2020: How it started. How it's going.

Dec. 28, 2020

Join us in taking a look back at this wild year, filled with plans, pivots, and perseverance.

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FORGE at Roy Place

The year started off with a bang, when we launched our very first round of our startup seed accelerator. The W20 cohort of 12 startup teams trusted us with their entrepreneurial journey, and together we spent 6 weeks unpacking their businesses and building lasting connections.

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 We even got a chance to briefly break open the doors of FORGE at Roy Place to our teams and mentors as we heard the founders give their final pitch.


And then, things took a turn...

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Just as construction wrapped at Roy Place, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from opening our doors, postponing our long awaited plans of serving our local startups as the hub of entrepreneurship in the heart of downtown Tucson.

But, this didn't slow us down. Like much of the world, we reimagined how we could serve our community.


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We found our new home on zoom, and welcomed the S20 cohort, who got to benefit from having mentors, experts, and investors join from around the country, all from the comfort of their homes

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And then we did it again with the F20 cohort, and by this time we had found our groove and remembered to unmute, most of the time!

This cohort also got to take part in a pilot program with UACI, where the top three ranked founders earned a 6-month membership.

 

 


FORGE Ahead

Not being able to "officially" move into the Roy Place building also didn't stop us from supporting the teams within our Scale-up and Launch Accelerator. After graduating Stackhouse, FORGE Ahead is home to 4 resident teams who are receiving customized, individual support from FORGE staff and their network.

Our teams have continued to move forward with beta product launches, successful fundraising rounds, and national media attention. And we're just getting started!

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Recognizing the challenges many founders face in funding their endeavors, FORGE Founding Director, Brian Ellerman, led the writing of a community-based white paper on identifying and assessing resources available to aspiring and first-time founders.

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This white paper was a collaborative effort between FORGE, Community Investment Corporation, WeFunder, and Startup Tucson. Published: Q4 2020 By: Brian Ellerman; Liz Pocock; Danny Knee; Jonny Price.

 


FORGE At UA

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Last, but certainly not least, the fall semester brought us the launch of FORGE at UA, a series of programs, innovation challenges, and events meant to inspire entrepreneurial thinking in students.

 

The first initiative was the #BearDownMaskUp Challenge, led in partnership with the Dean of Students Office, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

The initiative solicited creative student solutions to stop the spread of COVID-19 on campus. We received 26 submissions and selected 4 winners who are currently hard at work implementing their projects.

 


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The second initiative is the Engineer Your World Challenge, a multidisciplinary student contest in partnership with the College of Engineering.

As we speak, 9 teams made up of a total of 27 students are developing concepts for technical solutions for obstacles instructors and students face in remote learning environments.

 


The FORGE Team Grew!

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This summer, we were excited to welcome Olga Bartnicki and Stephen Fleming to the team as our first Executives in Residence, each bringing decades of experience building and investing in startups across the globe.

 

 

 

Finally, with the support of the Thomas R. Brown Family Foundation, we were able to launch a new student intern program and welcomed 3 undergraduate UA students (featured from left to right below): Shaw Zeider, Giovanna Thull, and Linnea Andersson. We have been so impressed with their energy, curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit as they've joined us on the ground floor of the FORGE journey.

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So, while this has been a devastating and challenging year for so many people, we look at the people we've been able to work alongside and the innovation we've seen flourish, and we remain grateful and hopeful.

Here's to brighter futures in 2021.