As part of our mission to cultivate entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial thinking at the University of Arizona, we are excited to introduce our FORGE Ambassadors! The four chosen individuals are all students passionate about innovation and entrepreneurial thinking ready to represent FORGE across campus. Through meeting with students, presenting to student groups and organizations, and other activities, they will increase FORGE's visibility on campus and expose more students at the university to entrepreneurial concepts.

Join us in welcoming Aleshia Howell, Patrick (Pat) Hager, and William (Bill) Waynick to the FORGE Family, and find out more about the student positions we are offering this fall!

We are thrilled to announce the teams selected to participate in our S21 Advanced Entrepreneur Program!  The selected startups will participate in our 7-week seed accelerator, where they validate their idea and develop the business foundation needed to grow a profitable and scalable business.

A few weeks ago we had the privilege to be joined by Matt Van Horn, UA Alum and co-founder and CEO of June Oven for our monthly Ask-Me-Anything event. Check out the recording to hear Matt discuss his entrepreneurial journey, how the idea of Zimride first came to be, and how being persistent and not taking no for an answer has brought him where he is today.

We were thrilled to be one of ten recipients of the 2021 Common Ground Award from the Metropolitan Pima Alliance for the renovation of FORGE at Roy Place in downtown Tucson.  The award recognizes projects all over Pima County that create a prosperous community by promoting collaborative real estate development policies, building partnerships and finding common ground.

Join FORGE Founding Director, Brian Ellerman, for an Ask-Me-Anything session with Matt Van Horn, UA Alum and co-founder and CEO of June Oven. Matt co-founded June Oven after serving as the VP of business for Path, and prior, as the head of Business Development at Digg. He also co-founded Zimride, a company that became the ultra-successful ride-sharing app known today as Lyft.

"Time flies when you are doing something you enjoy and that has been true of my time at Arizona FORGE. Over the past 7 months, I have been able to expand my entrepreneurial thinking greatly and work on many impactful projects." FORGE intern Shaw Zeider reflects on his time at FORGE with another guest edition of Straight from the Hearth.

Join FORGE Founding Director, Brian Ellerman, for an Ask-Me-Anything session with fellow Wildcat for Life Ahva Sadeghi, co-founder and CEO of Symba. Ahva Sadeghi is a passionate social entrepreneur and co-founder of Symba, a venture-backed and all-female founded tech startup on the future of work. Ahva is an economist and researcher focused on remote work and workforce development.

Meet Paul, the new FORGE at UA program manager. Paul joins the FORGE team with 14 years of experience in higher education administration, specifically in the areas of experiential learning and community and civic engagement. We couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Paul to our team! We know he will be a powerful asset in helping us deliver entrepreneurial programming to the community to help entrepreneurs thrive.

FORGE founder Brian Ellerman reflects on his recent AMA with be Heifets, co-founder and CEO of Atomwise. "When we spoke, it was clear that Abe relishes diving into the science just as much as balance sheets and financial forecasts. And that’s the mark of a good founder, equally curious about understanding the inner workings of the business he or she is running. In effect, being a nerd."