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Entrepreneurs just got a powerful new ally as the Greensboro Partnership said today it will put more focus on helping small, fast-growing businesses through helping them connect with experts and financial backers.

The city's top economic development group will make two moves to reach its goal: It will pick up the work of the Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network, which was suspended earlier this year, and create new positions to manage entrepreneurism effort.

Rob Clapper, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce President will serve as the Director of Entrepreneurism for the Partnership and Kathy Elliott will be the Vice-President of Entrepreneurism and Small Business. An additional position will be added to the Entrepreneurism and Small Business department to support entrepreneurial initiatives in Greensboro.

The Greensboro Partnership's current strategic plan and a 2007 report on entrepreneurism urged the group to find ways to create high growth for entrepreneurial businesses.

Clapper, who was hired last summer, said just after he came to Greensboro that his focus would be small business, something of a departure from previous chamber presidents, who often focused on membership administration and corporate contacts.

Under the current recession, many economic experts say self-reliant small businesses could be the most nimble vehicles for talented professionals to prosper.

"This reorganization is a critical step forward in cultivating an environment where entrepreneurship can flourish while continuing the excellent programs and services that PTEN has provided to the community for the last several years," said Greensboro Partnership President, Pat Danahy in a written statement. We are excited about creating this mechanism for entrepreneurial development within the organization, which builds on the existing strengths of the Chamber's small business development program."

Kathy Elliott has served as the Vice-President of Small Business Development at the Chamber for the last 13 years, where she developed the Business Academy Program, helped to expand the Small Business Consortium of business support organizations, and served as the Chair of the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship for six years.