If you have ever thought of starting a business but have don’t know where to start, CobraVenture may be the extracurricular for you. CobraVenture is a comprehensive program that teaches the fundamentals of business to Parkland students. CobraVenture is an opportunity to learn, network, and potentially win up to $3,000 to get your business off the ground.
The CobraVenture program is currently seeking a new cohort of students for the spring 2022 semester. Any Parkland student enrolled in at least 3 credit hours is eligible to apply for a place in the program. To be considered, every student who applies must submit an idea for a potential business along with some additional information about its ideal function. The program has a limited number of seats, so applicants should be aware they are competing for entry. The application due date for next semester has recently been extended but is swiftly approaching. The deadline to apply this semester is November 12. The application can be found on the CobraVenture website.
If accepted into the program, you can expect to dedicate time to developing your business. Luckily, you won’t be alone. Beginning on the 20th of January, participants will meet routinely for a themed workshop. These workshops will help to define your business and its market along with providing information about finances, law, marketing and more. Marc Changnon, Parkland Entrepreneurship Coordinator, said they will bring in professionals from around our area. He explained that usually getting advice from a lawyer could cost $300 an hour, but they will bring in a local lawyer to give a presentation, and answer questions, for free.
Making connections within the community is essential to starting a business and a huge part of this program. Along with the lawyer, among other specialists, local business owners and representatives of Parkland and the University of Illinois are involved in the development and judgement of the participants’ projects. So, even if your first entrepreneurial venture isn’t a success, you will develop a network to extend into the future. Changnon told a story of a former participant. This student’s business idea was to create modifications that would allow traditional gas combustion vehicles to be transitioned to electric power. Following the program this student was soon hired by an electric car company for design and research.
After a semester of workshops, participants will put together a presentation to give to an audience including judges. For this event, each student will be given a table in the Student Union to display their idea and discuss it with onlookers. Along with the more personal display, each student will give a five-minute presentation. After a day of showing their displays and presenting them to the judges, winners will be awarded. The first prize includes $3,000 in seed money, a technology award worth $1,000, and mentoring from the UIUC Gies College of Business. Lesser awards include at least $300 of seed money. To see the presentation process, check out the video of the 2020 pitch contest found on the CobraVenture website.
Anyone with an idea or entrepreneurial aspirations should take notice of this program. Although it’s only in its third year, it has already produced success stories. Changnon shared that former participant Polly Reynolds, who participated in 2020, is now the owner of Pawly’s a pet stylist salon located in Piatt County. This is an idea she brought to the program, developed through the workshops, and continued to pursue beyond the program.
CobraVenture is offering a great experience to anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur. This program will help participants develop their vision step by step and give them many opportunities to build a local network of support. The competition offers an opportunity to win up to $3,000 but no participants will leave empty handed. Applications are due November 12th and can be found on the CobraVenture website.
