Forge 2025 Recap
The Midwest’s biggest student-run startup weekend just went down and let me tell you all about it
Last weekend was nothing short of a blast as we wrapped up another successful year of Forge, the Midwest’s largest student-run startup weekend. From packed workshops to mentorship sessions, and intense final pitches, the weekend was filled with big ideas, connections, and even bigger energy!
The weekend kicked off with check-ins and an opening ceremony hosted by Founders and Discovery Partners Institute. Our first keynote speaker, Bob Okabe, broke down the real deal behind raising VC funding and shared insights on how to stand out in a competitive startup market. After a quick networking break (and snacks, of course), Abin Kuriakose from World Business Chicago hit the ground running with his talk about why Chicago is becoming the big city for tech. He provided some great insights about how to get started in the tech industry in the great windy city and I, for one, definitely agree with his thoughts on how it is the perfect place to have it all (not biased at all ;)).
Later that day, startups dove into one-on-one mentorship sessions with mentors from BlackInk AI, Natrion, Omnipher, PathLit AI, Culligan, and more. With advice and ideas flying, day one wrapped with good vibes and solid insights.
Day opened with a fireside chat featuring Priya Shah, founder of The Simple Good. She spoke about finding purpose in business and using it to do good in the world. She was very vulnerable about her own life and the impact she wanted to have on others because of the things she had grown from, which I thought was such an impactful story and I thoroughly enjoyed her chat.
Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for — the pitches. After an intense round of judging, the top six startups were selected to pitch in front of the full crowd. The final presentations were incredible, with startups ranging anywhere from speech therapy toys to eco-sustainability drones. Everyone did amazing, but there were three startups that the judges thought stood out the most:
- First Place: InstaEnglish
An English-speaking coach in your pocket, already a top 50 educational app in Japan and aiming to shake up the $340B language learning market.
- Second Place: LaneTrax
Bowling analytics reimagined. Turn any phone into a tracking device and level up your game.
- Third Place: VeriGuard
An AI-powered platform that detects deepfakes in real-time — protecting media teams and brands from fraud and misinformation.
Huge shoutout to our speakers, mentors, judges, volunteers, and every startup that came out to build something great. If you missed it this time around, stay tuned for the next Founders event!
Skyward: What’s next?
As we wrap up this edition of Skyward, know that there’s so much more to come. Future editions will showcase other Founders projects and provide a behind-the-scenes look at what’s happening in the world of student entrepreneurship here at UIUC. We’re just getting started!
Skyward, together!
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