Tech Tuesday: CIED

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - Happy Tech Tuesday. I’m Melanie Morón with UF Innovate, and today we’re here at Blount Hall, one of Santa Fe’s newest buildings. And talking to me today is Lawrence Andrews with CIED. Lawrence, thank you so much for bringing us here on site and talking to us about CIED.

Thanks for having me, Melanie.

So what is CIED?

Well, CIED is an incubator right on the corner of University and 6th. Community facing. We target anybody, professional services, nonprofits that want to just start and grow their business.

And how is CIED helping startup companies here in town?

Okay, along with providing office space if we need it, we provide consultation, mailing address, area where they can meet and network with other like-minded professionals. They can book rooms, they could take classes, get in touch with other professors and some of the students as they need it. Whatever they need, we try to package it and customize it to make sure they can get what they need to grow.

And one of your upcoming events is the Veterans Forum. Talk to us more about that.

Okay. I’m excited about this one. This is us partnering with PS27 Foundation. They’re launching their first ever Veteran Founders forum. It’s actually going to be an all-day workshop covering digital marketing, business to business sales, and finance to make sure that, okay, if you want to start a business and you’re a veteran, you’ll be able to get those tools. Along with these classes, we’re partnering with local mentors to make sure they get the one-on-one training to achieve whatever they establish on this event. And why would you recommend for people to attend?

Because it’s the first ever thing. We’re going to have a lot of people supporting him. I know that in general, as an incubator, having that network gives you a better chance to succeed. And we’re saying, “Hey, it’s Veterans Day’s coming up. We want to capitalize on it and say, along with other ways you can service and help a veteran along, let’s help them to launch more businesses.” So that’s why I’m excited. That’s why I believe they should join.

And how can people register?

Just go to ps27foundation.org, their website. First thing on the landing page is all you need to know, whether you want to join it or if you want to mentor, or if you want to sponsor. We’re still taking sponsorships, so all of that is available right there on the page.

Well, Lauren, thanks again for joining us and talking to us about this upcoming event.

Thank you. And just remember whatever you need, it’s at the CIED.

And that’s another great Tech Tuesday. We hope to see you next week.

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