[January 25, 2018]

Kauffman FastTrac Program Goes Digital, Providing Free Business Training for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

The Ewing Marion Kauffman (News - Alert) Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that supports entrepreneurship and education nationwide, announces a new version of the Kauffman FastTrac business planning program is now available online, entirely for free.

FastTrac participants learn how to evaluate their ideas, position their businesses around target customers, refine their companies based on personal and professional goals and ultimately, launch their business. Through an immersive online course, participants have access to planning tips and exercises, including lessons on how to:

• Discover how your business concept matches your personal vision.
• Align your business concept with a real market opportunity.
• Find your target market and discover your competitive advantage.
• Determine the unique features and benefits of your product/ service.
• Set realistic financial goals for your business.
• Define your company's brand and marketing.
• Manage business functions and develop an organizational culture.
• Determine the steps to profitability.
• Identify potential sources of funding for your business.
• Launch your business.

The new FastTrac offering removes financial and travel barriers for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to learn at their own pace and online. For those who want the help of an experienced facilitator, affiliate-led courses are available and offered in the style that suits the entrepreneur's needs: online, in a classroom with peers or in a blended setting. The program continues to grow its network of affiliate organizations offering FastTrac.

"We aspire to eliminate barriers so that every person, regardless of their background, can take risks and achieve success," said Victor Hwang, Vice President of Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation. "FastTrac empowers people with big ideas by providing them with the tools and resources they need to start and grow their business."

This month, FastTrac celebrates its 25th anniversary. Past partcipants in the program include:

• Liz Forkin Bohannon, founder of Sseko Designs in Portland, Oregon: Bohannon appeared on a 2015 episode of "Shark Tank." Sseko also won the JumpStart competition, through which interactive advertising agency Blue Collar gives an emerging company $100,000 in website redesign and digital marketing services.
• Rachel Young, founder of Miss Moffett's Mystical Cupcakes in Olympia, Washington: Miss Moffett's was propelled forward during 2013 when Young was a contestant on Food Network's "Cupcake Wars."
• Shannon Pierce, founder of New Ocean Health Solutions in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: Pierce's innovative achievements have been recognized by Interim Healthcare, which honored her with the 2008 Unsung Hero Award, and Innovision, which named her the 2011 innovator of the Year.

In addition to the new digital FastTrac offering, the Kauffman Foundation remains committed to helping aspiring entrepreneurs. The organization recently appointed Matthew Fischer as Director of New Entrepreneurial Learning, responsible for overseeing FastTrac and ensuring the program continues its fierce support for the makers, the doers and the dreamers.

Kauffman FastTrac is part of the Kauffman Foundation's Zero Barriers movement, which seeks to identify and remove barriers to new business creation. To learn more or sign up for FastTrac, visit www.fasttrac.org.

About Kauffman FastTrac

Kauffman FastTrac® aims to lower the barriers to entrepreneurship by providing practical learning materials, delivered online and via teaching partners, to entrepreneurs. In doing so, FastTrac encourages and equips more people to start businesses, contributing to increased startup activity nationwide.

About the Kauffman Foundation

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that works in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful. The Kauffman Foundation is based in Kansas City, Missouri, and uses its $2 billion in assets to collaboratively help people be self-sufficient, productive citizens. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect with us at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180125005263/en/

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