In June, the Illumino team attended the Ascend2020 Idea Bounce Event. This event was hosted by the Skandalaris Center in the Cortex. This event was an opportunity for minority and female entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas and network. It was a fantastic event and it was great to hear so many great pitches and ideas for businesses that will benefit the St. Louis community. We are so grateful for the opportunity to attend events like these and we are looking forward to attending more in the future. 

At the start of May, the Illumino team gave a pitch as a part of the Hatchery Course taught at WashU's Olin Business School by Cliff Holekamp. This course encouraged the development of our idea and growth of our business. With the help of Professor Holekamp, Elise Miller Hoffman, and other classmates the Illumino team was able to develop a strong business plan and pitch deck. At this class competition our team was awarded 1st place. The Illumino team is incredibly grateful for this recognition and the support of our mentors. Congratulations to all teams, we were thoroughly impressed with the other ideas from all the teams. Here is a link by the Skandalaris Center with descriptions of the other teams: https://skandalaris.wustl.edu/2019/05/06/hatchery-class-final-presenations/

In April our CEO, Cassie Davis, was awarded Honors in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the Skandalaris Center and WashU for her work with Illumino, Sling Health, and the Master's of Engineering in Biomedical Innovaiton program. Here is a link from the Skandalaris Center about the award: https://skandalaris.wustl.edu/2019/04/19/2018-2019-honors-in-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-recipients/.

On April 19th, Illumino's CEO attended the HER Reunion hosted by the Skandalaris Center. With two female co-founders Illumino is very involved in the female entrepreneurial community. We thoroughly enjoy learning from other strong leaders in the community and learning how to make a difference for the next generation. It was also a great opportunity to reconnect with other entrepreneurs in the area to see other startups progress and success. Here is a link to a recap by WashU's Skandalaris Center for Entreprenuership and Innovation about the event: https://skandalaris.wustl.edu/2019/04/19/simon-initiative-her-reunion-recap/.   

On April 11th, our CEO, Cassie Davis, attended an Idea Bounce Event hosted by WashU's Skandalaris Center for Entreprenuership and Innovation. Our team is grateful for the opportunity to share our idea and company with the entrepreneurial community. Here is a link with more details about the event and a mention about Illumino: https://skandalaris.wustl.edu/2019/04/11/ideabounce-brings-st-louis-entrepreneurs-together/.