Usually I start with “here are some updates to end your week,” but there really is just one great story here, so enjoy your update:
Brazil Meets Peoria: I’ve mentioned this a few times in the run-up to this week, but the waiting was over. On Sunday night, we welcomed a delegation of 33 Brazilians to Greater Peoria. Called “Brazilian Tech Connections” (BTEC), the group was a combination of representatives from startups, more mature companies, and academic institutions. They had been in Chicago the week prior and attended a trade show, visited two farms, toured a few Chicago startup organizations, and enjoyed some cultural events. But from the beginning, they said they wanted to see “Illinois outside Chicago.” Over the past few years, we’ve been building connections with Brazil via their consulate and other outreach groups, and we were honored to be asked to help them explore the Midwest.
The Agenda: We really put on a show and kept them moving. After a kickoff dinner on Sunday night, Monday started early with a conversation about agriculture and farming in Central Illinois, hosted at Stewart Family Farms in Morton. The Stewarts talked about their approach as first-generation farmers and were followed by presentations by the Farm Bureau, Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Corn Growers Association, Growmark, and Future Farmers of America (Pekin High Chapter). A smaller group took a side trip to visit Morton Industries. We then took them to see the AgLab in Peoria, toured Distillery Labs, and discussed how Greater Peoria supports its startups. That night, we had a really great reception at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, sponsored by GPEDC, Distillery Labs, and gener8tor. (If you want a funny story, you have to ask me about the bridge lighting.) On Tuesday we hosted a “speed dating” event at Distillery Labs where the Brazilian startups and Peoria-area startups were able to interact with Brazilian and American “advisors” (basically everyone who wasn’t a startup). We then piled into the bus for a drive to Pontiac to visit the Precision Technology Institute, the demonstration farm for Precision Planting. The day and trip wrapped up with a private party at the fabulous Wildlife Prairie Park. I don’t think any of them had ever seen anything quite like it.
Team Effort: Just a shout out to the amazing team at GPEDC and our partners. Every member of the staff played some role in making the trip a success. Kathie coordinated the farming discussion. Sally helped with the side trip to Morton Industries. Jeffrey and David helped design and coordinate the “speed dating” event. Melissa kept everything organized and moving and shepherded everyone else into their roles as greeters, minglers, and gophers. We also had a lot of help from the wider community. People like Doug Cruitt and Nate Domenighini were a big part of organizing things. Mayor Ali and John Morris helped with our welcome reception. We had over 30 Peoria startups and advisors attend the “speed dating” event. The Museum, AgLab, Stewart Farms, PTI, Four Points, Morton Industries, and Wildlife Prairie Park staff were all amazing to work with. Such a broad effort to make it happen. I know it sounds cliche, but it really does take a village.
Wins: It’s hard to say what the outcome of these two days will be. Building relationships and making connections are important. Showcasing our community to outsiders is always valuable. And you never know. The last group of Brazilian visitors we hosted in the fall of 2023 resulted in DigiFarmz opening an office in Peoria NEXT. But here are some of my favorite things:
- The group’s interpreter shared with me how all of them expressed just how welcome they felt in Peoria. I don’t think they got the “red carpet” in Chicago, and we went out of our way to make them feel special.
- On that theme, one of the startups told David from GPEDC: “In Chicago, we can make money. In Peoria, we can make money and friends.”
- Seeing Alexandre Chequim of DigiFarmz and Marcos Hashimoto of Bradley University holding court at a table in the back of the Monday night reception. One of the startups mentioned to me later that night that talking to Alex was super helpful. “He is proof we can be successful here.”
- There were at least two great connections made between Peoria-based startups and Brazilian companies. One of our founders is now planning a trip to Brazil for a follow-up visit with the company in hopes of making a sale.
- At least one of the startups is seriously considering becoming a member of Distillery Labs and making that his US base of operations.
- I have at least fifteen invitations to visit Brazil….
It was obviously a very good start to the week. We did other things this week, too, but you’ve already probably stopped reading. Have a great weekend.
Chris