In partnership with the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (NIIC), Indiana Wesleyan University is sponsoring a special event for Indiana entrepreneurs called Launch Your Dream at 3:00-4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19 at the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (NIIC) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A group of nearly 30 IWU Entrepreneurship majors, led by Matt Voss, assistant professor of Entrepreneurship, will be in attendance.
The event focuses on entrepreneurism and will feature guest speaker Jamal Robinson, founder and president of DESIAR handcrafted eyewear. Robinson founded DESIAR in his college dorm room and has continued to successfully build his company and brand for the past several years. His goal is to “design a new revolution of eyewear for the fashion-forward who want to become style legends.” DESIAR has been distributed through retail brands, such as Luxottica, the world’s largest eyewear company; TJX, which owns T.J. Maxx; and Little Burgundy, which is based in Canada.
“The opportunity to hear the personal story of real entrepreneurs can be a powerful experience for our students,” said Voss. “Hearing firsthand how someone navigated uncertainty and launched a successful company is always inspiring and will hopefully help encourage our students to take their first steps towards launching a startup of their own.”
Funded with a grant from the Lilly Foundation, the event is free of charge and open to the high school and college students. To register for this event, visit theniic.org/events.