Former 2011 Stateline FastPitch Competition presenter, Tim Wambach, Handicap This Productions! was featured on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. The article and video highlights how Tim and his friend Mike Berkson “deliver onstage laughs and wisdom about life with Cerebral Palsy.” Their journey has resulted in a book, speaking engagements and the formation of Keep On Keeping On, a nonprofit foundation to help others with physical disabilities.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-disabled-friends-show-20110920,0,7551674.story?page=1

Congratulations to EIGERlab’s client and tenant, Blake Hamilton of TerraPlants on their first, impressive sale to Franchesco’s Ristorante. For more information regarding TerraPlants, please see page six of The Voice article (link).

 

TerraPlants Inc. is a web-based, e-commerce business designed to provide commercial, industrial and residential customers with a simple source for high quality, direct shipped, indoor plants and containers that can be shipped anywhere in North America with a focus on hospitals, restaurants, banks, schools, colleges and universities looking to go GREEN.

 

 

*CNC Machine Training Instructor Opening*
TechWorks’ Fast-Track CNC machine training is experiencing a record-level numbers of students. Because of the demand and the number of job openings in the region, EIGERlab would like to hire additional instructors (ad below). **Please consider reposting.

TechWorks at EIGERlab is seeking a PT CNC instructor to provide a variety of teaching/learning activities that prepare students for basic machining skills. Classroom and hands-on coursework includes blueprint reading, shop math and GD & T. A minimum of five years CNC machining experience with excellent presentation skills are required. Instructor experience is a plus. Please send your resume to TechWorks, 605 Fulton Avenue, Rockford, IL 61103.

earning activities that prepare students for basic machining skills. Classroom and hands-on coursework includes blueprint reading, shop math and GD & T. A minimum of five years CNC machining experience with excellent presentation skills are required. Instructor experience is a plus. Please send your resume to TechWorks, 605 Fulton Avenue, Rockford, IL 61103.earning activities that prepare students for basic machining skills. Classroom and hands-on coursework includes blueprint reading, shop math and GD & T. A minimum of five years CNC machining experience with excellent presentation skills are required. Instructor experience is a plus. Please send your resume to TechWorks, 605 Fulton Avenue, Rockford, IL 61103.

Thank you to Mori Seiki and Ellison Technologies for donating a two axis, lathe machine to EIGERlab’s TechWorks CNC training program. This will enable the program’s instructors to train on state-of-the-art equipment. We’re proud to share that TechWorks classes are filled through the end of 2011. Currently we are searching for an instructor so we’ll be able to train additional students (entry level-machinists) in order to fill the extraordinary demand of CNC machinists with companies in the Northern IL/Southern WI area.

 

 

Student presentation-Technical Center for the Arts at EIGERlab

Students Matt Kennedy and Joel Walter presented an overview of their student residency experience today at EIGERlab (E-L). They were both thrilled to be able to work with the technical-minded, creative people at E-L, not to mention the “big boy” machinery they were able to access. In addition to the students presenting, Mike Miller, Joel’s professor who experienced the residency in 2010 also shared an overview of his work and comments regarding the program. The students’ PowerPoint presentations will be available on the EIGERlab Web site.

WIFR media coverage on TechWorks’ Fast-Track CNC Machine Training results

Successful F-T graduates possess a NIMS credential, WorkKeys ACT assessment and Job Readiness instruction totaling six weeks of comprehensive training. These graduates are highly desirable candidates for the large number of starting-level CNC machinist’s positions in the Northern IL area. If you know anyone who is unemployed or underemployed and is interested in a career in advanced manufacturing, please repost; for more information phone 815.965.3522.

http://www.wifr.com/searchresults?searchKeywords=michael+techworks&group1=phrase&time=30&sort=date

EIGERlab's StartUp Accelerator #5 Receives 5 Star Rating

Having been to countless conferences, conventions, meet-ups and networking events ad nauseam...the "unconference" AKA startup Accelerator #5, held April 30th, in Rockford, at the EIGERlab was inspirational and fun, and proved to be a great resource for inventors, independent business folk and would-be entrepreneurs. The structure of the event actually mirrors the iterative process of new product development and creating a new business. Typical conferences have a set agenda with predetermined experts to meet an anticipated but often unconfirmed need of the participants. The "unconference" format encourages the participants to voice the topic of their choice or choose from suggested topics. All voices are heard, sessions are scheduled, and experts attracted to the event share in navigating discussions to address a given topic. The amount of structure in the discussions varies but more often than not seems appropriate. In contrast to traditional conferences you don't have to sit in the back of the room to sneak out if the topic or presenter proves of no interest to you. At the "unconference" you are encouraged to vote with your feet with no offense taken or implied by the person that votes.
The event(s) seems to attract a productive mix of people seeking help and resources, along with various experts that attend because they enjoy giving and assisting the community of aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs. The Bizstarts staff does a great job of moving things along and James Carlson of Bucket Works adds his expert facilitation skills to the mix to make the event even a bit more memorable.
Lots of positives from this well executed event. I left knowing that innovation and entrepreneurship are alive and well in Rockford. The event was also intended to erase the perception that the state border be a boundary of consequence for doing business between Illinois and Wisconsin. To that end, I left with this feeling and new twist on an old acronym; FIB really means Friendly Illinois Brethren.

Reed Felton

Rock Valley College’s SIFE team leader plans to bring a group on entrepreneurial students to SUA#5

http://www.rvcsife.org/

Interested in moving your business idea forward or building your current business at a free event with lunch included AND the chance of winning something valuable...Join us at the EIGERlab for the StartUp Accelerator Event #5: Saturday, April 30 from 10 AM-4 PM (registration at 9:30A). Valuable giveaways include: *an iPod*

*Rapid prototyping services ($200 value)*
*One free month’s rent at the EIGERlab incubator.

startupaccelerator.org

Supporting startups in WI brings new business opportunites

“Dan Cataldi, executive director of EIGERlab, said he feels there’s still high interest in starting businesses, but people may not know how to put their ideas into motion — a problem he hopes the Startup Accelerator, taking place this April 30 for the first time in Illinois, will help solve. “I think it’s really tough to find the financial support necessary to move their ideas forward,” he said. “As the economy starts to create more jobs, some of these people might go back to work not because they don’t want to start their own business but because they’re having a tough time seeing how to fit all the pieces together.”

http://badgerherald.com/oped/2011/03/23/supporting_startups_.php

Job Creation in the U.S. Hits 29-Year Low at Peak of Great Recession, According to New Census Bureau Data

"While we know all too well that jobs were lost, this is the first indication of how the recession impacted job creation. It's heartening to know that, despite the economic obstacles, entrepreneurs were still finding ways to create jobs, though fewer than in past recessions," said Robert E. Litan, vice president of research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation. "We hope these data prompt policymakers to clear away any rules and regulations that stand in the way of entrepreneurs and innovators who want to grow companies and jobs."

http://www.kauffman.org/newsroom/job-creation-in-the-us-hits-29-year-low-at-peak-of-great-recession-according-to-new-census-bureau-data.aspx

Man and Machine: Fast-track towards a New Career

The strategy of the TechWorks program is to arm workers with the skills local machining companies say they need.

ROCKFORD (WIFR) --"It's exciting. I'll be able to pay off my bills and save my house."

For thousands of those still looking for a job, it's no longer a question of how but more a question of when. But for Michael Niedermeier, the quest is over.

"The market out there is terrible. I would still be out there handing out applications and pounding on doors."

Niedermeier was hired on Friday as a CNC machinist after completing a six week training program, for a job that pays a starting salary around $36,000.

"When you're done, you're ready to go."

The strategy of the TechWorks program is to arm workers with the skills local machining companies say they lack, Graduates who are certified to run computer operated machines, a tweak TechWorks recently made to its curriculum.

"The curriculum is longer, more hands on, more testing, and to produce more a more employable student or graduate at the end."

It's a big change, and one that didn't come easy for Niedermeier.

"Those machines can be intimidating." But he and others in the first class of CNC machinists are already reaping the rewards.

http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/Man_and_Machine_Fast-track_towards_a_New_Career_118400674.html

Do you know any unemployed military veterans? If so, please share the following information. EIGERlab will be participating in the Workforce Connection’s Veterans’ Job Fair on Tuesday, May 17, National Guard Armory, 10451 N 2nd Street, Machesney Park, 10am -2pm. If you know any businesses that are in need of employees, please ask them to contact Ted Duckett, (815) 395-6645 or TDuckett@TheWorkforceConnection.org

Balanced IT Solutions CEO hopes airline contract will boost firm

EIGERlab client, Kerry Frank of Balanced IT Solutions who was, "once a bootstrapping basement entrepreneur, has moved to a spacious corner office, a staff of 10 and an aviation software business that is ready for takeoff," as reported by Brian Leaf of the Rockford Register Star.

Kerry has a history of being successful. She was one of the winners in both the 2008 Stateline FastPitch Competition and statewide, 2009 Innovate Illinois Competition. Congrats to Kerry and Dude Frank and their team on a job well done!


Balanced IT Solutions CEO hopes airline contract will boost firm

“One thing I do know is that making money is not the same as starting a business. For entrepreneurs, this is an important thing to understand. Most of us identify with the products we create or services we provide. I make software. He is a headhunter. She builds computer networks. But the fact is, all of us must master one skill that supersedes the others: making money.”

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110301/making-money-small-business-advice-from-jason-fried.html

Midwest Energy Forum

Winnebago’s Winnovation

A Look Back at Entrepreneurship in 2010 - Innovation America

A Look Back at Entrepreneurship in 2010 - Innovation America