The GrowFL American Academy of Entrepreneurs (AAE) is a unique mentoring program that pairs seasoned second-stage entrepreneurs with business owners who have entered second-stage more recently. The goal is to share lessons learned, expand networks and accelerate growth. A partnership with the Edward Lowe Foundation, it brings growth opportunities for both mentors and mentees.

Ed Lowe believed that entrepreneurs are the backbone of the American economy, and he often talked about the need to break through “brick walls,” referring to the challenges that entrepreneurs face as they try to scale their businesses. Ed also believed that great things happen when entrepreneurs come together. “Many were the times I wished for a mentor,” Ed wrote in his later years when sketching out ideas for his foundation and its programs. “A mentor to help me through those scary and challenging times. Someone who’d been there. Someone whose experience I could tap, to reassure me that I wasn’t alone in my obsession. ”These guiding principles shape the AAE program.

An important part of the program is the caliber of participants, says Colleen Killen-Roberts, the foundation’s vice president of entrepreneurship: “AAE mentors are incredibly talented and successful second-stage entrepreneurs who are paying it forward by donating their time to help others on their entrepreneurial journey.”