Chelsea Linder from gBETA, a free startup accelerator program and Teri Willey, President of the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund, took part in The Mill’s “VC Fireside Chats,” an informal event that held quarterly. These events connect venture capital programs, investors and accelerators with local startups and provide a friendly, informative dialogue opportunities for startups, backpack companies, and aspiring entrepreneurs looking to take their innovative ideas to the next level.
Both Teri and Chelsea fielded questions from prospective entrepreneurs, whose ventures ran the gamut from innovative eCommerce models for custom cake making to virtual reality programs that measure human emotional responses. gBETA is a program of the nationally ranked startup accelerator organization, gener8tor. It’s a free, seven-week accelerator for early-stage companies with local roots. Each program is capped at five teams, and requires no fees and no equity. IU’s Philanthropic Venture Fund is a fund established by the IU Research and Technology Corporation in 2017 to fulfill one of the University’s bicentennial priorities: Building a prosperous and innovative Indiana. This open-ended evergreen fund makes equity investments in early-stage companies that have strong ties to IU, including, companies based on IU discoveries, and companies founded, co-founded, or led by IU faculty or alumni.
Both Teri and Chelsea fielded questions from prospective entrepreneurs, whose ventures ran the gamut from innovative eCommerce models for custom cake making to virtual reality programs that measure human emotional responses. gBETA is a program of the nationally ranked startup accelerator organization, gener8tor. It’s a free, seven-week accelerator for early-stage companies with local roots. Each program is capped at five teams, and requires no fees and no equity. IU’s Philanthropic Venture Fund is a fund established by the IU Research and Technology Corporation in 2017 to fulfill one of the University’s bicentennial priorities: Building a prosperous and innovative Indiana. This open-ended evergreen fund makes equity investments in early-stage companies that have strong ties to IU, including, companies based on IU discoveries, and companies founded, co-founded, or led by IU faculty or alumni.