Brownsville’s eBridge Center for Business and Commercialization, which has a grand opening scheduled for March 9, is soliciting applications for a “start-up boot camp” to be held at the center March 31 to April 2 in partnership with Geekdom, a San Antonio-based incubator for tech start-up companies.
Anyone interested in taking part in the free, three-day workshop can apply at start.ebridgecenter.org.
The aim of the event is to help first-time entrepreneurs build a foundation from which to launch their new business, a process that involves “building a minimum viable product, mentorship from local industry experts, and opportunities to network with other founders,” according to the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation.
The eBridge center is a collaboration between BCIC and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center.
By the end of the workshop, participants will have developed a one-page business plan and “pitch deck” — a brief presentation for giving potential investors an overview of the start-up’s business plan, products and services, as well as prospects for initial growth and momentum, BCIC said.
BCIC said the partnership between Geekdom (geekdom.com) and eBridge (ebridgecenter.org) is one example of the expanding “South Texas Triangle” regional economic development zone encompassing the Valley, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Laredo and Monterrey, Mexico.
BCIC Director of Business Development Nathan Burkhart said the Geekdom workshop is the first official program among the triangle partners but “certainly not the last,” and that such partnerships help build an “open and inclusive ecosystem of entrepreneurship.”
We want to see more businesses and people starting businesses in Brownsville and the Valley.
“We have many more exciting events like these to come,” he said.
BCIC President and CEO Cori Pena said entrepreneurship creates job growth and new opportunities in industries and communities, and that the workshop with Geekdom is about “building a more informed and engaged, thriving business community.”
Geekdom CEO Charles Woodin said the company has supported founders of start-up companies at every step for more than a decade and is eager to share its “proven programming model” with eBridge and local entrepreneurs.
Linda Ufland Romo, director of entrepreneurship, commercialization and innovation for the UTRGV center, said she hopes this is the first of many partnerships with Geekdom as eBridge expands its services across the Valley.
“We want to see more businesses and people starting businesses in Brownsville and the Valley,” she said.
The 36,000-square-foot eBridge Center, located in the former La Casa de Nylon building at 1304 E. Adams St., bills itself as the biggest start-up incubator and entrepreneurial resource center in the Valley. A ceremonial groundbreaking for the building’s renovation and transformation into eBridge was held in June 2021.
