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Empowering Ecosystems in Action: Highlights from the 2025 e.Builders Forum in Atlanta

Date postedNovember 14, 2025
Posted By: Lindsay Schuenke Association Updates,

November 3-4, 2025 · Atlanta, GA

Last week, nearly 100 entrepreneur-support and ecosystem-building professionals from across the U.S. and Canada gathered in the heart of innovation to participate in the 2025 e.Builders Forum. This gathering offered a rare opportunity to connect, collaborate and advance the practice of healthy entrepreneurship ecosystem development.

A vibrant setting for ecosystem-builders

Held at the campus of Georgia Institute of Technology’s Tech Square, attendees experienced the innovation district in real-time as they moved between sessions, getting a firsthand look at a dynamic entrepreneur support environment. The programming spanned multiple venues across the campus and included shared workspace, breakout rooms, and startup-community hubs, giving participants a lived sense of what a thriving ecosystem can feel like in practice.

Session highlights

The agenda was packed with expert speakers, actionable content, and immersive workshops designed to equip ESOs and ecosystem builders. Below is a high-level recap of key tracks and sessions:

  • Universities as Catalysts for Ecosystem Growth – Multiple sessions explored how higher-education institutions can anchor innovation, create pathways for entrepreneurs and build regional momentum.

  • Strategies That Strengthen Communities – Several discussions and workshops focused on inclusive, equitable ecosystem-building and how ESOs can design programs that serve under-resourced entrepreneurs and create broader regional impact.

  • Real-Time Ecosystem Strategy Building – These hands-on sessions gave attendees space to work collaboratively to sketch or refine ecosystem-support roadmaps, readiness assessments, asset-maps and stakeholder strategies.

  • Innovation & Corporate Engagement – Some sessions explored how to activate corporate partners, join innovation networks, and leverage university-industry interface opportunities (particularly reflective of the Tech Square setting).

  • Access & Inclusion – There were also breakouts focused on how to build inclusive ecosystems: designing access for historically under-capitalized communities, leveraging capital and building networks that enable equitable participation.

  • Emerging Trends & Tools for ESOs – From mapping dashboards, data tools, metrics frameworks to techno-platforms for ecosystem management, attendees were introduced to new tools they can bring back to their home regions.

Attendees left with both inspiration and concrete next steps: asset-mapping templates, stakeholder readiness exercises, new peer contacts, and a deeper understanding of how a major university-embedded ecosystem operates in real time.

Thank You to Our Hosts & Sponsors

A sincere thank you to the local hosts who made the Forum possible: the venues managed by:

We also extend our gratitude to our sponsors whose support helps deliver this high-impact gathering:

Thank you to every attendee, speaker, moderator and partner who contributed. Your engagement keeps this ecosystem-builders network alive and growing.

What’s Next

We’re already looking ahead to our next signature gathering: the 40th International Conference on Business Innovation (ICBI), to be held in Chicago April 12-15, 2026. In the meantime:

We look forward to building again with you soon!

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