FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22, 2011
FundShips wins Bloomington Startup Weeken
The winner of the second annual Bloomington Startup Weekend, held November 18-20 on Ivy Tech Bloomington’s main campus, is FundShips. FundShips (www.fundships.com) is an innovative new online business that uses technology to enable people to create scholarships around causes they care about for scholars who deserve them.
Bloomington Startup Weekend, which was a featured event during Global Entrepreneurship Week, included 35 participants who submitted 20 pitches for business ideas. The participants formed nine teams to compete in the competition.
Punchit, a mobile app for marketing small businesses, took second place and Whack-A-Stack, a toy promoting fun and fitness, came in third place.
The Bloomington event was hosted by the Gayle & Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship at Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington. Other Startup Weekend events were held in West Lafayette at the Herman and Heddy Kurz Purdue Technology Center and in Indianapolis at the Purdue Technology Center.
“Ivy Tech Bloomington is the only community college in the nation that hosted a Startup Weekend, and we are amazed at the progress that can be made in 54 hours by taking practical ideas and putting together teams of talented people who work together to foster the entrepreneurial spirit,” said Chancellor John Whikehart of Ivy Tech’s Bloomington campus. “We are also pleased to see FundShips create a technology that focuses on the success of students, which reflects our mission at Ivy Tech.”
FundShips advances to the Global Startup Battle 2011 where they compete with teams from around the world. You can vote for FundShips or your favorite startup from November 22-28 at www.facebook.com/Startupweekend or http://globalstartupbattle.com/. The remaining teams will continue to make progress towards building our entrepreneurial community.
FundShips was selected as the winner by a panel of judges including: Jim Silberstein of Ivy Tech’s Cook Center for Entrepreneurship, Bill West of Option Six, Vickie Temple Davison of Bloomington Hardware, A John Rose of Textillery Weavers and Matthew Sooy of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.
Event sponsors included Ivy Tech Community College, SproutBox, BKD LLP, Mallor/Grodner Attorneys, Blueline, Express Employment Professionals, Showers Inn, Bloomington Bagel Company, Pizza X and Jimmy Johns.
The Gayle & Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship at Ivy Tech’s Bloomington campus was established in 2010 to develop and implement practical tools and resources for students, individuals, and the community to foster entrepreneurship at Ivy Tech Bloomington and in the broader economic development region it serves. For more information, log on www.ivytech.edu/entrepreneurship.
About Ivy Tech Community College
Ivy Tech Community College is Indiana's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana and also serves thousands of students annually online. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering associate degrees, long- and short-term certificate programs, industry certifications, and training that aligns with the needs of the community. The College provides a seamless transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana, as well as out of state, for a more affordable route to a bachelor's degree.
