Article submitted by EIGERlab and printed in Chamber’s Voice:
In 2012, Dan Cataldi decided to share the successful Stateline FastPitch Event model with the State of Ingenuity Grant regional partners including Rock, Walworth, Racine and Kenosha counties. On January 17, 2013, 11 of the All Stars attended a follow-up event to assist them with moving their ideas, products and services to the next level.
The 11 All Stars’ products and services include, but are not limited to: a high-end suitcase that is customizable with a message; a different way to create new beer flavors; a breakthrough device to extract victims from car accidents; a new apparatus that avoids painful hair-drying sessions; security software that allows users to share and access critical documents; and a new type of stereo speaker that is considered disruptive technology. (Disruptive technology is a term coined to describe a new technology that unexpectedly displaces an established technology.)
In order to assist the All Stars in moving to the next level, the EIGERlab team enlisted potential lenders, potential investors and economic development specialists from throughout the region. Additionally, in the morning’s sessions, consultants introduced a new action-oriented strategic action tool to the group, Growth Wheel (GW). GW has recently been embraced by business development consultants in both Illinois and Wisconsin, and is a tool for designing short term growth-driven action plans in start-up and existing early stage growth companies.
The results of the All Stars Event were impressive with the outcome of the day’s activities, followed by dinner, just as imagined: new friends, new potential partnerships, short term growth objectives and a wealth of information learned that would not have been possible if the participants had not set aside a day to work on their business versus in their business.
