A new school year means a fresh class of young entrepreneurs with Monroe County startUP, and this year is also beginning with a new facilitator for the program.

Jim Hopkins – who emphasized he is not related to the longtime Waterloo alderman – moved to the area with his family about 10 years ago from Georgia, he and his wife originally hailing from Southern Mississippi.

With a degree in information technology, Hopkins has worked in the field for many years now, starting as a programmer before moving into more of a leadership position.

Though his background is in IT, he said he’s long had a passion for entrepreneurship, recalling how, around 20 years ago, he found himself conducting something of a business, selling on eBay, going to auctions and flipping machine parts and other goods.

“I’ve always been entrepreneurial,” Hopkins said. “Started out in elementary school selling widgets and toys and marbles and stuff.”

More recently, about a decade ago, he started a sporting goods brand and was able to grow it to seven figures in revenue, selling it about four years ago.

Hopkins said he’s recently purchased another private brand and similarly hopes to grow and sell it over the next few years.

When it comes to his connection to the startUP program, Hopkins explained he’s been aware of it for a few years now, with his son having participated in a previous class.

Having seen the impact the program can have, he had only good things to say about it.

“I’ve watched startUP for years, probably going back seven or eight years,” Hopkins said. “I think it’s an outstanding program. I wish more people knew about it. I wish I had it when I was growing up.”

He further spoke to the sort of good this kind of program can have for young people who might be looking to establish their own business now or someday in the future.

Hopkins pointed to the wealth of businesses in small communities he’s seen that don’t quite manage to get off the ground as the owner just didn’t have the experience and understanding they really needed.

“Every year, there was probably two families who started restaurants or something of that nature and put their life savings into it, and then they went out of business just because they lacked financial literacy, business savvy, and I’ve watched it,” Hopkins said. “I wanna help these kids so they can understand the financial literacy part, what are the key challenges.”

He further spoke to his own passion for learning about business growth, marketing and entrepreneurship as a whole.

Having taught as part of his IT career on top of offering lessons or coaching for folks mainly pursuing online businesses, Hopkins spoke hopefully about the group of students he’s set to work with this year.

“They’re involved in all these sports. They’re clearly driven, they’re hungry, so it’s a bit of a captive audience from my side,” Hopkins said. “I loved mentoring in my leadership roles the last 25 years. That’s what I’ve been doing the most.”

Reiterating his strong support for the program, he pointed to the startUP board and all the other area business owners who make the program possible either through financial donations or by offering their time as mentors.

One such person is George Obernagel, who serves as chairperson of the startUP board and commended Hopkins for his past business experience that helped him stand out for the facilitator position.

“Among the board, we all feel very excited for him,” Obernagel said.

Looking forward to the upcoming year of guest speakers, individual and group businesses and other startUP lessons, Hopkins again emphasized his enthusiasm for the program and his hopes for even more students to participate in the future.

He also pointed to one of the larger lessons he hopes his students can take away from the coming months.

“The key, I think, for the students is to stress that we all come from different walks of life,” Hopkins said. “They need to measure their progress today versus yesterday, not against their peers.”