Last year’s Business INCubator course was a big hit for District 203 and this year’s students took the first big step to repeat that success.
Students and mentors came together to discuss the early ideas for their businesses. Some groups already had a well-developed product, while others were looking for guidance in creating a concept.
“A lot of them are in their infancy so there’s going to have to be, as the class goes on, development of them,” said second year mentor Tom Moylan. “But I would say generally, all of them have a very, very good concept of fixing a problem.”
The groups will be paired up based on the specific needs of each business and the specialties and connections of the mentors.
“We got a day before to research our mentors and look what their field is. And there’s a lot of guys that we looked towards and we can take off our product with these guys,” said junior Spencer Roehll. “One thing that we’re looking for in a mentor is just how they can help us develop our product and network it out into the world.”
The final pitch day will occur at the end of the school year, when students have the opportunity to secure real funds for their start-ups from investors.
Last year, groups earned as much as $13,000 in investments for their businesses.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.