Syracuse University students, faculty and alumni will come together to show off their innovative ideas Friday at the ‘Cuse Market in Bird Library’s Blackstone LaunchPad.

‘Cuse Market functions like a pop-up market or bazaar, said Braden Croy, program manager at Blackstone. Entrepreneurs can connect with customers and try to sell their products, ideas or services, he said.

Visual arts, websites, mobile apps, clothes, jewelry, food items and various other products and services will all be on display.

One of the hardest parts of being an entrepreneur is getting people to take interest in and buy the products that are created, said Linda Dickerson Hartsock, executive director at Blackstone.

About 8,000 people pass through Bird Library every day, which makes it a great place to get real attention for products, she said.

The event is open to students, faculty, staff and alumni with and without fully developed products.

“The first step to becoming an entrepreneur, beyond finding a problem and figuring out what a viable solution might be, is to test it,” Hartsock said. ‘Cuse Market allows creators to test their ideas and get valuable feedback, she added.

‘Cuse Market is also a “a good opportunity for students to see the exciting entrepreneurial activities that are happening on campus,” said Lawrence Lin, a global fellow at Blackstone.

Lin said he feels the entrepreneurial environment at SU is one of the best in the country.

This will be the third ‘Cuse Market at SU. The event was previously held in fall 2016 and spring 2017.

“When we introduced it last fall, it was the first time anything like it had been done at Syracuse,” Hartsock said.

The ‘Cuse Market held last spring had about 30 participants, Croy said. Hartsock said she is hopeful this year’s event will be bigger and more diverse. Prizes will also be offered, a new addition to the event.

“There will be an audience choice award and a judge’s choice award,” Hartsock said in a follow-up email.

She said it’s important to her that people participate in ‘Cuse Market, even if their ideas do not resemble what’s traditionally considered as entrepreneurial.

“We really want to showcase diversity and the innovative thinking that is coming out of Syracuse University,” she added.

Croy said he hopes the public will come to ‘Cuse Market and support rising entrepreneurs.

“This is the community at work, and the more that we can support it the stronger we’re all going to be,” he said.

Published on October 18, 2017 at 11:38 pm

Contact India: irmiragl@syr.edu