Programs and Services targeted towards the Community

Central Valley Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (CVIEF)
CVIEF features five ventures that present to a panel of investors and compete for the Investor Award. During the event, attendees also pretend to be venture capitalists for the day and make pseudo-investments in 20 promising local entrepreneurs and startup ventures that are competing to win the Audience Award. CVIEF is a collaboration between the Office of Community and Economic Development, the WET Center and Central Valley Fund.

Entrepreneur Support Group (ESG)
Modeled after the Entrepreneur Organization, ESG nurtures a peer-to-peer learning environment where eight to 10 entrepreneurs learn from each other through monthly meetings. These sessions emphasize confidentiality, personal responsibility and lessons learned.

Startup Grind
The Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is Startup Grind’s first globally recognized University Chapter. Startup Grind is the largest independent startup community, actively educating, inspiring, and connecting 1,000,000 entrepreneurs in over 250 cities.