Bloomington Chamber of Commerce
  • Business Directory
  • Membership
    • Join Today!
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Business Resources
      • Cost Saving Programs
      • Co-Work Space & Conference Room
      • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training
      • Marketing
      • Networking >
        • Business After Hours
      • Ribbon Cuttings and Milestones
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Login
    • Member Materials
    • Ambassadors >
      • Welcome Committee
      • Ambassador Toolkit
  • News & Events
    • Chamber News >
      • Sign Up For News
    • Member News
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Signature Events
    • Sponsorship
    • Photo Gallery
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates >
      • Sign Up for Advocacy News
    • Local Government Advisory Boards
    • Elected Officials Directory
    • Transparency in Government
    • State Legislative Process
    • 2023 Municipal Election >
      • Mayoral Candidates 2023
      • City Council Candidates 2023
    • 2023 Local Public Policy
    • 2023 State-Federal Advocacy
    • Resources >
      • Civic Engagement
      • Gender Wage Gap
      • Housing
      • Taxes
      • Transportation
  • Community
    • #BTownChamberEats
    • Black-Owned Business Affinity Group
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership >
      • BWIL Steering Committee
    • Job Board
    • The Success School >
      • How To Get Involved >
        • 2023 Educator of the Year Nominations
        • 2022 Educator of the Year Awards
      • Programs >
        • Request Programming
      • About Us
      • Success School FAQs
      • Contact The Success School
    • Young Professionals >
      • YPB Steering Committee
      • Ten Under 40
      • YPB Events
      • YPB Pics
    • Community Calendar
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • History
    • Chamber App
    • Contact

Five Startups Win Funding

1/20/2021

0 Comments

 
Over the last six months, five startups have received investment from a new member-managed capital fund run by The Mill, a nonprofit center for entrepreneurship. The Flywheel Fund launched in the summer of 2020 and planned to make 4 investments of $25,000 each over the course of a year. By January, the fund had exceeded expectations, investing $120,000 in five companies in less than six months.

Flywheel is a member-managed fund that invests in early stage and high-potential companies. Rotating cohorts of members join, each contributing $10,000 to the fund upon joining. The group meets every other month to listen to one pitch, and each member then votes on whether to invest. When a majority votes “yes,” the company receives an investment of $25,000.

“Our first cohort was really excited about this opportunity to support startups in southern Indiana,” said Pat East, the Executive Director of The Mill. “So we started with a bigger pool to invest than we expected—$120,000—and we were able to invest quickly in some very promising startups.” Flywheel Fund is open to first-time investors and includes an educational component to support them in learning how the investment process works, what to look for in a pitch, and what to expect in terms of a return on the investment.

“Flywheel Fund is committed to providing equitable access to critical startup capital,” East noted. “We’ve promised that at least 13% of our investments will be in companies with Black founding teams, and I’m proud that in our first year we exceeded that promise and invested 20%. Diversity is a matter of ethics, and it’s also a matter of economics. It’s simply better for our fund to invest in all the great ideas that could fuel our community’s future economy. When we’re inclusive about our approach, the possibilities for everyone are really limitless.”

The five companies who received investment are:
  • Stagetime, an online professional network for the performing arts
  • Civic Champs, an app for nonprofits that automates volunteer management
  • Boost, an app that helps students manage and meet assignment deadlines
  • Qualifi’s technology allows HR professionals to conduct very high volumes of phone interviews quickly  
  • Flowaste’s data analytics provide cafeterias, restaurants, and individuals actionable insights on food waste patterns

The second cohort of Flywheel Fund starts April 1, 2021. Given the success of the first cohort, East expects the second cohort to be significantly larger in terms of members and the total investment pool. “Word is getting out about the high-quality startups we have in our region, and investors want to get in on that opportunity,” East said. “The Mill is thrilled to help grow resources for startups and a new pool of angels and investors.”
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Share your news with us!

    Submit your news to the Chamber by the 12th or 28th of each month to be included in the bi-weekly Membership Matters emails.

    Submit Member News

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020

    RSS Feed

The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.  All Rights Reserved.
421 W 6th Street, Suite A  |  Bloomington, IN 47404
Phone: (812)336-6381 | info@chamberbloomington.org | sitemap
Office Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Friday: 9:00am-3:00pm

There is a no refund policy for events.  If you need to reassign your ticket to another person we will be happy to update our attendance list. Thank you.
Picture
  • Business Directory
  • Membership
    • Join Today!
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Business Resources
      • Cost Saving Programs
      • Co-Work Space & Conference Room
      • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training
      • Marketing
      • Networking >
        • Business After Hours
      • Ribbon Cuttings and Milestones
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Login
    • Member Materials
    • Ambassadors >
      • Welcome Committee
      • Ambassador Toolkit
  • News & Events
    • Chamber News >
      • Sign Up For News
    • Member News
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Signature Events
    • Sponsorship
    • Photo Gallery
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates >
      • Sign Up for Advocacy News
    • Local Government Advisory Boards
    • Elected Officials Directory
    • Transparency in Government
    • State Legislative Process
    • 2023 Municipal Election >
      • Mayoral Candidates 2023
      • City Council Candidates 2023
    • 2023 Local Public Policy
    • 2023 State-Federal Advocacy
    • Resources >
      • Civic Engagement
      • Gender Wage Gap
      • Housing
      • Taxes
      • Transportation
  • Community
    • #BTownChamberEats
    • Black-Owned Business Affinity Group
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership >
      • BWIL Steering Committee
    • Job Board
    • The Success School >
      • How To Get Involved >
        • 2023 Educator of the Year Nominations
        • 2022 Educator of the Year Awards
      • Programs >
        • Request Programming
      • About Us
      • Success School FAQs
      • Contact The Success School
    • Young Professionals >
      • YPB Steering Committee
      • Ten Under 40
      • YPB Events
      • YPB Pics
    • Community Calendar
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • History
    • Chamber App
    • Contact