Hello Members of Innovation DuPage,

• Thank you and Congratulations.
  Thank you to everyone who attended the Big Idea Pitch Contest last week! It was our best one yet, and we appreciate your support in encouraging and growing the next generation of entrepreneurs.
  
  ID welcomes the following student (groups) with a free 6-month membership to develop their businesses.
  • 1^st Place: $5,000      Stall-Secure – Naperville North High School
  • 2^nd Place: $4,000     Junk Armor – Wheaton-Warrenville South High School
  • 3^rd Place: $3,000     SignAll – Illinois Math and Science Academy
  • Finalist                       Careisma – Illinois Math and Science Academy
  • Finalist                      Compost Teacher – Downers Grove North High School
  • Finalist                    Legacy LLC – College of DuPage
  • Finalist                    Tune Up AI – Elmhurst University
• Events: 
  Tomorrow, ID Member Noah Systems is presenting their auto-purging technology during Chicago Water Week.  If you are interested in how their device can keep your residential water lead-free, I encourage you to attend: click here.
  
  Additionally, have you seen the events page on our website?  If your business has a public event that you would like to promote. Email me at idfacchinid@innovationdupage.org, so we can get it posted.
   
• Women and Minority Business Certification Workshop 6.5: Did you know that more than 60% of ID Member businesses are either woman or minority owned companies?  At our next ID Workshop will be on how to obtain your women or minority business certification.  Presented by the Business Development Center, being certified as a woman-owned or a minority-owned business provides access to various benefits, from competitive advantages to credibility endorsement, and can propel a business forward, unlocking opportunities and resources designed to fuel growth.   To learn more, click here to register for our upcoming workshop. 
   
• Interns.
  Do you need an intern? We’ve had several academic institutions present at Member Meetups recently about how to secure an intern.  Please remember the first step is to have a job or project description available to share. And at our next member meetup on 5.15, the Illinois Math and Science Academy will share how you can access their students as interns for this summer.
   
• Member MeetUp, 5.15: In addition to IMSA, we welcome Axiom Media Group will be presenting their business.  We look forward to seeing you then.  

Many thanks, and have a great week,