Friday, February 19th the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce kicked-off their year with a full house breakfast held at the Polo Club on Lakewood Ranch. The Keynote speaker was Tony Carvajal, the Chair of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, who spoke on the future of the 3rd most populated state, Florida. A 2030 Plan outlines the disruptions the state will experience from rapid growth. Many opportunities for entrepreneurship will be created by these disruptions and the huge need for job creation. Some 2 million new jobs are needed in Florida by 2020 and three of the pillars of the plan are talent, knowledge, and skills according to Tony.
He mentioned the Thomas Friedman book “That Used To Be Us” in which the authors say that America has failed to adjust itself to the post cold-war era. These failures include some of the biggest problems, including education, deficits, energy needs and climate change; our ability to react and respond to such challenges create opportunities for entrepreneurial solutions. The chamber will host several town halls to input ideas for creating jobs and inviting solutions to these problems around the state in the coming months. We plan to suggest more entrepreneurial support and education as one solution.