Community Catalyst Live Webinar Series: Business, Innovation, and Leadership!

There's no doubt that we are living through tough times. But challenge can lead to some interesting opportunities, and business is no exception. ASU Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute’s Peoria Forward, the City of Peoria, and televëda have teamed up to connect with local business owners, entrepreneurs, artists, and authors in Peoria for a conversation around how they have innovated to survive and thrive, the trends in their respective fields and the available business opportunities in a tumultuous climate. It's brutal out there, but there's certainly opportunity, and Peoria is a fast-growing community.

“Exploring Peoria Entrepreneurship On-line Community Catalyst" is a 4-part interactive virtual series. Each part will be hosted live at the Peoria Main Library, Sunset Library, Rio Vista Recreation Center and the Sports Complex over the course of four weeks in October. The series will be livestreamed through televeda’s platform so that participants from across the City can safely participate from wherever they are and actively interact in real time with one another. The virtual series also aims to encourage adults 55+ who are interested in learning about entrepreneurship in Peoria. 

The series will start with “Meet Your Neighbor, the Secret Entrepreneur” where we'll be interviewing local business owners to get their unique perspective on the changing landscape of their respective businesses. Peoria is also home to many highly successful global authors, so part two of the series will invite literary entrepreneurs and explore the resources and innovative treasures held within the doors of our local libraries.

The series will be incomplete without the incredible artists and creatives of Peoria. “The Artists and Makers of Peoria” will include interviews with local artists as they discuss their entrepreneurial journey and share about how they used Peoria's resources to connect with the rest of the world. Finally, ending with “A Look to the Future," which will have participant's hearing from community leaders about exciting new projects, and additional resources available for you to help move Peoria Forward.

“Words cannot express how honored we are to be a part of this initiative”, says Shruti Gurudanti, CEO of televëda. “Life as we know it is changing amidst the pandemic. While there are tons of resources available in Peoria, it is difficult to know where and how to find the right tools. It’s critical that our community members know of the resources and help available so they can adapt and excel. Our hope is to bridge this gap by bringing these resources directly to the community wherever they are using our accessible platform.” 

To register for this event and to connect with the vibrant Peoria community of local businesses, please head to this link!

‍