Collider to Host Community Celebration for Fifth Cohort of CO.STARTERS Graduates

Collider Foundation is excited to announce that we are hosting our fifth Collider Cup pitch event, which was designed in 2022 to celebrate our CO.STARTERS graduates, give them the opportunity to share their unique business ideas with the Rochester community, and compete for a cash prize, provided by CO.STARTERS sponsor, Minnwest Bank. Seven participants will be graduating from the cohort based program, having spent the past ten weeks fine tuning their business ideas and determining next steps they need to take to move forward. 

This event will additionally include a community expo, featuring seven local business owners and giving them an opportunity to showcase their products and services to the community. The community expo is funded by the City of Rochester through their Community Building Funds Grant. 

The Collider Cup and community expo will take place on Tuesday, March 25th at Collider’s space in the Minnesota BioBusiness Center from 5:00-7:30pm. This event will serve as a business pitch competition as well as a community celebration for these emerging entrepreneurs in Rochester. Five of our CO.STARTERS graduates will be verbally pitching their business ideas. A panel of judges will determine the winner of the pitch competition. Interested individuals can learn more and register for the event here.

Collider Foundation believes that the support, education, and growth of our entrepreneurial ecosystem is a pathway to a more prosperous and inclusive future for the Rochester community. We as an organization aim to identify and assist local innovators in overcoming barriers to success by empowering an impactful, inclusive, and entrepreneur-first ecosystem. We are excited to have had the opportunity to fulfill our mission through CO.STARTERS and offer assistance to local entrepreneurs through this cohort. 

CO.STARTERS and the Collider Cup are supported by Mayo Clinic Department of Business Development, Otto Bremer Trust, Fredrikson & Byron Foundation, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, Small Business Development Center, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s Small Business Technical Assistance Program, Minnwest Bank, Entrepreneurs First, Think Bank, and the City of Rochester’s Community Building Fund. 

For additional information contact Amanda Leightner at amanda@collider.mn or call (507) 722-0306