Business Services - Decatur, Illinois - Millikin Regional Entrepreneurship Network

Two Central Illinois businesses competed as semi-finalists against 30 other Illinois businesses in the Fourth Annual Innovate Illinois Competition held in Chicago on September 26, 2008. The Springfield businesses were selected from among other Central Illinois applicants to represent the Millikin Regional Entrepreneurship Network (MREN) in this program designed to recognize high-growth small businesses in Illinois that have launched or will soon launch an innovative product or service.

Innovate Illinois is a highly selective entrepreneurial competition where local companies compete for a total of $100,000, with the two top honorees (one early stage company and one later stage company) each receiving $40,000. The program is jointly administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and the Chicagoland Entrepreneurship Center. The Millikin Regional Entrepreneurship Network provides small business consulting services and training through Millikin University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, an integral part of the university’s Tabor School of Business.

Michelle Tjelmeland and Mark Roberts of Communications Made Easy™ and Larry Davsko of Electric Vehicle Technologies (EVT), LLC were accompanied to the competition by Connie Beck, MREN director. Each business owner made a five-minute “fast pitch” presentation in front of a panel of judges. Twelve finalists (six in each track – early stage and later stage) were announced at a reception following the presentations. EVT was invited to join five other companies to compete in the “later stage” finals in Chicago on November 18, 2008.

“We were very proud to be represented by two such innovative businesses from our region in the competition,” said Beck. “As current clients and previous MREN Challenge Grant Award recipients, it was an honor to have these two potential high-growth businesses compete against companies representing the state’s other 15 entrepreneurship centers. Our staff looks forward to our continued relationship with both businesses as well as EVT’s participation in the finals next month,” Beck concluded.

Communications Made Easy™ is a broadcast communications system that allows customers to send one message in four different ways simultaneously—web, e-mail, text message and phone. It is an affordable, easy-to-use product that addresses the communication needs of many different organizations, including school districts, government agencies, colleges and universities, churches, non-profit organizations, employers and many more. There is currently no one else pursuing the company’s target customers with a four-in-one communication model. Some customers can be up and running in as little as five minutes.

“Being a semi-finalist for Innovate Illinois was an amazing experience for Mark and me,” Tjelmeland explained. Being in a room with 31 other like-minded entrepreneurs and seeing the incredible things they are doing in the State of Illinois was extraordinary,” continued Tjelmeland. “We learned so much from our experience and developed several business relationships which are certain to help us gain the national exposure necessary to bring our product, Communications Made Easy™ - The Original 4-in-1 Communication System™, to market.” For more information, visit www.communicationsmadeeasy.com or call 800-605-0082.

Founded in early 2006 after two years of research, EVT was formed for the purpose of commercializing its electric motor technology. EVT has taken electric motor and generator technology to a new level with unique designs utilizing the latest in material science, major advancements in electro-magnetism, and decreasing costs in controls and sensors. The design’s key attribute, maximum torque at any operating speed, has gained the attention of various industry leaders because it can eliminate the need for transmissions, gearboxes, axles and differentials in agriculture and construction heavy equipment applications.

“EVT was honored to have been selected as one of the ‘later stage’ semi-finalists,” stated Davsko. “We were especially pleased to have then been chosen as one of the six finalists in our category to compete for a $40,000 prize in November. “I’m very impressed by the wide range of creative entrepreneurs and businesses being developed right here in Illinois,” Davsko emphasized. “Our association with MREN, in addition to our experience of this competition, will certainly benefit our company. We continue developing our full-scale prototypes in four key areas that include utility-size wind turbines, commercial trucking, agriculture and large-scale mining equipment.”

In addition to its Decatur campus location, MREN has a satellite entrepreneurship center located at the Lewis & Clark Community College Macoupin County Community Education Center in Carlinville. Fund by DCEO, the centers administer a Challenge Grant Award program for potential high-growth small businesses. Businesses can apply for up to $5,000 in matching grant funds in order to acquire outside professional consulting services that will help them “grow their businesses.”

For more information about MREN, its services and training programs, or the grant program, contact Connie Beck in Decatur at 217-424-6267 or cbeck@millikin.edu, or Art Knippel in Carlinville at 217-854-9652 or aknippel@millikin.edu.

EPL Bio Analytical Services was founded in 1987 as a Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) laboratory to support the agricultural industry by providing contract research services for product and residue chemistry, multi-residue studies and toxicology/ecotoxicology studies for safety and regulatory acceptance of agricultural crop protection products. EPL has built a solid and well recognized reputation for excellence in these areas and have expanded their capabilities to include environmental monitoring, food ingredient analysis, and most recently, Compositional Equivalence (CE) analysis for commodities and feed in support of the regulatory and safety requirements for the burgeoning agricultural biotechnology industry.

Entrepreneurship Center in Carlinville
Extension of Millikin Regional Entrepreneurship Center

The Carlinville Entrepreneurship Center will serve as an extension of Millikin University's Regional Center for Entrepreneurship and have access to all of the resources and expertise from the university. E-centers act as regional hubs that coordinate all small business development, entrepreneurship and technology training activity providing entrepreneurs with the tools they need to make their ventures successful. The Carlinville e-center is the 19th entrepreneurship center that Gov. Blagojevich has opened statewide.

“In order to realize the great potential of this region, we must provide our young firms with high-growth potential with the resources they need to develop into successful companies that will grow and create jobs in the community. This investment will allow us to continue investing in the talent, hard work and ingenuity of our promising small companies in Carlinville and throughout Central Illinois ,” State Senator Deanna Demuzio (D-Carlinville) said.

“Entrepreneurship centers have been a proven resource to help small businesses get ahead, and I am thrilled to be a part of the extension of this network into Carlinville and across the region. This funding allows us to continue investing in our local small businesses and budding entrepreneurs, both of which are tremendously important to growing our local economy. I thank Gov. Blagojevich for his support in this important area,” State Rep. Gary Hannig (D-Gillespie) said.

“At Millikin, we recognize the importance of entrepreneurship to economic health and are committed to developing a future generation of entrepreneurs and those who can work successfully in dynamic entrepreneurial settings. We understand our pivotal economic development responsibilities in an economy in which talent is the primary asset. Our commitment, however, extends beyond the classroom into the larger region of which we are and must be an active part. We view it is as our responsibility to reach out to the broader community, offering our assets in an effort to help create a more vital region. We are excited about the opportunity of reaching out to the regional community via the partnership with Carlinville regional leaders,” Millikin University President Doug Zemke said.

The entrepreneurship centers make up one vital component of the Illinois Entrepreneurship Network (IEN), a comprehensive network of resources designed to strengthen the state's capacity to develop small businesses into market successes and help entrepreneurship act as a more dynamic engine of growth. Gov. Blagojevich has launched the IEN Web site, www.ienconnect.com , which features a free business needs assessment and a referral within 24 hours for personalized, face-to-face assistance. Entrepreneurs can also call toll-free 1- 800-252-2923 .

The funding provided for the Carlinville Entrepreneurship Center will cover operational expenses at the e-center, as well funding awards. The new center will offer a number of specialized resources for its clients, including consulting services and $5,000 challenge grant awards to assist entrepreneurs or small businesses with obtaining professional services to reach milestones in their business development. The Carlinville E-Center will build upon the groundwork laid at Millikin University 's Regional Center for Entrepreneurship and will focus on helping companies throughout Central and Southeast Illinois . The Millikin E-Center has already provided assistance to 370 clients since 2005 and 11 challenge grants totaling $51,000.

“Gov. Blagojevich and I understand that small businesses and local entrepreneurs need critical access to capital, markets, networks and technology in order to develop into profitable companies that will create better jobs. This new Carlinville e-center will work on a number of levels to stimulate growth in Central Illinois , providing this key region with increased opportunities to grow their businesses and to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.

Gov. Blagojevich recently announced that Illinois added 31,100 new jobs in July, which was the best in the nation that month. This is the second time this year Illinois has created more new jobs than any other state, which has never happened before in recorded history. Illinois also led the nation in job growth in April. The total number of new jobs created this year is 75,200, which is the best start to a year since 1998 and more new jobs than any Midwest state. Since January 2004, Illinois has gained more than 150,000 new jobs, which is also best in the Midwest . The unemployment rate in Macoupin County has declined from 7.8 percent in January 2003 to 5.3 percent in August 2006. The Illinois unemployment rate has been below or the same as the U.S. unemployment rate since May 2006, the first time this has happened in seven years. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Illinois Department of Employment Security compiled these statistics.