STOKE CELEBRATES GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK IN DENTON, TX
Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is a campaign to celebrate and empower entrepreneurs in every country and community around the world – especially those individuals who face structural barriers or may have never considered the idea of launching their own startup.
Each November, millions of people take part in tens of thousands of activities, competitions and events that inspire them to act and provide them with the knowledge, experience and connections they need to succeed.
For the last seven years, Stoke has participated in GEW by hosting both in person and virtual events that celebrate and support entrepreneurship in our community and are in line with the goals and themes of the week.
Check out what we have planned for GEW 2025!
GEW will take place the week of November 17-21st, 2025 and you can find our event lineup below.
Monday, November 17th - 6pm-8pm
Unleash your ideas for social impact at the Big Ideas: Mixer! Join us for meaningful connections and chat the night away with a community of like-minded entrepreneurs who are passionate about driving their creative and social impact ideas forward.
Tuesday, November 18th, at Stoke Coworking 9 - 10 AM
Join us for Coffee + Convo - a low-key virtual morning meetup where we chat with an expert and expand your knowledge as an entrepreneur! Tarsha Hearns, will be sharing her expertise on how to build a thriving ecosystem for your small business, as well as providing practical resources for each stage of business growth.
Wednesday, November 19th at Stoke Coworking, 12:00 - 1:30 PM
Join us for a Lunch + Learn with Rob Graves, Vice President and Relationship Manager of Texas Regional Bank. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of the key factors lenders consider when evaluating business loan applications, including creditworthiness, financial documentation, and collateral requirements. They will learn practical strategies to strengthen their loan applications, avoid common pitfalls, and increase their chances of approval.
Lunch will be generously provided by Texas Regional Bank.
Thursday, November 20th at Sunago Bell - 5:00 - 8:00 PM
During this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week, Stoke, in partnership with the City of Denton, will facilitate a shark-tank style pitch competition and Entrepreneur Expo on Thursday, November 20, 2025 at Sunago Bell (the top of the Wells Fargo Tower). The Denton Pitch Competition and Entrepreneur Expo will be free and open to the public, but we are collecting donations for the Community Choice award.
Friday, November 21st at Stoke Coworking, 9 AM - 5 PM
Freebie Friday + Food Truck Pop-Up w/ Groovy Chicken and Waffles
Join us at Stoke for a free day of coworking! Pick a comfy chair and spot at the coworking desks, plug in to the high speed WiFi, and enjoy coworking amenities at Stoke, like use of the standing desks and other comfortable seating areas. We'll also have some breakfast pastries and fresh coffee, as well as a pop-up from Groovy Chicken and Waffles from 11am-2pm!
First place winners at the 2023 Denton Pitch Competition - Speak Easy Speech Therapy
Second place winners at the 2023 Denton Pitch Competition - Triptych Coffee Co
Emily Roden, President of education technology startup, ReadyRosie, being interviewed by Stoke executive director, Heather Gregory, at a Fireside Chat during GEW 2019 at Armadillo Ale Works
2020’s Denton Startup Crawl during GEW took place virtually, with a compilation of visits to Denton startups, ReadyRosie, Bunch Bikes, and From The Future.
Banner photo provided by Sharon Jared, courtesy of Denton CVB