iVenture: Program Overview & Recap
10 weeks, 52 sessions, 9 speakers, 16 events, 1 Demo Day
With our Demo Day fast approaching on July 27, here’s an overview of our summer programming:
Week 1: Kickoff
Programming: Why Do You Do What You Do, Mission + Vision Workshop, Venture Goals + Big Goals Workshop, Key Performance Indicators + Venture Updates Workshop
Speakers: Introductions to Board Meetings with Alex Kosyakov (Natrion)
Events: Allerton Park Retreat, Paired Team Lunches
Week 2: Explaining Your Venture & Customer Discovery
Programming: Strategy Chats on Mission + Vision, One-Sentence and Four-Sentence Summaries, National Science Foundation Illinois I-Corps Customer Discovery Kickoff
Events: Picnic at the Park Social, Virtual Trivia Social
Week 3: The Startup Journey & Sticky Ideas
Programming: I-Corps Workshop #1
Speakers: Senior Design Project to Seed Round with Ashley Moy (Cast21), The Startup Journey with Ryan Singh (Loop Health), How to Make Ideas Sticky with Craig-Dearden Phillips (Social Business Builders)
Events: Program Fellows’ Social in Chicago
Week 4: Feasibility, Growth, & Team Building
Programming: Revenue Models & Feasibility Workshop with Noah Isserman, Belbin Team Roles with Noah Isserman, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning Tour, Venture Board Meetings
Speakers: Product Lifecycles Workshop with Rich Labonte (Benson Hill)
Week 5: External Forces & Pricing
Programming: External Forces on Your Venture Workshop with Noah Isserman, I-Corps Workshop #2, Venture Board Meetings, mHUB 5-Year Celebration
Speakers: Pricing & Unit Economics Workshop with Tom Parkinson (Illinois Ventures)
Week 6: Checkpoints & Fundraising
Programming: Venture Board Meetings
Speakers: Raising Seed Rounds Workshop with Paul Couston (Ascent)
Events: Scavenger Hunt Social in Millenium Park, Chicago Pride Parade
Week 7: Storytelling & Reflections
Programming: Telling a Compelling Story Workshop with Noah Isserman, Final I-Corps Workshop, iV Reflections Session, Venture Board Meetings
Events: Bowling Social at the Illini Union, Virtual Guess That Movie Social
Week 8: Pitching pt. 1
Programming: Paired Deck Reviews, Paired Pitch Sessions, Health and Wellness Focus Group Research by Illinois Design Consulting
Speakers: Pitching Strategies Workshop with Karin O’Connor (Northwestern)
Events: Champaign Thrifting Social
Week 9: Pitching pt. 2
Programming: Paired Pitch Reviews, University Pitch Madness at DePaul, Final Preparations for Showcase Week
Socials: Entrepreneurship @ Illinois TechNexus Social - RSVP here.
You’re invited! Network with UIUC’s best & brightest in the startup ecosystem with students from iVenture, Founders, Hack4Impact, IBC, TEC, Disruption Lab, & more.
Week 10: Showcase Week
It’s time for teams to show off their progress during our week-long tour around Chicago. Lots of pitching, lots of networking, lots of learning- our epic finale to an awesome summer. This week features…
Monday 7/25
Origin Ventures Meet n’ Greet Chat with Steve Miller (cofounder, Origin Ventures)
iVenture Mixer @ mHub with ThinkChicago (Networking Social) - RSVP here
You’re invited! Network with the iVenture crew at the mHub space in Chicago.
Tuesday 7/26
Office Hours & Pitching @ Much Law
Wednesday 7/27 - Demo Day
An epic demo featuring 16 ventures and 60 student innovators at the Amount Chicago Office 4-7:30p - RSVP here, all are welcome!
Thursday 7/28
ThinkChicago Lollapalooza Kickoff & Celebrations
This 10-week program isn’t the end for our ventures- it’s a launchpad into the many years beyond. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, & LinkedIn to keep up with their progress.
A special thanks to our partners for our Showcase Week: The Illinois Innovation Network, Much Law, UIC, Amount, TechNexus, ThinkChicago, & mHUB, and our iVenture Committee partners: Illinois Social Innovation, TEC, Research Park, Illinois VENTURES, & The Origin Ventures Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership.