We are delighted to announce that The Global Institute for Experienced Entrepreneurship (GIEE) and the Wize Move Society (WMS, a creation of Move in2 the Future) have agreed to add the GIEE’s globally successful ExperienceIncubator® program to the WMS platform.
The ExperienceIncubator® is a unique and innovative program created in the US to introduce people over 50 to the entrepreneurial mindset and how they can apply it to tap into their lifelong experience to explore the first steps to start their own business in a world where they want to – or even need to – work much longer then imagined when they started their career. GIEE has specific guidelines and partners only with those organizations willing to assure quality control, ongoing evaluation and assessment, and access through scholarships when needed to allow broad access to the program. WMS is one of only a very few organizations worldwide who meet this criteria, and we are genuinely excited about this opportunity.
Why 50+ Entrepreneurship and Why Now?
Demographic changes show that the 50+ generation is growing fast. A generation better educated, healthier and more active, than ever, it is a huge, untapped economic resource. Currently, while there is an unprecedented demand for professionals in the job market, many organizations are not focused on retaining or recruiting employees over 50.
Most 50+ year-olds, have a passion to continue contributing to their own and their communities’ social and economic self-reliance, and starting a business of their own offers a fulfilling alternative for them, for business, and for society as a whole.
With no blueprint for what to do with their gift of extended longevity, the 50+ can design new lives, by optimizing their life, and work experience to pursue nontraditional career paths and creating businesses of their own.
Research has shown that ‘Senior Entrepreneurs’ are, in fact, the 21st century’s new economic engines. Entrepreneurs aged 50+ are launching new businesses faster than any other demographic worldwide, and an overwhelming number is creating social enterprises, including green businesses. Moreover, studies have shown that five years after startup, 70% of ventures established by older entrepreneurs are still in operation, compared to just 28% of enterprises launched by younger entrepreneurs – something that points to one crucial factor: Experience!
Supporting older entrepreneurs can address some of the economic development challenges in communities worldwide. They bring significant experience to the table that can be leveraged to create new small and large businesses. These businesses in turn create new jobs, and income for people of all ages. Even more, business opportunity grows when the technology and social media experience of the young can be combined with the life and work experience of older entrepreneurs.
How to Support 50+ Entrepreneurship
The big question is how to start? If one’s career has been built on a job, working as an employee, questions and doubts arise, such as, do I have that entrepreneurial mindset? What are the risks? And will I be successful?
The ExperienceIncubator® is introductory, it serves to awaken that entrepreneurial spirit, it is part collaborative community, tech incubator, an interactive, blended, adult learning workshop designed to harness the power of entrepreneurial thought and action, to translate 50+ years of experience into the skills and mindset needed to develop a business or launch a new career.
The curriculum, specifically designed for the adult learner, helps them demystify entrepreneurship and understand how – even though they may have never self-identified as entrepreneurs – they have been thinking and acting entrepreneurially all their lives, be it managing a home, balancing family and career, running a farm, etc. The most popular session and biggest confidence builder is Decoding Your Entrepreneurial History Decade by Decade.
The WMS and its circle of experienced teachers, trainers, mentors, and coaches, view the ExperienceIncubator® as a first step where people from our age group can awaken and explore their entrepreneurial mindset before we deep dive into concrete plans, business models, target groups, and so much more. GIEE has developed the ExperienceIncubator® based on years of research, collaborations with experts and organizations worldwide. The total alignment between GIEE founder Elizabeth Isele and WMS founder Ingun Bol made this a perfect match. As Ingun Bol merntioned ‘This is the way I have built my businesses later in life and recognized every step’.
‘The advantage of this collaboration for GIEE,’ says Elizabeth Isele, ‘is that the program will be available to more of the people who need it most worldwide. Ingun is enormously respected as a pro-active innovator in the field of positive ageing and her collaborative spirit assures that she will amplify the impact of our mission locally and globally.’
The GIEE – WMS Scholarship Fund
To strengthen our collaboration and to make the ExperienceIncubator® available for as many people as possible, including those who are financially challenged, GIEE and WMS created a special scholarship fund. After each ExperienceIncubator® program, a percentage of the revenue will be transferred into the scholarship fund.
Start first group
Beginning October 2022 the first group will start online and we are looking forward to welcome participants from all over the world. In the meantime, the WMS teachers will be trained by Elizabeth Isele to bring the ExperienceIncubator® according to the guidelines of GIEE.
Pre-registration
If you feel you want to be informed when registration is open, please fill out this form and you will be one of the first to know!