I-CORPS @ iSPI Through our partnership with the University of Illinois and the Illinois Incubator Network, Innovate Springfield is gearing up to host an I-Corps Node in mid-October focusing on customer discovery. The cohort will meet in person, three times at iSPI over the course of five weeks. The in-person meet-up dates will be Wednesday, October 25; Wednesday, November 8; and Wednesday, November 22 from 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM. |
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The Introduction to Customer Discovery course is a taste of the Lean LaunchPad method to give early-stage technologists a working knowledge of how to think about their opportunity from a business and customer perspective, as well as how to properly conduct customer discovery interviews; the first step in any commercialization process. This course covers the two main concepts in NSF I-CorpsTM: value propositions and customer segments. This course provides technologists with a set of skills and entrepreneurial knowledge that can be applied to any career path. |
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Welcome New Member We're excited to add a new name to our chalkboard and want to extend the warmest of welcomes to our new member Jaguar Estates! Be sure to extend a warm iSPI welcome the next time you're in the space. |
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Ability Meets Opportunity at the Annual Illinois Transition Conference iSPI Members Ability Marketplace will launch their e-commerce website soon, just in time for the Annual Illinois Statewide Transition Conference at the BOS Center Oct. 23-24. Innovate Springfield members, Daniel Olsen and his mom, Theresa Grimaldi Olsen, will speak at the first session. Their talk "Discovering Where Disability Meets Opportunity" will focus on Daniel's journey through Springfield schools with a developmental disability, culminating in his participation in the Sangamon CEO class of 2016-17. Daniel created the Ability Marketplace and Legacies of Hope in the class and won second-place in the CEO Shark Tank. The Statewide Transition Conference meets every three years in Springfield for young adults with disabilities, their families, teachers, caregivers, advocates, vocational and health care professionals. This year's conference offers an expanded Disability Expo with about 125 vendors, mostly focusing assistive technology. Ability Marketplace will have a booth at the Expo which is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday. Immediately following the close of Monday's Expo at 6:00 p.m., Ability Marketplace will host a hospitality reception at Innovate Springfield. You are invited to welcome conference attendees and learn about the Ability Marketplace website. The reception will feature a "Taste of Springfield" by renowned Springfield Chef Sean Keeley who recently launched a new business with Creative Director Shannon Mathis called, Artisan & Company. Beef "Horseshoe" Tarts, Taco sliders, Sushi Bar Tuna Sliders, chips and Chef Keeley's signature salsa will be served alongside beer, wine, and coffee. You are welcome to attend this event at Innovate Springfield and learn more about iSPI Member Ability Marketplace. |
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Host Your Next Event at Our Place We have conference rooms, classrooms, and open space for you to host your next meeting. Get a hold of us and see if our 7,000 square feet of awesome office space can meet your needs. Here are just a few things folks have said about hosting their meetings at our office: |
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"It's such a creative space!" "We love getting out of our offices and into a place to let our creative juices flow." |
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What We're Into This Month (and next month) |
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iSPI Spirit Week We celebrating everything iSPI with Spirit Week October 23-27, 2017. Be sure to snag your very own iSPI spirit wear and show everyone how much you care about Innovate Springfield and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Here's a rundown of our spirit week schedule: Monday: Jacket Day
Tuesday: iSPI Color Day
Wednesday: Silly Socks Day
Thursday: Plaid Day
Friday: iSPI Swag Day & Family Movie Night with a Hocus Pocus film screening starting @4 PM | | |
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We're doing all the things in November so save the dates! |
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November 4: Sangamon CEO Zombie Run The students of the Sangamon CEO class have organized a Zombie Run being held November 4 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Being chased by zombies will definitely motivate you to PR your 5K time! November 8 & 9: Chat Bot Hackathon Developers from across the state will gather to come up with ideas of how chat bots can be used as an anytime, anywhere resource to understand how to do business with the State. The event is free and sponsored by the State of Illinois, Innovate Springfield, and Microsoft. November 9: Deep Dive: How and When to Pivot Markets change; don't get stuck in a rut. No one has a crystal ball, but this workshop will help you identify the signs that your market is shifting and ways that you can shift with it. |
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November 16: Canvas & Cocktails with Bob Ross Creativity skills and innovation training are recognized as start-up essentials - after all, being different is a major source of competitive advantage. In this workshop let the happy little trees help you explore techniques to unlock your creativity and transform ideas into reality. November 22: Women in Startups and Investment Meetup Ever wondered what it is like to invest in a startup company? Are you an entrepreneur interested in learning how to raise money or just want to network with other women in their startup journey? Join us for happy hour from 4:00 – 5:30 PM at Innovate Springfield. |
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What We're Listening To the iSPI Radio Playlist on Spotify African-Americans and Latino millennials are more likely to be economically vulnerable than their white and Asian-American counterparts, according to a new report called "Gen Forward." You can listen or read about it here. A local Podcast: Sacrilicous. An ordained minister and an actual minister (youth pastor so you know he's cool) sit down and dish about their favorite eats. It's a lot of fun and they're from Springfield! |
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iSPI Leaks You made it this far in the newsletter! Congratulations, you get to have inside information! Next month will be Veteran Owned Business Month. The newsletter will focus on veteran companies and entrepreneurial support services for veterans. Veterans will be able to attend our How to Pivot workshop for FREE! Spread the word! If you know a veteran who would benefit from this information, sign them up for our newsletter. |
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