Some weeks are really busy, but there just isn’t much that jumps off the page to share with our partners and investors. So a briefer set of GPEDC updates to end your week:
Bradley Social Impact Challenge: I was honored to serve as a judge for the Turner School of Entrepreneurship at Bradley University’s “Social Impact Challenge.” Teams of Bradley students develop business concepts that aim to improve society in some way and address one or more of the United Nation’s 17 goals for sustainable development. Five student groups made 10-minute pitches to a panel of four judges, including me. I was impressed with all of the ideas, and the students’ thoughtfulness in developing real world solutions. The winner was a company called “Maintained Metals” which uses a special ionic filament to 3D-print devices that drastically reduce bacteria in medical settings. They received $5000 in prize money to advance their idea. All five student teams were also given 6 months free use of our Nest co-working space.
gBeta Mentor Swarm: Speaking of startups, Andrew and I participated in the first “mentor swarm” for the current cohort of gBeta companies. Each founder is matched with a different mentor for an intensive 20 minute conversation about the business, their struggles and their opportunities. Every 20 minutes, founders switch to another mentor. It was a fun way to get to know each of the businesses (and their founders) a bit better, and also hopefully to help a bit. Want to be a mentor? Drop me or Andrew a line.
Coffee on Campus: And one more startup opportunity to share. “Taco Tuesday” is turning into “Coffee on Campus,” but both are hoping to engage Bradley students in entrepreneurship. Every other Wednesday, Distillery Labs and the Turner School for Entrepreneurship are buying coffee for students and the community in hopes of building relationships between the two. Service providers, investors, mentors and supporters are all invited to join these free events and mingle with students and help build that bridge. If you are reading this, you are qualified to join.
Job Board Reminder: We have seen pretty good use of the Greater Peoria Job Board since its launch in early 2022. Presently, there are 1744 jobs posted at 98 different companies. We are gearing up for 2023 and will be renewing our subscription to the software that makes this website possible. We also hope to do some additional marketing to drive traffic to the board. Contact Kari or me if you have questions.
Have a great weekend.
Chris