On Monday night, Flint Energies donated $53,000 to the new FireStarter Entrepreneurship Council. FireStarter organized in 2015 to be a community of entrepreneurs which is growing ideas and jobs in Middle Georgia. Flint made the contribution from funds generated by its former members’ unclaimed capital credits.

“Flint Energies focuses on improving the quality of life for residents of Middle Georgia,” said Flint Sr. VP Jimmy Autry. “We believe that the FireStarter initiative will generate new jobs when entrepreneurs find a way to bring their product or service to market.”

The FireStarter group has been meeting with innovators over the last 10 months to build the community. FireStarter co-hosted the first Ignite Innovation competition with Flint Energies and Cox Communications in May, patterned after the “Shark Tank” TV series. The community has also been introduced to other local inventors and innovators who have already taken a product into the marketplace.

Monday night’s meeting was held in Perry and featured the “pitch” of Middle Georgia’s own “Shark Tank” participants Jenny Greer and Erin Bickley. Their product is called "Hold Your Haunches" and the housewives/entrepreneurs shared their story of preparing their pitch for more than a year.

Also speaking Monday night was FireStarter Board Chairman Tony Bass, who shared his story of having a clear message entitled: “What Entrepreneurs Do On Friday Nights.” The title refers to entrepreneurs who plan for Saturday instead of seeing Friday as the end of a week.

Jimmy Autry from Flint also shared how entrepreneurs can “Capitalize on their 180 Seconds of Opportunity” to clearly communicate their messages.

The FireStarter group has affiliated with MIT’s International FabLab network to create a location in Houston County where inventors can congregate and build out their concepts. The FabLab has joint support from the Houston County Board of Education, the Houston County Career Academy, Central Georgia Technical College, and Middle Georgia State University, among others.

“FireStarter is not just a place, but a community of innovators and entrepreneurs sharing resources among themselves,” said Flint’s Manager of Economic Development Jay Flesher. “We are seeking high school students, retired workers from Robins Air Force Base, even current workers who have a project lying dormant in their garage or shop…..anyone with an innovation to join us and share.”