Salt Lake City continues to evolve and grow as a ‘smart city,’ increasingly leveraging technology to improve the services provided to residents and visitors. This approach has contributed to the city’s rapidly-growing economy while also attracting new residents to the region.
US Ignite created the InnovateSLC training, in partnership with the Economic Development Administration, to teach small businesses in the area about the smart city space and its role in economic growth. Smart city pilots, projects, and programs have the potential to create lucrative opportunities for local businesses and stimulate entrepreneurship that strengthens the community’s overall economic health.
Via four training sessions (the first one kicks off at 4 pm MT on Thursday, May 19), InnovateSLC participants will learn about the role and use of technology in city planning and strategies for positioning their businesses to capitalize on the city’s technological transformation. Local stakeholders, including Mayor Mendenhall’s Office, the Salt Lake City Government, the University of Utah, VentureCapital.org, and a range of local minority chambers, provided input and support in creating this training.
Session 1: Understanding Smart Cities and Smart Businesses
May 19, 2022 – 4 pm MT – Virtual
Technology constantly changes our world. We provide an overview of the smart city ecosystem in the inaugural session, including new technologies and how these tools can address common business challenges. We introduce novel and exciting tech applications that cities can leverage to enhance services, and we discuss procurement opportunities. Smart businesses can grow alongside the city’s and state’s increased use of technology.
Session 2: Pivoting towards the Smart City Space
May 26, 2022 – 4pm MT – Virtual
Equipped with a foundational understanding of what the smart city space contains, participants begin to think about how their businesses could make a pivot toward this thriving market in the second session. Most importantly, this session gives participants the strategies for finding and securing funding to approach and ultimately enter the smart city market.
Session 3: Using Data to Improve Your Business
June 2, 2022 – 4pm MT- Virtual
Information is power. In the third session, we equip participants with an understanding of how to capture, acquire, and use data to make better decisions under their current business models, and how to identify new areas of growth. Additionally, we break down cybersecurity issues and outline why the topic is essential for even the smallest of businesses.
Session 4: Networking to Improve the Smart City Space
June 9, 2022 – TBD – In Person.
In the final session, our participants get a chance to envision the future of smart cities. Not only do we anticipate continued exponential advancement of technologies, but we also anticipate a revolution in how local governments and small businesses work together to design and maintain smart cities. We invite our participants to a networking session with SLC officials, business leaders, and other InnovateSLC partners to close out the training.
If you own or work in a small business in Salt Lake City and want to improve your business and explore a growing market, you should sign up for this FREE training series. We designed the program to ensure you learn and grow as an entrepreneur and business professional. As a participant, you will also obtain unique networking opportunities with peer businesses, city officials, funders, and other leaders interested in a strong SLC economy.
