Stoke has hosted Coffee + Convo in various formats over the years. During 2022's iteration, we'll start with a quick intro., describe the topic or guiding question of the day, and dive into how the session so the mentor and peers can best help you with what you're working on. Each mentor has varying expertise in different fields, so every session will be a little different! This is a low-key morning meetup with high impact on your toolkit!
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About Darlisa Diltz
Darlisa has worked with organizations around the world, educating, advocating and influencing change among startup communities globally. As an early entrepreneur herself, she played a vital role in several ecosystem build-outs such as the St. Louis Cortex Innovation District, Women’s Business Centers and instructional programs such as WIBO (Workshop in Business Opportunities), FastTrac and The Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative, formally known as Ice House. In 2011, Darlisa was awarded her first independent contractor’s opportunity with Americas Small Business Development Center (ASBDC), where she was responsible for the St. Charles County region to foster entrepreneurship development by way of training, community engagement and financial literacy. As part of this endeavor, she traveled to various states teaching and advocating for new Entrepreneurs just like herself that had minimal access and connection to the understanding of starting a business.
In 2012 she joined forces with Junior Achievement of Greater St. Louis and (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship) NFTE to create the 1st independent youth entrepreneurship focused curriculum the St. Louis region called Youth Entrepreneurs Platform. After a move to Texas and becoming immersed in the DFW ecosystem, in 2018 Darlisa opened North Texas Entrepreneur Education and Training, LLC, the 1st for-profit business service organization in the metroplex with a focus on Entrepreneur education and development. Since then, she has been an integral part of the startup community. She has received several awards, accolades, and opportunities to work with signature organizations to build out and implement startup programming.
In 2021, her organization graduated 193 entrepreneurs from their programs and in 2022, she lead the Global Entrepreneurship Week efforts for all of North Texas. Supporting startup entrepreneurs is not only an occupation for Darlisa, it is her life’s mission. She is a firm believer in “putting her money where her mouth is” and helping others achieve their goals if they are willing to put in the work. When asked “What is one thing that keeps her coming back to this business every day… Her response, “Knowing that there are people out there just like me that may not have a clear path or understanding to the Entrepreneurship world. My hope is that I can continue to play a small role in ensuring Entrepreneurship success is accessible to all regardless of cultural, financial background or social economic status.”
Topic of the Day
Supporting Entrepreneurs
Free to attend and open to all; please RSVP for the Zoom meeting link.