Digital Dipstick Wins SBIR Funding Using Resources Throughout Illinois
While Champaign-Urbana has been an epicenter for AgTech startups to flourish, the Illinois University Incubator Network was able to leverage that expertise to help a Peoria-area startup take the next step from dream to reality.
Cage and Dikeman had know-how and a solution to a problem they knew large engine owners were experiencing but they did not have the funds to deliver the solution.
The team was advised to contact the University of Illinois Research Park’s incubator, EnterpriseWorks, which hosts the Illinois University Incubator Network. There Digital Dipstick received assistance through two programs designed to help entrepreneurs from communities in downstate Illinois.
First, Digital Dipstick tapped into Shared Services through EnterpriseWorks. This program puts together interdisciplinary teams of University of Illinois students to do short-term projects for qualifying entrepreneurs. Cage and Dikeman received business strategy advice on customer discovery using phone surveys and product market fit which they then used in their SBIR grant application.
The Digital Dipstick team approached EnterpriseWorks after benefiting from two local programs in Peoria, including the 5-week Keystart program sponsored by the Greater Peoria Economic Council and Bradley University’s Brave Launch business accelerator.
Allan and his partner were very happy to have found in the Greater Peoria area “a stellar startup community” with mentors and resources that helped them adapt. The services Dipstick Guy utilized took the company from a “zero-business-experience” situation to an “all-star-business-know-how” scenario.
Digital Dipstick is continuing to grow. They announced a new product in development which will monitor wells. Allan Dikeman shared advice for future entrepreneurs:
Find the people in your area who are already business experts, who have already been through the trials and tribulations. If you are young, I suggest moving to where ever that hub is.
For more information about:
Illinois University Incubator Network (IUIN): http://www.illinoisincubators.org/about/
IUIN SBIR Technical Assistance Program:
http://www.illinoisincubators.org/resources/funding-support/
IUIN Small Business Assistance Program:
http://www.illinoisincubators.org/resources/small-business-assistance/
For more information about EnterpriseWorks:
http://www.researchpark.illinois.edu/enterpriseworks