The Garage Innovation Center welcomed more than 140 students, faculty and community members for the inaugural Blueprint Speaker Series event with presenter Jim Cossler, CEO Youngstown Business Incubator, on Thursday, January 28.
Click here for the article by the Canton Repository: Walsh Students Open Doors of Business Innovation Center.
The Garage initiative, developed by Walsh business students Iagos Lucca, Josh Ippolito, Andrew Chwalik and Matt Strobelt, included the plan to transform an unused garage space at Walsh’s St. Katharine Drexel House into a student innovation center.
The Blueprint Speaker Series is one of the first programs offered by The Garage. This monthly forum will connect aspiring innovators to regional thought leaders - entrepreneurs, artists, academics, etc. - who will provide insight and challenge students to turn their ideas upside down to examine them from new perspectives.
The first of these presenters, Jim Cossler, is a leader in the revitalization and regrowth of the business sector in his native Youngstown. As CEO of the Youngstown Business Incubator, he has transformed what was once viewed as a glorified downtown renewal project into a bustling hub of software innovation that has brought millions of dollars and hundreds of new jobs into the region. Cossler will share his experience, knowledge and insight in taking the first steps in starting a successful business.