1 Million Cups
FilmScene — Wednesday, October 28 9 a.m.
It’s a simple but ambitious idea: If entrepreneurially minded individuals can connect over cups of coffee — lots of coffee in fact — then they just might turn caffeine into progress.
1 Million Cups is a free weekly program at which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas (for businesses, projects, etc.) before an audience of other entrepreneurs and community members to receive feedback. So far, it’s happened in over 70 cities across the country, and rotates locally between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids each week. Recently, FilmScene became the the Iowa City meeting spot, a move organized to better connect the startup community to the artistic community.
“We knew there was more amazing energy to be untapped in the Iowa City part of our Corridor startup community, so we were looking for a way to shake things up,” said Sarah Binder, one of the lead organizers.
At the meeting’s previous location, Thinc Lab, an average of 20 people attended the weekly event. The new move seems to have have broadened 1MC’s appeal, however, and as organizers hoped, attendance has increased. The first 1MC event at FilmScene drew over 100 people and organizers estimate an average crowd of 60 at subsequent meetings.
“A lot of us live for the adrenaline rush we get from being around people that know that we can change the world,” said David Tominsky, a 1MC co-organizer and the program director for the Iowa Startup Accelerator. “If 1MC can give a person a platform to rally their tribe, then I can’t imagine more important work in this life”.
Scheduled for this this Wednesday at 9 a.m., the next 1MC lineup includes curators of Iowa City’s upcoming Witching Hour festival and organizers with “Girls with Ideas,” a confidence-boosting grade school leadership curriculum.
