doors in the most financially and socially responsible way possible. The wide variety of service providers with offices at the DEC complex offer a diversity of resources, with programs specifically targeting middle-market and high-growth businesses as well. While headquartered in Orlando, the DEC has recently expanded its services to better account for the wider scoped needs of the entire sunshine state. Through partnerships with other groups across the state and an ever increasing online presence of internet information and assistance, the center is now accessible to anyone and everyone. Most general services are available to the public free of charge, while there may be a nominal fee for some seminars hosted by the center. Individual organizations housed at the DEC may charge their own individual membership fees as well.