Let's not sugar coat it. 2020 has been a dumpster fire inside of a train wreck. But Innovate Springfield members have RALLIED. They've pivoted, pushed on, and busted their tails off keeping their businesses not just surviving, but thriving! We're celebrating the milestones that we've achieved alongside our members with a virtual open house, or as it's called in the startup world a "DEMO Day."
Join us on Thursday, December 17 as we kick off the holiday and kiss 2020 goodbye with a virtual happy hour and demo day. Up to eight of our members will pitch their business concepts in a virtual environment. You'll have a chance to provide them with valuable feedback and learn about ways you can connect with them.
Each year, we ask the members of Innovate Springfield to share their year-end financial and demographic impact data with us to help paint a picture of the collective economic impact the iSPI member companies have on our community. As we close out 2020 we will begin collecting their most current economic impact data. We'd like to take this opportunity to take a look back at how far we've come together.
BUSINESS INCUBATION //
Our Business Incubation Program aims to support the overarching economic development strategy for our region and to catalyze the innovation ecosystem, which means supporting small businesses is our top priority. Innovate Springfield filed its articles of incorporation in 2014 and started accepting members in 2016. Since opening its doors, Innovate Springfield has served a total of 172 small business starters.
Innovate Springfield hit a major milestone this year by welcoming its 90th member in November of 2020. Among those members, 30 are student members either between the ages of 18-23 or currently enrolled in a higher education program, 15 of whom attend UIS. 56% of the members we serve are women, 35% are people of color, and 7% are veterans.
Check out the growth that the members we serve experienced in 2019!
CO.STARTERS
Since being transferred by the University of Illinois Springfield in 2018, Innovate Springfield has been able to license and run the CO.STARTERS program, which takes a small business starter from idea to execution in 9-weeks. Running two cohorts per year, Innovate Springfield has graduated 27 starters from the CO.STARTERS program and two graduates have opened brick and mortar locations just down Adams street from us.
Learn more about the CO.STARTERS @iSPI Alumni on our website, and show them some love.
3 DAY STARTUP
This year we hosted our FIRST Virtual 3 Day Startup (3DS) Event @iSPI/UIS on September 18, 19, and 20, 2020. The 3DS program is designed to engage and connect university students to experiential learning opportunities in entrepreneurship and innovation over the course of a three day startup weekend.
The intended outcomes align with Innovate Springfield’s goal to support students in pursuing and achieving their personal goals and to provide robust training, and other strong supports to student members of iSPI's business incubation program. 3DS served as a rich and vibrant virtual experience for those who participated.
The iSPI 3DS event included 14 students from UIS, Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, IL, and Mumbai University in Mumbai, India. The participants all pitched their individual concepts on day one, and teams were formed around the four leading ideas who then worked together for the remainder of the weekend to strengthen their concepts.
Learn more about the four concepts on our website, and be on the lookout for even more great startup ideas from the 3DS @iSPI Alumni.
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT OF 2020
In August of 2020 Innovate Springfield member bitsIO Inc., was named No. 498 on the Inc 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies. The Inc. 5000 list represents the most successful independent small businesses in the US and serves as the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. bitsIO made the exclusive top 500 of the Inc. 5000 because of the staggering growth they’ve experienced in their industry. From 2016 to 2019, bitsIO’s revenue grew 935%.
Innovate Springfield is incredibly proud to serve bitsIO Inc., and to share in this success. The bitsIO team are highly engaged members of the iSPI/UIS community and have contributed great value to our network. In 2019 bitsIO Inc. facilitated an Analytics Certification to 21 UIS students, preparing them to test and receive certifications in the data analytics tool, Splunk.
Join us in congratulating bitsIO Inc., on this prestigious designation, and in thanking them for their contributions to our community.
Supporting innovators and entrepreneurs across industries and stages of business require strategic thinking about our resources, programming, and service offerings. We use ecosystem mapping to determine members’ current stage of business and to inform our program schedule based on their needs. Our offerings include the opportunity to consult with expert advisors, one-on-one coaching, university resources, meaningful peer-peer networking, and a robust schedule of professional development events.
The growth that Innovate Springfield has experienced alongside the members that we serve speaks to the value that iSPI has created in our community. Had Innovate Springfield been absent these past three years, it is hard to say where the small businesses that we serve would be, but their testimonies demonstrate that in some part, their growth and success are the results of the services they have received from Innovate Springfield.
SOCIAL INNOVATION //
In 2020 we welcomed our Social Innovation Program Director, Hillary Rains. Our Social Innovation Program advances the healthy development of Springfield-area community members by identifying, investing in, and spreading knowledge of high-impact, evidence-based social programs, and services. We believe that healthy communities support innovation and growth and that enacting our vision for a more innovative region requires us to think critically and creatively about how we can mobilize our community’s best resources in support of our neighbors who are most in need.
What does our social innovation work have to do with our business incubation work? When we ensure that all people in our community can pursue their dreams, tearing down barriers and giving them equal opportunities for personal and educational achievement, our community gets stronger. Supporting a child in infancy leads to improved outcomes in school, which makes sure that students are ready to start their college and career endeavors with confidence. A strong community builds a strong economy, in which everyone can engage equally.
Check out how our Social Innovation Program is cultivating the next generation of innovators and leaders in our region!
iSPI HORIZON //
The world and the economy might be changing, but our mission remains to serve as a catalyst for creating a collaborative space and community where ideas ignite, businesses incubate, and social changemakers and entrepreneurs innovate.
We are looking forward to BIG things for Innovate Springfield and the University of Illinois Springfield in 2021 and beyond.
We appreciate the continued support of our stakeholders and community partners near and far. Cheers to a bright future!
Thanks for being with us this year.
Cheers to 2021!
