While the Mississippi Gulf Coast is known historically for tourism, fisheries, shipping and defense, that’s not the whole story. In recent years, a growing network of entrepreneurs, mentors, and organizations has added another dimension to the Coast’s economy. StartUP Gulf Coast, an initiative of the Gulf Coast Business Council and a partner of Innovate Mississippi, helps entrepreneurs turn ideas into businesses and connects them to opportunities across the state.
“StartUp Gulf Coast exists to help entrepreneurs start, grow, and scale businesses on the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” Executive Director Alexa Cutrer told us in a podcast interview. The organization serves Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties, connecting founders with resources, education, mentors, investors and other support.
Cutrer sees StartUP Gulf Coast as an entry point into a much larger entrepreneurial ecosystem. A founder can contact the organization with an idea or challenge, and even when StartUP Gulf Coast isn’t the best-equipped organization to provide the answer, it can help make a connection. That is where its partnership with Innovate Mississippi becomes especially valuable.
“Innovate Mississippi allows us to plug local founders into that much larger statewide ecosystem,” Cutrer said. “While we’re the first point of contact, we’re not always the people that can help, but we can introduce you to the people who can help, and through our support, you don’t have to navigate the ecosystem alone.”
That kind of collaboration is increasingly important as entrepreneurship grows across Mississippi. Cutrer said StartUP Gulf Coast received 39 applications from across the state for its pitch competition this year, about twice as many as the previous year.
She pointed to Altude founder Andrew Mocol as an example of how connections between regional and statewide programs can help a company progress. After participating in StartUP Gulf Coast’s pitch competition, Altude was selected for Innovate Mississippi’s CoBuilders program. Mocol later secured multiple sources of funding at the statewide pitch competition and made connections with investors.
“No single organization alone can provide everything an entrepreneur needs,” Cutrer said. “Founders really benefit when communities work together rather than in silos.”
Cutrer describes the Coast as a diverse regional economy encompassing defense, aerospace, shipbuilding, the blue economy, healthcare, tourism, logistics and advanced manufacturing, alongside major assets including NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Keesler Air Force Base, Ingalls Shipbuilding and the Port of Gulfport. StartUP Gulf Coast is also collaborating with organizations such as Gulf Blue.
This year, StartUP Gulf Coast, the Gulf Coast Business Council and Gulf Blue joined forces for Innovation Week, which included Startup Gulf Coast’s pitch competition, blue economy programming, Gulf Blue’s demo day and the Gulf Coast Business Council’s State of the Coast Symposium. The pitch competition awarded six checks totaling $15,000, while the symposium brought together about 600 business professionals and entrepreneurs.
The partnership with Innovate Mississippi is also helping StartUP Gulf Coast strengthen its ability to serve entrepreneurs. Cutrer participated in Innovate Mississippi’s Venture Coaching Academy and said the framework helped her better evaluate ideas, anticipate roadblocks and help founders address gaps in their plans.
“The Innovate Mississippi team has been so helpful as we work to grow StartUP Gulf Coast,” Cutrer said. “They are just a well of resources and education.”
For entrepreneurs, that partnership means a founder on the Coast can enter through a local door while gaining access to relationships and opportunities throughout Mississippi. And StartUP Gulf Coast welcomes founders at virtually any point in that journey—from what Cutrer called “an idea on the back of a napkin” to companies preparing to raise their first or second round of funding.
