A Delaware Founder's Story with Garry Johnson by First State Insights published on 2021-06-22T18:52:36Z Garry Johnson, Founder and Executive Director of First Founders, Inc., speaks with Troy Mix, Associate Director of the University of Delaware's Institute for Public Administration (IPA), about entrepreneurship lessons learned, the emerging pre-, post-, and during pandemic story of First Founders, and his thoughts on steps needed to build a more equitable innovation ecosystem in Delaware and beyond. First Founders (https://firstfounders.org/) is a Delaware-based nonprofit that aims to lower barriers to entry and increase the likelihood of success in the innovation ecosystem by creating access to educational programming, relevant networks, and funding opportunities for diverse communities of entrepreneurs. Garry visited the May 14, 2021 session of the “Innovation in the Public Sector” class co-instructed by Mr. Mix in the University of Delaware’s Biden School of Public Policy and Administration. This episode is an excerpt of the discussion that evening. This episode is part of the ongoing Delaware Founders’ Stories series—a collection of conversations focused on the journeys of underrepresented and underestimated entrepreneurs. Learn more about IPA at ipa.udel.edu, and listen to the Delaware Founders’ Stories playlist for all episodes in the series. Opening and closing music: "I Dunno" by Grapes, used under Creative Commons 3.0 License Genre Business Comment by Susan Green I met Garry three years ago and it's been amazing to watch his professional growth. More importantly to the ecosystem, watching the growth of his sphere of influence, his support of diverse communities and his push for entrepreneurs and their journey. Garry is an impressive and passionate leader. His view that everyone has potential if they put their creative mind to use, is the key to opening minds, hearts and doors. 2021-06-28T16:56:39Z