We Did It!

Celebratory Team Hug after our 1st presentation at McCloskey Competition!

Months of hard work for our team paid off last Friday when we learned we'd been awarded the Klau Family Greatest Social Impact Award at Notre Dame's McCloskey Business Plan Competition!  We presented to a panel of judges Thursday morning, pitched at a Venture Fair Friday morning, and did a public presentation Friday afternoon.  An amazing whirlwind, and a terrific opportunity to get the word out about our venture, network, and meet fellow entrepreneurs!

We're a community-built venture, and that means the Klau Award represents the vision and efforts of so many collaborators from right here in our local community.

Special thanks are due.  The fabulous Leanne Suarez (Logan Center) and Katie Teitgen (Hannah and Friends), Christina Guth of the Autism Asperger Group in Goshen - terrific advisors and networkers.  The Gigot Center at ND,  and students in social enterprise, marketing, science, and art  who saw the business potential, pulled up their sleeves, and got to work.  FISH, a social venture incubator at ND, and founder Brendan Maher and Board Members Gene Cavanaugh and Joe Queenan, have provided office space, mentoring, and most importantly, a sounding board.  Chris Davey believed in us from the get-go. And there are so many, many  others.

Our GBG Team is made up of the most incredible people we could be blessed with  - Butch Whitmire, our  marketing and food industry whiz, and our very ESTEEMed Shane McCarthy, Anthony O'Sullivan, Tom Collins, and Conor O'Donoghue - our "Cycling Irish" who hail from Munster, Ireland.  They are fab engineers, designers, and devoted to making a difference in the world with their technical and business skills. 

It certainly does take a village.  We celebrate the many ways  our community shares in the Klau Award, and all the potential we have moving forward together!