From Sandbox IdeaLaunch: News! Plus a special favor to ask.
David Parker
Dear Sandbox IdeaLaunch Partner,
Thank you for helping make our second pitch contest, held last Thursday, a great success! Over 100 attendees watched 8 aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of esteemed judges and then voted for a “fan favorite” winner. Another 15 or so “idea people” were at the event as well, sharing their ideas and soliciting feedback. There was a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm at the event – we have a lot of great ideas in the local area!
We also ran our first workshop yesterday at the Merrimack Valley Small Business Center, titled Finance 101. 10 entrepreneurs showed up and learned the ins and outs of applying for a loan and other options for raising capital.
And, on July 25 we will be hosting a panel discussion on how to bootstrap a business, featuring entrepreneurs who have done it in different ways, including raising money from friends and family, and Kickstarter.
More details on all these programs, including a writeup and photos of the pitch contest, are to be found at SandboxIdeaLaunch.org.
Finally, we have a special request. We are scurrying to get together an application for a $1 million grant from the US Commerce Department’s Economic Development Agency, in support of creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem in an economically distressed area. The Sandbox is submitting an application covering Lowell and Lawrence (together they qualify as distressed) in partnership with the four higher education partners we already work with (UML, Middlesex CC, Northern Essex CC, and Merrimack College). We plan to use the funds to accelerate all the plans we have in place, which will foster entrepreneurship throughout the area, helping to boost the economy and eventually add jobs.
We have been told by the EDA that letters of support from local organizations, businesses, associations, and government agencies are extremely important components of a successful application. We expect to compete against over 50 other applications from our area (North and east of Philadelphia), with only one application the winner! So we’re really counting on your help in writing and signing a letter of support, on your letterhead.
If you could take a look at the attached MS Word document, which gives you some text and a framework for how you might write your letter (we’re trying to make this as easy as possible for you!), and write it any way you’re comfortable with, and then sign and fax it (978-934-3026, attn: David Parker) or even better scan and then email it to me, or if all fails just mail it to me at the below address – that would be wonderful!
If you could get this done by next Friday, July 6, that would be terrific.
Feel free to email/call me with any questions (cell: 781-325-3085).
Thanks in advance for helping with this!
David
David Parker
Director of Entrepreneur Development
Merrimack Valley Sandbox
Merrimack Valley Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UMass Lowell
Wannalancit Mills, First Floor
600 Suffolk Street, Lowell, MA 01854
Da...@MerrimackValleySandbox.org
www.uml.edu/mvsandbox/
office: 978-934-6619
cell: 781-325-3085