Much partnered with the University of Illinois to host our annual mentorship workshop for 38 student entrepreneurs in the iVenture Accelerator. Attorneys from across the firm met with leaders of the 11 startups admitted to iVenture’s ninth cohort, which includes students university-wide.
The day kicked off with an introduction from Managing Partner Courtney Mayster, followed by a presentation from Craig Bradley. Bradley, chair of Much’s Startups & Venture Capital group and one of Chicago’s leading advisors for emerging companies, also led the program last year. Each startup group spent time meeting one-on-one with attorneys, gaining key legal insights on starting a business, and navigating the world of venture capital. Bradley, Tyler Bartholome, Reid Fulkerson, Mary Hays, Harold Hilborn, Neil Posner, David Schmidt, Jeff Schwartz, Tom Skelly, and Priya Thennarasu served as mentors.
Following the workshop, the leaders of each startup team presented a formal pitch to the entire group. Students received valuable feedback from Bradley, Schmidt, and Much’s Corporate & Finance group chair Michael Zalay, who served as judges. This year’s winner was Top Tier Lessons, a startup committed to partnering college student athletes with parents in the community looking for sports lessons for their kids.
Launched in 2015, iVenture provides opportunities for student-led startups to create economic and social value by supporting them with knowledge, funding, and access to world-class University of Illinois resources and alumni. Since its inception, iVenture has incubated 114 ventures led by more than 250 student entrepreneurs who have gone on to raise more than $100 million for their work and created over 550 full-time jobs.