The Pitch Competition for Indiana’s Brightest Stars Here at The Mill, we’re on a mission to launch and accelerate startups. Crossroads attracts Indiana’s rising talent and charts a course to success for early stage startups. Join us—to pitch, judge, sponsor, or watch the finals—and see what the excitement is about! PRIZES The winner takes home...
Read More "Crossroads Pitch Competition Application Deadline"
Dream big. Win bigger. The Innovate WithIN Pitch Competition is open to everyone aged 14-18 that lives (or attends school) in Indiana. Applications are open now! After applying, you should receive an email from Instructure (STARTedUP Foundation Canvas) that will invite you to sign up for our submission portal. Submissions are due February 4th, 2022....
Read More "Innovate WithIN 2022 Pitch Competition Application Deadline"
Startup funding depends largely on the nature and type of the business, leaving entrepreneurs asking, "Where do I even start?" Join us as we discuss fundraising options for your startup and cover ways startups raise money, the different investment types that exist, how to start these conversations even if you're early-stage without a lot of...
Read More "Choose the Best Fundraising Options for Your Startup"
One common source of funding for startups involves borrowing money from friends and family. It can be a great way to avoid bank interest rates and reduce your overall debt level so you can put more cash back into your business. But when getting loans from friends and family, you must be aware that conflicts...
Read More "How to Get Friends and Family Money without Ruining Relationships"
Our panelists will guide you on how to prepare, plan, and execute a strategy to move from a Series Seed to a Series A financing round. Running a business while looking for funding can be demanding, leading many founders to underestimate the time it takes to create a clear fundraising strategy. As you move from...
Running a business while looking for funding can be demanding, leading many founders to underestimate the time it takes to create a clear fundraising strategy. As you move from one funding round to the next, it’s critical not to waste your (and the investor’s) time by not having a clear timeline and plan. In this...
Known as "America's Seed Fund," the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) programs provide competitive access to R&D funds to stimulate technological innovation by small businesses in the U.S. The program can help startups and existing small businesses, interested in or performing research, by providing access to nondilutive grants funds...
Read More "Dept of Energy SBIR/STTR Deep Dive with Eileen Chant"
A good elevator pitch can be the difference between landing your next opportunity or falling short of the competition. But the reality is, people want to have meaningful conversations without the forced sales pitch. In this event, we'll explore what an elevator pitch is, how to craft one, provide good and bad examples, and dive...
An innovation festival. Here in the South Bend - Elkhart. Come. Dive in. This April, a whole new kind of innovation festival hits the South Bend - Elkhart region that lets you LEARN, PLAY, MEET, and COMPETE. Geared towards EVERYONE – whether you’re already a successful entrepreneur, a new student, or simply live for local...
What is one of the biggest red flags for an investor? Hearing an entrepreneur/startup say they don’t have competition. Every startup has competition, regardless of product, service, and/or industry. While acknowledging competition is the first step, startups must also find a way to stick out from the crowd - and simply declaring your startup is...
Read More "Evaluating Competition and Appropriately Positioning Your Company to Win"