The Idea Sprint Accelerator Workshop series is a new program opportunity being offered through the CEI this year! This is a sister program for 77 Idea Quest; it will give participants the opportunity to grow their skills for the competition.

Skills students can gain through attending Idea Sprint Accelerator workshops include entrepreneurial foundations such as thinking like a founder and building the skillsets of founders. They will also learn entrepreneurial skills that can kickstart any career, designed to polish or validate existing ideas or foster spaces for brainstorming new ideas that could be used in the 77 Idea Quest competition. 

There will be a total of 10 workshops, and most will take place in Winter semester on Wednesdays from 4-6pm. These workshops are open to all students at GVSU! The first pilot event took place November 5, 2025. 

The Idea Sprint Accelerator Cohort consists of a small group of around 10 students or student teams who attend each of the Accelerator Program workshop events and receive extra benefits and support from the CEI Office. More specifically, if students join the cohort, they will have lifetime access to Exec curriculum which will provide additional tools and resources for student entrepreneurial journeys. If you are interested in joining the cohort, click below:

Apply for the Accelerator Cohort here

Applications are due Nov. 14!

If you are not in the cohort, you can still attend the workshops, but you will not gain special access to extra tools like Exec and will not be expected to attend each workshop event.

There will be a total of 12 events throughout the course of this program, with 10 total workshops. Each will take place from 4-6pm on Wednesdays over the last part of the Fall and into the Winter semester. Each workshop will be led or hosted by our Entrepreneur In Residence (EIR), Rachel Berkal. 

Even if you are not selected to join the Accelerator Cohort, any student can drop in and join individual workshop sessions. 

The workshops are all designed to help round out students on their innovative and entrepreneurial journeys. The series includes revenue modeling, a legal information session, and will allow students to gain experience pitching and feeling confident with public speaking.

The final event of the series will serve as the dress rehearsal for 77 Idea Quest! This is where all the knowledge and practical experience learned throughout the workshop series will come to fruition.