Services

Rockford Public Library

• Entry point for Rockford BizLaunch entrepreneurial ecosystem

• 5 locations throughout the community with expansive hours and many digital resources available 24/7

• Curated titles on topic of entrepreneurship

• Hundreds of CPE accredited digital courses of interest to would-be entrepreneurs through Universal Class database

• Live classes on topics surrounding technology and entrepreneurship including Business Building Basic courses presented in conjunction with the SBDC

• Access to Reference USA database which enables would-be entrepreneurs to research market and potential customers

Illinois Small Business Development Center at the Rockford Chamber of Commerce

• Business Planning VIA Growth Wheel

• Marketing assistance

• Website development assistance

• Social media

• Preparation for commercial lending

• Basic Human Resources assistance

SCORE

• Unlimited, free access to 11,000 business experienced mentors

• Extensive library of free business resources including articles and templates

• Workshops and round tables on a wide range of business topics

• Online live and recorded webinars

• Mentoring expertise from start-up – operations -expansion – closing or selling

• Appointment and services not limited to business hours

NIU EIGERlab’s Center for Product Development

• Product Development We will guide you through the steps necessary to commercialize your product, including engineering (see below), prototyping, testing, manufacturing, assembly, packaging, and warehousing.

• Engineering We can assist you with all of engineering needs to turn your idea into a 3D CAD model (Computer Aided Design) using mechanical, electrical, fluids, and programing from simple designs to complex designs, in a timely manner.

• Prototyping We can assist you with all your prototyping needs (including 3D Printing) from inexpensive prototypes to exact, working model of the final product.

• Reverse Engineering We can use 3D Laser/ Optical Scanning and Specialty software to create full function 3D models with feature trees from existing objects, art or parts.

• Coworking Space Our Coworking Space offers numerous options including coworking space, social memberships, full time, weekdays, nights and weekends and private cubicles.

• FastPitch Competition The FastPitch Competition is an annual business pitch event that takes place each fall. The idea is to answer six key questions in three minutes or less—your elevator speech—to a select group of judges who are entrepreneurs themselves or that work with entrepreneurs on a regular basis. Traditionally, the top prize that’s awarded is $5,000.

• Innovation Tuesday’s Our Innovation Tuesday’s, is a speaker series held on the second Tuesday of the month on business topics that are targeted at pre-startups, startups, existing small business owners. Innovation Tuesday’s are sponsored by Reinhart Law.