Inside Perry, Georgia
Inside Perry, Georgia
Startup Summit: From Idea To Action
Ready to turn a spark into a storefront or scale the business you already run? We sit down with Economic Development Director Holly Wharton to unveil the Perry Startup Summit, a FREE two-day event (Feb 19–20, 2026) built to give entrepreneurs real tools, real contacts, and real momentum.
We walk through how the summit evolved from Startup Week into a conference-style experience with joint sessions for shared fundamentals and separate tracks for early-stage founders and growth-focused owners. You’ll hear about a funding and bootstrapping session led by a local entrepreneur who has launched, scaled, and sold companies, plus a practical “real estate ready” talk that demystifies leases, build-out costs, zoning, inspections, and timelines. We also highlight a hands-on AI session led by Tabitha Clark that shows how to use AI as your first or next hire for smarter marketing, sharper operations, and faster problem-solving.
Day Two centers on pitching with confidence. We break down how to craft a clear one-liner, a 60-second version, and a lender-ready overview so you can talk about your business with customers, banks, and investors. The resource fair and working lunch turn networking into action: sit with bankers, SBDC advisors, accountants, and marketers at topic tables and leave with names, answers, and a plan.
If you’re building in Perry or anywhere in Middle Georgia, this summit connects you to the ecosystem that helps small businesses thrive.
Registration is not required but encouraged for planning and lunch, and the entire event is free.
Questions? Contact Economic Development Director Holly Wharton at holly.wharton@perry-ga.gov.
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Welcome to the Inside Perry Podcast, where you get an inside look at Perry, Georgia's local government. We're glad you chose Perry, where people make the difference. Whether you stay a few hours or a lifetime, your time in Perry will be rewarding and unforgettable. I'm Tabitha Clark, Communications Director for the City of Perry. And welcome back to the Inside Perry Georgia podcast. We have some exciting news for those entrepreneurs, small business owners, slash those people that have a brilliant idea but don't know where to start. We are talking about the Perry Startup Summit that's coming in February of 2026. And the greatest thing about it is it is absolutely free. So today's guest that I have on the show with me is Holly Wharton, Economic Development Director, to talk all about it. So welcome, Holly, the Perry Startup Summit. It's it's gonna be an amazing time.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, thank you. Thank you, Tabitha. Thanks for having me. I'm always excited to come and talk about these types of events that we have in Perry.
SPEAKER_00:Right. And just another support for those business owners and like I said, even those that just have a spark of an idea for resources. So let's get right into it. So let's talk about the Perry Startup Summit. What inspired its creation and what makes this year's event unique?
SPEAKER_01:Yes. So over the past few years, we have had a program or set of programs and events related to startup support. So the past two years we had Perry Startup Week, which was a week long of different events that we had during lunch and the evenings, things like that. Well, this year we have reimagined Startup Week into Perry Startup Summit. So this is actually a two-day event that will be held on February 19th and 20th. Both days will be at the Perry Event Center. Totally free to attend for anyone that's interested to come. So with this year, what we are very excited about is to host this as a conference style event where someone can just take the day, get all these resources all at one time, and then really get what they need to know to be able to start their business either in Perry or beyond. Additionally, this year it's a little bit different in that we're trying to also work with businesses that are already existing and offer a few sessions that are geared more towards wanting to grow your business or diversify, something like that.
SPEAKER_00:I love that. Yeah, because you know, I mean, even I'm sure I haven't started a business, but I'm sure even if you get started, you still need those resources to kind of help, you know, move you along.
SPEAKER_01:That's right. And a lot of businesses may be doing well and are looking to take the next step and grow.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome. So, what about the core goals for Perry's startup community and beyond? What are you hoping to accomplish?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so the main goal here is to make sure that we're providing an environment where we can provide resources and connection between our local entrepreneurs and those support organizations and businesses that can work to fill in the gaps and make sure they have what they need to get their business off the ground and running. Additionally, this is a great place for networking. There's a lot of like-minded people that will be there all in the same place. And it's really good just to have people that can talk with one another and really learn, you know, from each other where struggles are, where there's opportunities and things like that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and just to kind of know in their struggles or or thoughts that they're not alone.
SPEAKER_01:That's right.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I love that with like-minded individuals. So, speaking about local entrepreneurs, what's the most common challenges you hear from those local entrepreneurs and how does this summit help address that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so there's a few things that I'd like to mention here. The first is that a lot of people just don't know what resources are available. What's out there that can help them with their process in starting a business? So our summit will be able to get a lot of those very important resources in the same room with those entrepreneurs to help them take the next step. So, an example of that may be the Small Business Development Center. So we work with them a lot with our businesses, and it's a great resource, but a lot of people don't know that they exist. Yeah, sure. So it's really great to have those representatives there, talk about what they do, and then connect the dots with the entrepreneurs in the room.
SPEAKER_00:And just hand them over at what, like you said, at one time, just hand them those resources with everybody in the room that's having the same goal, essentially.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and also here we hear a lot of questions and challenges about financing and fundraising to start businesses.
SPEAKER_00:Very important.
SPEAKER_01:Everyone has a great idea, but how to pay to make it happen is is the is another question. So we do have a session lined up that's all about fundraising and how that actually works when you're trying to bootstrap your business. Mass.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's a massive uh roadblock, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and we have this presentation by a local business owner that has started businesses, grown them, and sold them. So the whole step of the process.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, lovely. And it also that just shows uh exactly how relevant the summit is with providing that specific resource. So, how do you see this summit contributing to Perry's like broader economy and innovation, let's say, ecosystem?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So um in Perry, we are part of the Middle Georgia Innovation Corridor. So we've sort of identified Perry as a piece of that, and we know that having a strong entrepreneur base, small, small businesses in the community really make the community what it is. Everyone loves small locally owned businesses. We love to support each other. And so having the summit to encourage more of that, more entrepreneurship, providing those resources, this is really gonna just contribute to the overall ecosystem here in Middle Georgia.
SPEAKER_00:I love it. So let's talk about the actual event itself. Yes. So walk us through some of the standout sessions or speakers that attendees can expect at this year's summit. Sure.
SPEAKER_01:So this year we're going to have joint sessions where everyone will be in the same room hearing from the same speaker or industry professional. And then also we'll have some concurrent sessions. So if you're a very early on, maybe you don't have a business yet or you're just thinking about one, there will be a session for you. And then also say you already have a business you're looking to grow or scale, there will be sort of an advanced level session for you. So I wanted to highlight that the concurrent session, which is different from the years past for the program. One of the joint sessions that I wanted to talk about is actually about AI. And I think we have a uh industry pro here with us who's gonna be bringing that to us. So Ms. Tabitha Clark is a um AI strategist and expert. And so we're really excited for her to share her expertise to that group.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, it's gonna be an absolute fun session. Um, AI is, you know, like you said, it's it's a really big thing now. And during that session, we're gonna talk about, you know, kind of AI as your first or next if you've already started higher, treating it kind of as that sounding board and the brainstorming session and how to utilize AI in a very simple way, but produces big results. So, but thanks for the shout out, Holly. I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_01:Of course. Um, so also another new session that we're gonna have, we're calling it real estate ready. So a lot of times people they are getting ready to start their business, they found a location and they're ready to sign a lease, but maybe they need to know some more details about the location, what the property may need. So this session is geared towards making the entrepreneurs, small business owners, real estate ready, all the things that they may need to know before they sign that lease.
SPEAKER_00:This is so practical information. It's not kind of like a speaker coming up there and saying, you know, giving an empowering, inspirational speech, which is important, but definitely the practical tips that you need to know to be successful.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. And then the last session I wanted to highlight is about scaling your business to the next level. So for this session, we will be hearing from Evan Akers, who was the owner of Acres and Oak Kitchen. Great guy. Yes. Evan has grown Acres and Oak and scaled it, franchised it, and is continuing to look at growth. So we're really happy to have him here in Perry with us and committed to this session. So we'll everyone will be excited to hear from Evan on that one.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, that's wonderful. And let's also talk about pitch practice, how to pitch your business sessions that are also on the agenda. So, why is pitching such a vital skill for founders?
SPEAKER_01:Yes. So the second day of the summit will be all about pitching your business. So it's important to know how to pitch your business because it's important for businesses to know how to talk about themselves, especially if they're pursuing financing through a bank or an investor or something like that. So it's important to know how to just talk about your business, what you do, and convey that to any type of audience in a clear and concise manner.
SPEAKER_00:And that's kind of that's harder than people think.
SPEAKER_01:It really is.
SPEAKER_00:That's kind of like also talking about yourself. You know, we can talk about how wonderful Holly is and how wonderful the city of Perry is. But you know, when they're like, well, tell us about yourself or all that, and you go, um, drawing a blank. So that's gonna be an awesome session.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so this will help um everyone build confidence talking about their business and their mission, especially as they're thinking about taking the next step and getting financing.
SPEAKER_00:I love it. So let's also talk about the resource fair, which we kind of talked about earlier and the tabletop discussion. So who is this designed for and why should people really be interested in this part?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so we wanted to make sure that the whole conference agenda was impactful. So with that, we were trying to think about the best way to approach lunch. So the lunchtime will be an opportunity for table topic discussions. So what that means is that attendees will get their lunch and then all the lunch tables will have a topic of interest on the table and an industry professional sitting at that table. So, for example, maybe we have a bank that is the table topic, and an attendee would show up and say, Hey, you know, I'm interested in learning more about setting up a commercial bank account. Tell me what I need to know. So they'll be able to get one-on-one or small, small group um conversation started with those industry pros. So we're using this as a way to make sure the lunch is a working lunch and very productive.
SPEAKER_00:I love it. Yeah, and that's something we haven't mentioned either. And that's why registration is is required for this so we can make sure a head count. But not only are you getting free, valuable resources and information, but you're also getting lunch. So who can say no to that? You know, absolutely. So, what advice would you give to a new entrepreneur, even one that's starting out already, to be prepared w before they attend the summit for the first time?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so the first thing that I like to tell everyone is to just be open-minded. Don't come with any big expectations or anything like that. Just come with an open mind and a notepad and be ready to soak it all in. There's gonna be so many different opportunities to engage with different support organizations and businesses and industry professionals. So just come with an open mind, come with questions. Everyone there will be really excited to hear your questions and and talk to you about what you may need to get your business started. And everyone's there to help. So it's it's a great environment. Everyone's in the same boat, and we're just so happy to be able to provide those opportunities for the community.
SPEAKER_00:Everything sounds absolutely amazing, and and just like you said, a perfect opportunity for somebody who just uh needs that information to be successful. So, where do they sign up?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, so we have signups available on our website, our social media. Also, if you get Perry Alerts, you may have already gotten a text message about it today. So um, there's so many different ways. If you just are curious, you can always give me a call or text and I can send you the link as well.
SPEAKER_00:Sounds great. And we will also, of course, as always, put all that information in the show notes, including Holly's contact information. Once again, Perry Startup Summit of February 19th through 20th uh 2026. It's gonna be full of practical information, either with an idea of a business or you've already gotten started and just need that extra help, and it's all completely free. So, Holly, we are so excited to do this, and hopefully, we'll get a lot of signups and lots of successful entrepreneurs.
SPEAKER_01:That's right. We're excited to see you at the Startup Summit where you can turn your ideas into action.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks for listening to the Inside Perry Podcast, your inside look at Perry's local government. Take a look at the show notes for more information about today's episode. If you like Inside Perry, we encourage you to subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family. We look forward to seeing you around in our amazing community where Georgia comes together.