The first group of emerging entrepreneurial cadets has graduated from the Michigan City Entrepreneurship Development Program Bootcamp.

The bootcamp is rooted in the Urban Poverty and Business Initiative developed by the University of Notre Dame. The program focuses on underserved residents ready to launch a small business. The goal is to lay the foundation for a stronger entrepreneurial community in Michigan City.

Entrepreneurial experts guided 16 community members on a range of topics including the foundation and structure of a business, access to capital, marketing, branding, pitching your business, having an entrepreneurial mindset, operations, prices and networking.

“The bootcamp was an intensive look at business ownership and the opportunities and challenges of being an entrepreneur,” said Clarence Hulse, Economic Development Corp. executive director, in a press release. “The point of the bootcamp is to start our community members on the right path as they launch or grow their businesses.”

Initial business ideas ranged from restaurants and consulting to HVAC and retail. The program will continue with additional one-on-one counseling by members of SCORE, who are volunteer mentors that have experience as entrepreneurs.

“We are adapting a national program to fit the needs of our own emerging entrepreneurs,” Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch said during the initial program launch. “The goal of the program is to spark an entrepreneurial spirit here in Michigan City that is supported by resources and expertise to create sustainable small businesses.”