The Bright Ideas on the Gulf Coast, better known as BIG, has drawn some of the innovative entrepreneurs to the table to tackle issues like brain drain and workforce retention.

Dean Eisner, the retired head of Manheim Cox Newspapers and a driving force behind the BIG concept said the effort could provide the recipe for keeping the most talented students graduating from local universities staying in the region for high-powered jobs. “We have some very successful people here who all have insights and connections,” Eisner said. “It’s been proven that if you connect students with community leaders.” 

Jeff Hazelton, founder of BioLucid, has participated in roundtables for BIG and believes retaining talent in the area will be valuable for all in the community. "More than ever before, many of the careers of the future are determined to be in new and innovative fields. That is because there are many opportunities for new businesses based on brand new products or services, only now possible because of advancing technology," Hazelton said. "Starting such businesses is always a challenge, because they tend to be just on the threshold  ahead of their time. BIG supports this concept by offering assistance to those who have such ideas and need the business support and access to funding from seasoned professionals local investment to help them form and grow."

But the biggest successes to Eisner don't necessarily come from boosting the businesses as from seeing the recent graduates gain something from the effort. BIG was largely inspired, Eisner said, from interactions with Ringling College of Art Design students set on taking their degrees elsewhere once they are ready for the job world. One of those students, Nazanin Varasteh, was convinced through interactions with business leaders that it was worth staying awhile after graduation and she now works at Ringling College. "I strongly believe in the potential that Sarasota has for becoming a major start-up capital in the next decade or two because of the combination of young talent that comes here to study and the knowledgable and successful residents who have plenty of experience to share with them," Varasteh said. "So when the opportunity came up for me to participate in the growth of Ringling as well as Sarasota I felt honored to be able to play such a role and therefore made the decision to stay."

To learn more about the BIG project, read the August issue of SRQ magazine on stands now.