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Applications are now being accepted for the second Entrepreneurs Academy, scheduled for September 12 – 13, 2012. If you are a business owner, CEO or president of a company that has been in business for two or more years with 2 to 25 employees, it may be time to design your pathway to continued growth and success.

In convening the Inaugural Entrepreneurs Academy in May, Martin Rubin, Academy Chair and Immediate Past Chair of Orlando, Inc., challenged the participants to "to work hard, actively participate in our sessions, and make unexpected connections with fellow classmates with a goal of continuous improvement for themselves and their companies."

A successful serial entrepreneur and CEO of Smart City, Rubin said, "We believe that the Entrepreneurs Academy is the finest program of its kind available today.It represents the culmination of many hours of research by the Orlando, Inc. team, as well as countless interviews with men and women from all kinds of businesses who have made themselves successful entrepreneurs."

It is the goal at Orlando, Inc., to provide support to other organizations that strengthen the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem by enhancing important synergies which contribute to a rich and vibrant ecosystem."Orlando, Inc., is focused on Connecting Entrepreneurs to Success, as we work together with others to design and develop programs that serve entrepreneurs at each stage of the business life cycle," said Leslie Hielema, President of Orlando, Inc.

It's important to note, our efforts are guided by an extraordinary team of volunteer leaders, led by the Board of Directors of Orlando, Inc., composed of entrepreneurs and those who serve entrepreneurs.For that reason, we're better able to focus our resources utilizing their unique insights regarding the types of programs and policies needed to help entrepreneurs succeed.

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"Most entrepreneurs believe that it's lonely to be the leader of a business," Rubin continued. "We don't. Our Academy emphasizes the need for entrepreneurs to network and learn from one another.While your investors and staff may expect you to have all the answers, our Academy realizes that you often don't. It is our job to amplify your efforts and shorten the road to success by helping you design your own roadmap in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem."

About the Entrepreneurs Academy
The Entrepreneurs Academy was envisioned by the Board of Directors of Orlando, Inc. who saw a need to help other entrepreneurs accelerate their connections to the critical resources needed to innovate and grow their businesses. Reflecting on the premise, "If I knew then what I know now, it would have taken much less time to grow my business to where it is today," they concluded that as entrepreneurs themselves, they could help others expedite their entrepreneurial journey. Their solution is the Entrepreneurs Academy presented by Orlando, Inc.

Supported by the City of Orlando, Cross, Fernandez & Riley, LLP, Dean Mead and the University of Central Florida Office of Research and Commercialization, the Entrepreneurs Academy, an innovative two-day program created for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs, can best be described as mentorship on steroids where class participants hear from resource experts and successful entrepreneurs who have used those resources to achieve the next level of success and accelerate business growth.

By the end of the Academy, participants leave with customized action plans for reaching out to the resources that best fit their needs, receive one-on-one consultation to monitor their progress at four and 12 month intervals, and continue to connect, innovate and grow by participating in Orlando, Inc.'s Business Success Strategies series. Participants will make crucial growth connections that would otherwise take years to assemble, helping them achieve a competitive advantage, setting their goals higher, solving problems faster and achieving more in less time.

Applications are now being accepted for the next Entrepreneurs Academy, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, September 12-13, 2012.Visit www.orlando.org for details.

Orlando, Inc.
Orlando, Inc., is one of four lines of business of the Central Florida Partnership and is specifically focused on Regional Entrepreneurship. A "Five-Star Chamber" – the highest level of achievement awarded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – we are positioned to serve the growing needs of businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the Central Florida Region.

In an effort to improve access to fellow members as well as membership benefits, we have placed all members into three new and simple categories: Business Basic (previously Small Business Chamber), Business Connection (previously Chamber Trustees) and Business Partner (previously Regional Board of Advisors).Logon to www.orlando.org for detailed information on how you can best leverage your Orlando, Inc. Membership. 

Working together with BusinessForce (Public Policy Advocacy), myregion.org (Regional Research & Resolves) and Leadership Orlando (Regional Leadership), the Central Florida Partnership is moving "Ideas to Results."

For additional information, visit:www.orlando.org