Hear from local entrepreneurs and inventors on how Kiva (a crowdfunding platform) has empowered their businesses. Panelists are:
Jesse Hughson, CyrCraft Customs
As a longtime “tinkerer” Jesse eventually found himself in a unique niche market, developing crazy circus equipment that is shipped all over the world. The Cyr is a large metal ring used by circus performers to look like they are breaking the laws of physics. Each wheel is custom made and unique to the buyer’s preferences. Creating these circus wheels has always been a very manual process, but Jesse was able to use his Kiva loan to purchase a mill to help with the labor. You can learn more about Jesse here, and see the Cyr in action here.
Crystal Mendoza Paulin, ThermApparel
As an RIT student, she attended an MS Society support group to learn about the needs of the various populations served by the Al Sigil Agencies. There, she discovered that people living with Multiple Sclerosis suffer greatly when their internal temperature rises, such as on a hot humid day. ThermApparel was established to provide effective, lightweight, and discrete cooling garments for individuals suffering from MS. The Kiva loan was used to cover the manufacturing costs of producing their initial test products. You can learn more about Crystal and ThermApparel here.
Angela Rollins, Kiva Rochester
Angela will be representing Kiva Rochester to follow up with anyone who is interested in becoming involved in Kiva, as well as to talk about the work Kiva has been doing around the globe and in Rochester.
This event is presented by iZone, RCCL, and the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship.
