Posts by Andrea Van Essen

Applications have been submitted, participants have been selected, and the team at Zeal is preparing to launch its second CO.STARTERS cohort. This time around, the group will be led by two facilitators — Tove Hoff Bormes and Ty Vuong — a pair whose combined experiences promise to offer wisdom and inspiration for new entrepreneurs. If…

On March 16, the team at the Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship hosted a graduation ceremony for its first CO.STARTERS cohort. The hybrid event began with a Zoom gathering that featured commentary from Zeal executive director Brienne Maner, cohort facilitator Eric Weisser and Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken. Event attendees included Zeal board members and startup…

Corri Poore got his first taste of early childhood education as a child himself, helping his mother out in her classroom. “Summers looked like helping her break down the classroom, and then we’d come in and set it up again in the fall, putting up bulletin boards and laminating things, all of that,” Poore said.…

The Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship is already gearing up for its second CO.STARTERS accelerator cohort, beginning May 4. Applications opened up Feb. 22 and remain open through March 14. While the structure of the cohort remains the same each time around, one thing that will change is the instructors. This time, the group will be…

The Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship is excited to announce that applications are once again open for CO.STARTERS, a 10-week accelerator program for entrepreneurs and their growth-stage startups. The inaugural CO.STARTERS cohort is over halfway through the program at this point, and the Zeal team has been thrilled with the experience and its reception thus far.…

As we celebrate National Entrepreneurship Week, CO.STARTERS participants at the Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship have just crossed the halfway mark in their 10-week program. CO.STARTERS is an experience designed to provide structure, support and resources for entrepreneurs to execute on their business ideas. Participants represent a variety of industries. For instance, Naomi Blank started Ubwiza Boutique…

As mentorship continues to be a significant focus for Sioux Falls, the Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship has begun building its own network of mentors for entrepreneurs.  “I have to give credit to the City of Sioux Falls for taking the initiative with the Sioux 52 program and setting some really big goals to become a…

Running a small business is never easy. Add a worldwide pandemic to the picture, and countless businesses nationwide have struggled to stay afloat. Some have even closed their doors permanently. Here in Sioux Falls, one program is trying to mitigate some of that damage. You’ve probably heard about CO.STARTERS by now — the accelerator program…

Year after year, January 1 acts as a refresh—a chance to begin with a clean slate, to set new goals. As you move into the new year with intentions of progress and positive growth, it might be the perfect time to find a mentor.  January is Mentorship Month, a time to lift up mentorship opportunities…

Starting today, small businesses facing economic hardship due to COVID-19 are again eligible to apply for forgivable loans through a new extension of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).  In March 2020, President Donald Trump signed the $2 trillion CARES Act into law which contained a variety of emergency relief resources for businesses, including the PPP.…