Springfield Named One of the Top Startup Cities in the Midwest Tech Crunch recently named Springfield one of the best cities for startups in the Midwest, and we're pretty excited about it. The key measures used to determine the rankings are: 1) number of startups founded over the past two and a half years, 2) total dollar volume of venture capital rounds raised, and 3) number of startup investors based in each city. |
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But Wait, There's More Springfield was also rated the second best American city if you're looking to work in tech. You read that right, SECOND in the whole entire U-S-of-A. SmartAsset (we know - nice name) gave Springfield the ranking based on the following five criteria: 1) percent employed in tech, 2) average tech salary, 3) ratio of the average tech salary to the average salary across all fields, 4) unemployment rate, and 5) cost of living. |
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This recognition is a direct result of your support, be it financial support, the contribution of your time and talent, or simply spreading the word about the great work being done to support Springfield's entrepreneurial ecosystem and make it appealing to innovators. Thank you! |
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iSPI Trip to University of Illinois Research Park Last week, the Innovate Springfield staff took a field trip to Champaign-Urbana to visit UIUC Research Park, share resources, and tour Urbana's co-working space, [co][lab]. Thanks to our hosts for the information and invigorating exchange of ideas. Stay tuned >> we're exploring how we can actively participate in the U of I Incubator Network to benefit our members. |
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Social Innovation Update: And Now for Some Legal (and Policy) Jargon Supporting evidence-based programs is important to us here at iSPI, and that means that we're not afraid to get a little wonky when we need to. Click here to get the 411 on how you can voice your support for evidence-based home-visiting funding for communities across the U.S., and learn how Illinois's very own U.S. Senators are working to support evidence-based youth mentoring. |
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Programming at iSPI We've pulled together a dream team of instructors for our upcoming programming schedule which kicks off this Thursday, August 31 with a Deep Dive in Business Cycles at 5:15 PM. Join us by clicking the button below to register. |
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Welcome New Members We're excited to add a few new names to our chalkboard and want to extend the warmest of welcomes to our new members: Rasha joins our growing cohort of co-workers, and Connor and Matt represent our first ever student members. Be sure to say "hello" the next time you're in the space. |
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Member Spotlight: C. Graue Consulting Meet Chad Graue, he's a Cancer who loves pizza, quick trips to Las Vegas with his beautiful wife, cooking, and long walks on the beach with his adorable family. He's a pharmacist turned entrepreneur from Lincoln, IL ("Go Railers!"). |
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Chad's Start-Up Story in a Nutshell: "I received my Doctor of Pharmacy degree in the early 2000s and spent a decade employed as a long-term care consultant and infusion pharmacist in Central Illinois. I enjoyed most of that work and the wonderful friendships I made during that time. But there came a time when my wife Katie and I started a family and desired greater flexibility and earning potential. I got a taste of success, realized more flexibility and saw a MUCH bigger vision for the life we wanted as a family after my wife and I started a home-based health and wellness business, that ultimately allowed me to transition out of my Pharmacist position. We grew our team to 1,000 awesome people strong, largely through learning to leverage the power of social media, content and conversion marketing (and a LOT of H-U-S-T-L-E). It became apparent that I had acquired many marketable skills desired by businesses, specifically, in the areas of email marketing automation and post-sale focused marketing. Being that I have an insatiable appetite for learning and staying current with new trends, I decided to selectively partner with clients to grow their businesses, and C Graue Consulting, Inc. was born." Chad's Favorite thing about iSPI: "The flexibility to come and go around my 'life' schedule, coupled with a work environment that fits my personality and style perfectly. It’s a quiet, colorful place I can go to knock out some creative work, while still having the opportunity to connect and interact with the staff, other members and guests at networking events. Plus, the culture which focuses on the importance of mentorship, self growth and wellness for entrepreneurs is a right in line with my core beliefs." |
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iSPI Webstore Now Open We <img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_bbb9a23c29c9407f8a31e2fc45adead6.png_256" width="22"> our brand and want to share it with you and everyone in our community, so we got together with Miles Tshirts and created a webstore stocked full of Innovate Springfield's signature gear. Click the button below to snag your very own iSPI spirit wear and show everyone how much you care about Innovate Springfield and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. | | |
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Website Re-Launch We put on our creative thinking hats, pulled out our computer mice (or is it mouses?), and ate lots of snacks to help us re-launch our website. Take a time-out and cruise through cyber-space with us. It's just another way we're working to make the iSPI experience fun and professional. |
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What We're Into This Month |
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