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Learn skills from some of the best in the field of entrepreneurship
Form bonds with entrepreneurial students with diverse backgrounds and skills
Get mentorship from entrepreneurial students, faculty, and industry veterans
Startup Bootcamp is an 8-week lecture series designed to introduce students to the entrepreneurial mindset.
Students will develop a variety of skills through interactive workshops, mentors, and other experiences that
will streamline success in their startup, career, and beyond.
Startup Bootcamp will be held virtually for the Fall 2020 semester.
Students will be able to participate in all activities and meet with mentors in a virtual format.
Startup Bootcamp will be structured into two parts, aligning with other events hosted by Founders to
provide a completely integrated experience.
Worried that you don't have a startup or just want to gain entrepreneurial skills? We have
got you covered. Contact our team to learn more about how this program might be beneficial
for you!
SB 2015
SB 2015
SB 2014
Application link will be posted here a week before the deadline.
Startup Bootcamp Orientation & Entrepreneurship at Illinois
We all have a problem that we face in our everyday lives right? Let's dive deeper into exploring some of them
Ever wondered how apple became a 2 trillion dollar company, learn more about the design thinking process.
Seeing a version of the world that doesn't exist yet and painting a picture of what this looks like for the rest of the world. Get a chance to paint your vision at 54!
54 is a startup weekend where ideas are turned into a reality, turn ideas into a business with specialized guidance over the course of the weekend.
Customers want a quarter inch hole not a quarter inch drill! Let us identify our market share, and how can we sell a quarter inch drill by marketing to customers
Like LeBron, Jordan, or Jabbar a minimally viable product can showcase your strengths to the world, while proving that your idea has merit
Do you know what a Lemonade stand and Microsoft have in common? They both follow the business model canvas!
The time has now come to flex on what you learned throughout the eight weeks in front of some esteemed guests. Don't worry if you feel nervous we will be hosting some classes on helping you prepare for the event!
Forge is a startup weekend that brings together top student entrepreneurs from across the Midwest and successful members from the ecosystem to help develop student ventures.
Connor is a U of I computer engineering alum. He now works as a security focused backend developer at GoDaddy..., and works with Ben running Stackend Solutions building products for startups
Ben is a former Microgrant Panelist. He has experience working on several startups and exploring many ideas.... Now, Ben works with Connor as COO of Stackend Solutions where he keeps the firm profitable by keeping a critical eye and keeping things actionable. Ben's day to day role consists of managing projects, negotiating contracts, and participating in executive decision-making.
Design for America at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit and student organization.... We focus on learning the human-centered design process to create solutions for social challenges in our local communities. Our studio is part of a larger award-winning national network of passionate creators & innovators revolutionizing the way university students engage with & improve the world around us.
Elizabeth Luckman is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Business Administration at the Gies College of Business.... She seeks to help people navigate the challenging human dimensions of organizations through her work as an educator, researcher, and coach. She works with individuals and teams to cultivate a mindset of purpose and problem-solving, focused on continuous learning, toward the pursuit of innovative and ethical business practices. She holds a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Washington University in St Louis, an MBA from The Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, and a BA from Wellesley College.
Harlee Sorkin is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Technology Entrepreneur Center at the University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering.... He is also co-founder and Managing Director of Common Place Holdings, LLC, a health tech venture studio that provides management & seed funding for companies that it helps to form. This builds upon a 15-year consulting practice with an emphasis on business formation, capitalization, product and customer development. Prior to that, Harlee helped to lead Traco Labs, Inc., a manufacturer of health & nutrition ingredients, to a successful exit to Degussa, AG. Harlee is an NSF I-Corps instructor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at EnterpriseWorks in the Research Park. He holds a BS in Psychology from the University of Illinois.
Alex has harnessed his skillset of lean, stakeholder-focused innovation to build hundreds of products spanning nearly every industry... but concentrating on AgTech, DefenseTech, and MedTech. Currently, he continues to work on his own endeavors (deploying low SWaP-C ruggedized autonomous systems, diagnostics, human performance technology, and sensortech) as well as contract engineering. Additionally, he has Entrepreneur in Residence, Instructor, and Mentor roles across the world spanning accelerators, economic development, incubators, and universities- he has helped thousands of tech entrepreneurs solve barriers related to stakeholder discovery, SBIR and technical hurdles, as well as upfront prototyping and ideation.
Chris Myers held the position of Vice President, Advanced Technology and Engineering at John Deere from 2018 to 2020. Myers was responsible for... corporate support of our product engineering and manufacturing operations. These include Product Technology and Innovation, Global Engineering Services (Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and Software Engineering), Enterprise Electric Drives, Advanced Marketing, Enterprise Strategic Manufacturing, Enterprise Strategic Quality, and Environment, Health and Safety. He also led the company's global engineering centers in India, Mexico, Germany, and the United States, and had responsibility for the global product development process.
Samantha Knoll is a Global Product Lead for the Intelligence & Analytics domain at the Climate Corporation, a digital agriculture company... and subsidiary of Bayer Crop Science. Since joining Climate in 2016, she has held roles in R&D, Open Innovation & Strategic Partnerships, and Product Management. Prior to Climate, Samantha co-founded a company aimed at optimizing farm operations through drone imagery. She earned her PhD ('16), MS ('13), and BS ('11) in Mechanical Science & Engineering from UIUC, and was a Class XV graduate of the Hoeft Technology and Management Program.
Ryan believes that success means nothing unless you bring others along the way. That’s part of the reason why he has and continues to mentor... and give back as often as possible. He is the Co-founder and CTO of Ticket Falcon, an online event management and ticketing platform with instant payouts. Ryan earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Accountancy with a Minor in Technology and Management from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ryan is a lifetime member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and also a member of the 100 Black Men of Chicago where he helps improve the quality of life and enhance the educational opportunities of African-American males throughout the Greater Chicago area. Ryan also sits on the National Advisory Council of the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), which hosts the largest career conference in the United States each year and is comprised of over 20,000 active members across the world. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys cooking, traveling, working out and playing instruments like the piano, keyboard, and organ.
Ashton Clark is an Information Technology (IT) leader/intrapreneur and nationally award-winning entrepreneur who started his first successful business at the age of 13.... He is the Co-founder and CEO of Ticket Falcon, an online event management and ticketing platform with instant payouts. Ashton is an alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Business and Engineering and Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. At Kellogg, Ashton earned The Dean’s Distinguished Service award for his tenacity, commitment to scholastic excellence and most importantly, community impact for recruiting over 25 African American students to Northwestern’s evening and weekend MBA program. He firmly believes that service is the rent we pay for living and exemplifies this by giving back. Ashton serves on the Board of Directors for the National Black MBA Association (Atlanta) which hosts the largest career fair in the country. He leads the Technology Task Force and Chairs the Marketing and Communications committee. Ashton won NBMBAA’s entrepreneur pitch competition, the White Board Challenge in 2012. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the People’s Music School (Chicago) which is the largest free music school for youth in the country. Ashton serves on the Development committee and is helping the organization expand its reach to more students digitally.Ashton is a member of the 100 Black Men of Chicago and lifetime member of the illustrious Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Ken Taylor has been mentoring and lecturing on entrepreneurship topics for many years in the Champaign-Urbana community. He has mentored many students participating in the Cozad New Venture Competition..., having mentored two first place teams, a second place team, a third place team and a semi-finalist team. He has mentored the Parkland College CobraVenture Student Entrepreneur Program and the Young Entrepreneurship Program for middle and high school students. He has lectured for Founders Startup Bootcamp, TE 360 Lectures in Engineering Entrepreneurship and was a visiting lecturer for ENG 298 Foundations in Business and Entrepreneurship at UIUC. He got his start in entrepreneurship by co-founding a computer consulting company where he helped raise VC funding for a fingerprint biometric device. He currently serves as the Cloud Architect for Technology Services at the University of Illinois.
Alex has harnessed his skillset of lean, stakeholder-focused innovation to build hundreds of products spanning nearly every industry... but concentrating on AgTech, DefenseTech, and MedTech. Currently, he continues to work on his own endeavors (deploying low SWaP-C ruggedized autonomous systems, diagnostics, human performance technology, and sensortech) as well as contract engineering. Additionally, he has Entrepreneur in Residence, Instructor, and Mentor roles across the world spanning accelerators, economic development, incubators, and universities- he has helped thousands of tech entrepreneurs solve barriers related to stakeholder discovery, SBIR and technical hurdles, as well as upfront prototyping and ideation.
Co-Director
Co-Director
Curriculum Advisor