2 minute read
The Urban Hub: Expanding the Footprint for Greater Green Bay Entrepreneurs
Written By: Patrick Stumpf, Economic Development Communications Manager, Greater Green Bay Chamber
The Greater Green Bay Chamber has worked diligently to continue to grow and support the entrepreneurial ecosystem across Greater Green Bay. Among its successes is the Urban Hub, an extension of the Startup Hub business incubator. This 10,000 sq. foot co-working space is located in the heart of downtown Green Bay, in The Rail Yard District.
Since its inception in March 2020, the Urban Hub has catapulted upward in interest, with the addition of new members, a banking partner, increased communitywide involvement, programming, and more. Despite a shutdown of the space during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Urban Hub rebounded with a relaunch in May 2021, picking up the momentum from where it left off.
In June 2021, the Urban Hub, in partnership with New North, launched The Blueprint Green Bay, a 12-week business accelerator program focused on entrepreneurs of color, female & veteran-owned businesses in Greater Green Bay. A total of seven companies —100% women and minority founders —made up the program’s first-ever cohort this past fall. Through a mixture of in-person and virtual entrepreneurial training courses, entrepreneurs met at least four days per week concluding with a Pitch Night, where they showcased their products and services to the surrounding community for the opportunity to secure grant funding.
In November 2021, the Urban Hub formalized a new partnership with WiSys and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to make the space a “Venture Home,” a network combining statewide resources with community initiatives to provide local entrepreneurs access to a full menu of startup resources in the community. The partnership designates it as a place for Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial alumni to “venture home” and contribute to the local community, as well.
Finally, Tundra Angels, the Chamber’s one-year old angel investor network based at the Urban Hub, has expanded from 6 members to 23 members and injected over $1 million in capital into seven highgrowth, scalable companies in Wisconsin. Over the last few months, the Chamber has also been busy working with partners to update amenities at the Urban Hub, for the benefit of its members and the greater community. Amenities now include an updated presentation space with an 86” LG presentation screen, dual blind spot attendee monitors, a confidence monitor for presenters, and a full presentation system including up to six microphones for panel discussions. These are in addition to other recent improvements including a new wireless printing system, expanded fixed-desk selection, discounts, and other offers with our partners.
The entrepreneurial future looks bright for Greater Green Bay and the services offered through the Urban Hub have created another helping hand to those just starting out, fostering a community of success and partnership. You can learn more about the Urban Hub by visiting the Greater Green Bay Chamber website.
