Check out what's happening downtown: Pitch ideas, win money, and meet our SVP Assistants!
The Venture Valley Tournament is here this Friday
We are incredibly excited about the upcoming Venture Valley Tournament! This partnership event with the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship showcases a video game created to teach business fundamentals in a fun and engaging way. To encourage students to try out the game, the foundation is awarding $5,000 in cash prizes to the top scoring students but the event is much more than a video game competition!
During the tournament, we are hosting a Venture EXPO open to everyone from 5:30-8:30 pm. Student founders and other local entrepreneurs will be demonstrating their business models and products in development. Meet up with UA student-founded businesses and representatives from Startup Tucsonand Tech Launch Arizona and more. We'll have discounts for dining out nearby at The Monica, prize drawings, venture resources, and the opportunity to meet the next generation of local entrepreneurs.
"FORGE is an important part of activating entrepreneurial thinking in downtown Tucson. Unique events like the Venture Valley tournament create a lot of excitement and engagement by bringing together students and community members in the historic space at FORGE at Roy Place," said Fletcher McCusker, Chairman of the Rio Nuevo District, downtown Tucson's revitalization board.
Don’t miss out on the fun! Make sure to register!
Pitch your ideas and meet BlueStone Venture Partner
Check out this week’s Cereal Entrepreneurs event! This event only comes around every 5th Thursday so you don’t want to miss it! Grab a friend and get ready to pitch your craziest, half-baked ideas in an informal setting in front of a supportive crowd (no deck necessary). BlueStone Venture Partners Managing Director Andrew More, and Manager of Research Chris Burwell, will join us to share some of the wildest pitches they have seen and heard. Afterward, you can connect with them in the upstairs FORGE Hub for one on one advice.
Stick around for our every Thursday free coworking and our BYOL #hublunch in the upstairs work hub at FORGE. Thursdays are THE day to stop by, exchange ideas, meet up with our onsite mentors and community partners and get the help you need to move your venture forwards.
Meet our Student Venture Pathways Assistants
FORGE Student Venture Pathways™ (SVP) is tasked with exposing every student at the university to entrepreneurial concepts and inspiring this mindset in as many students as possible, regardless of major. Our FORGE SVP Assistants are responsible for assisting the implementation of programs. Get to know our new and retuning SVP Assistants below! Stop by our Venture Valley Tournament and EXPO on Friday to meet them in person!
Ximena Leon
Hometown: Nogales Arizona
Studying pre-business and intends to double major in management information systems and operations and supply chain management She feels that University does a good job of making sure everyone feels included by hosting many different types of events and celebrating many cultures.
“The entrepreneurial mindset to me means that one goes out of their way to acquire a broad set of skills to work with others in creating a positive difference in the world either by creating a product or service to achieve that. This mindset has clear goals that are constantly being worked on to improve."
Her favorite thing about the University of Arizona is that there are many opportunities offered within the university such as clubs, programs, and mentors. She enjoys going to the gym, going on a run, going on a hike, attending a cycling class, and hanging out with friends and family.
Zane Hasan
Hometown: Vail, Arizona
Majoring in pre-business, with an intended upper division major of finance, and minoring in pre-law. Growing up in Tucson, Zane understands that there are many people from vastly different backgrounds with different dreams and ideas and wants to give back to his community by helping like-minded entrepreneurs.
“An entrepreneurial mindset means that you are willing to constantly push through whatever hurdles come in your way in order to achieve your goals as well as innovate whatever you are doing to create more success for yourself and those around you.”
Zane enjoys how diverse the campus is because it makes meeting new people interesting and gives a lot of insight into different people’s lives. In his free time, he Iikes to exercise, play guitar and drums, play video games, and go to book stores. Zane also operates his own business venture running a vintage clothing business.
Sameeka Maroli
Hometown: Delhi, India
Majoring in Mathematics with a Computer Science emphasis and a Business minor at the College of Science. Immigrating to a new country alone at the age of eighteen, taught her that entrepreneurial thinking is not just limited to business, but taking initiative, using resources wisely, harnessing passion and creativity, and most of all learning from experiences.
“Entrepreneurial thinking is a mindset. It’s an attitude and approach to thinking that actively seeks out change, rather than waiting to adapt to change. It’s a mindset that embraces critical questioning, innovation, service, and continuous improvement. Instead of being a follower, it is about leading change and seeing the bigger picture.”
Her favorite thing about the University of Arizona is the library - sitting in the library surrounded by people always calms her and helps her focus on the task at hand. She enjoys travelling, playing the piano, going for long drives, and talking to family and friends back home.
Sameeka is one of our returning SVP Assistants and we are glad to have her back for another year with FORGE.
Akshay Oak
Hometown: Pune, India
Graduate student in Management Information Systems at the Eller College of Management. Akshay has also worked almost three years working as a Senior Systems Engineer at Infosys Ltds.
“Entrepreneurial mindset is about taking initiative and being enthusiastic about the thing which motivates you. In addition to that, it is making sure that one successfully achieves the feat.”
His favorite thing about the University of Arizona is the community at the university. Akshay enjoys sports, theatre, and community events and keeping up with digital content about world events. He likes to play cricket and hang out with friends.
Akshay is a returning SVP Assistant. This is Akshay’s 2nd year with FORGE. He is a great part of our team. We’ll be sad to lose him when he graduates, but we know he has a bright future ahead.
Raymond Salcido
Hometown: Tucson, AZ.
Majoring in Criminal Justice Studies at the School of Government and Public Policy, minoring in Family Studies and Human Development. Raymond hopes to become a crime scene investigator after graduating.
“To me, entrepreneurial mindset means that you are actively trying to use your skills to take advantage of new and exciting opportunities that come your way. It comes with learning from mistakes or failed attempts of doing things. This is a mindset that I feel anyone can possess, however, the execution of how you use the mindset is crucial in how successful you can be.”
His favorite thing about the University of Arizona is the Pride of Arizona marching band. He enjoys reading murder mysteries, watching true crime shows, playing drums and volunteering at his church, writing poetry, hiking, spending time with family and friends, and hopping around town to try all of the amazing coffee shops.
Leslie Johanna Teran
Hometown: Tucson, AZ.
Majoring in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, minoring in Psychology. Leslie is interested in Tourette Syndrome and Parkinson's disease and aims to discover why Tourette Syndrome and Parkinson's Disease occur in the brain and hopefully develop a treatment, equipment, or even a cure.
“To me, an entrepreneurial mindset has a lot to do with creativity, mindfulness, and sensitivity. Being creative and observant is important to determine the things, places, or procedures that need to be changed to positively impact a community.”
Her favorite thing at the UofA is how happy everyone is to be part of this community. Being at the University of Arizona definitely feels like a home away from home. It is very warm and welcoming; no matter what your background or likes are, you will find a group of people with similar interests.
She enjoys reading, dancing ballet, spending time with friends, and being outside in nature.
Destiny Velez
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Majoring in Business Management at the Eller College of Management, and intends to double major in accounting. Destiny has come to love the Tucson life and all its beautiful landscapes. She hopes to open up her own business in the future.
“Entrepreneurial mindset to me is one’s ability to see a problem or a need and create a product or service that satisfies that need. I don't think it's a specific mindset, I believe everyone has one but many people either don't have the resources or aren't exactly sure where to start.”
Her favorite thing about the University of Arizona is the academic setting of the university, and the amount of effort the university goes through to make sure students feel connected.
She loves cooking and experiments with new recipes a lot. She loves to hike and to visit new places in Tucson.
Stay tuned next week to get to know our Student Venture Pathways Fellows and FORGE ambassadors!
Learn more about the student venture pathways program
We're hiring! Be part of the team at FORGE.
Want to join the team? We currently looking for an Events & Community Assistant to help support our operations at our flagship location in the heart of downtown Tucson. The successful candidate will oversee all aspects of space rental, from initial inquiry through post-event activities. The ideal candidate is efficient and tech-savvy with a keen sense of customer experience. Join our amazing team and support fun and interesting programs that help grow entrepreneurship in our region.
Upcoming Events
Thursday, September 29 - FORGE Cereal Entrepreneurs
Thursday, September 29 - Startup Tucson Startup 101 - Oro Valley Edition
Friday, September 30 - Creative Mornings TUC: Depth with Becky Pallack
Friday, September 30 - FORGE Venture Valley Tournament & Venture Expo
Thursday, October 6 - Startup Coffee
Wednesday, October 12 - CrEATe Cafe with The Coffee Chronicles
Thursday, October 13 - Campus Spotlight - TIMESTEP
Wednesday, October 19 - 2022 Southern Arizona Tech + Business Expo