We are very pleased to introduce new roles and new faces to our Student Venture Pathways team this semester!  In addition to bringing on additional team members, we have added new roles for Student Venture Pathways. This semester we are adding a Venture Development Assistant, Peer Coaches, and a Playshop Facilitator to our team. No matter where your entrepreneurial journey is headed, we have staff available to help.  Drop by one of our outreach events to meet them and learn how they can help you FORGE Your Future!

The GRAV Innovations team moved their venture from classroom to company through their FORGE Ahead Residency. FORGE Ahead is a venture accelerator providing startup founders with guidance from industry mentors, office space, conference and meeting rooms, help with promotion, coaching on preparing pitch presentations, introductions to investors, events, and interview opportunities with media. GRAV was accepted into FORGE Ahead and discovered a valuable partner in growing from students to startup founders and started an additional company in the process.

FORGE at Roy Place Assistant Isabela Evans is a senior at the University of Arizona majoring in Business Management and minoring in Spanish at the Eller College of Management. She will graduate this spring with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Isabela shares some of her thoughts about her experiences with FORGE. “Every Thursday I get to meet someone new, I get to plan events, and I get to meet so many cool people,” she said. “I also get to be downtown and organize different things, and just have a good time with the people here and the people that come in.”

Pathways Perspectives is a blog written by FORGE Student Staff who connect with founders to learn more about how they utilized their skills and what the journey of entrepreneurship looks like for different founders. For this Pathways Perspective, Ananya Singhvi, a sophomore majoring in Economics at the Eller College of Management, interviewed Arizona Luminaria founder Becky Pallack.

Meet the new Forge at Roy Place Assistants: Samantha Cook, Otto Ellison, and Kimberly Ngomo

For this Pathways Perspective, Destiny Velez, a junior majoring in Business Management at the Eller College of Management, interviewed MindReady founder Jeremy Wolf: Students pursuing a degree in higher education are actively building a path toward the future they envision for themselves. Asking reflective questions is an important part of the process. “What is your dream?” “What are you doing daily to achieve it?” “Is the path you’re on now the path you thought you would travel?” “What obstacles are in your path?” Jeremy Wolf the CEO of Mindready, one of the FORGE Ahead Resident Teams, spoke with me about his story and the various paths he took to get where he is today. The biggest surprise? None of those paths were what Jeremy had in mind while pursuing his degree.

Support + Share is the newest program from FORGE and it aims to ensure that student founders have the support they need to create success.  During the meetings, students work together, receive feedback, and are directed to helpful tools and resources for coaching. FORGE Support + Share is open to student founders at any stage in their venture.  The monthly events meet on campus every fourth Monday at the  STEAM FORGE location in Electrical and Computer Engineering Room 234.  Students are not required to commit to coming every month but are asked to register in advance. 

A common misconception is that entrepreneurship means starting a venture. Since I joined Arizona FORGE, my outlook on that definition changed immensely. I am a sophomore at the University of Arizona and a math and computer science major. I do not plan on starting a venture anytime soon, however, the value that an entrepreneurial mindset has given to me personally and professionally is immeasurable.

FORGE continues to make strides in Finding Opportunities and Resources to Grow Entrepreneurs.  On Giving Day, this February 14th, we encourage you to support the next generation of entrepreneurs. Native FORGE is a new University of Arizona program designed to drive economic development in Arizona’s federally recognized tribes. Through mentorship, data training, development, and assessment, this program takes aim at the specific needs of Native American entrepreneurs.

“Initially, the concept came from a conversation we had as a team,” said King. “How can we bring entrepreneurial mindset concepts and skill development to the larger campus community but do so in a way where every student can identify with the program?