Around dinner time on the evening of July 7th, my phone buzzed with an notification from my good friend and mind coach Nick Goodin. The message contained a link to the following podcast…
…and it was wrapped with the following notes — “I was thinking about you this morning when I heard this podcast.” “It speaks right to where you are right now.”
You see, at the time, only Nick and a few people in my close circle knew I was in the midst of the final interview process for a new role that could relocate me back to Frisco, Texas. I was one of two finalists for a position at the crossroads of innovation and economic development and was already prepping myself for the possibility of a new chapter of my career.
With the Peoria Innovation Alliance officially opening its physical space in downtown Peoria, Executive Director Jake Hamann says its priorities will focus on finding solutions to the city’s biggest problems through civic entrepreneurship.
“The key thing is getting out into the community so that we're visible, people can see that we're making a difference and starting to do some things in the community, specifically in this nine block area of the Innovation District,” Hamann said Wednesday afternoon at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Center for Civic Innovation on the lower level of the First Mid Bank and Trust building.
We made it to Episode 10! For this one, we had the incredible opportunity to hang out with Jake Hamann at The Nest Coworking downtown. A serial entrepreneur and local ecosystem builder, Jake is the Founder and Executive Director of the Peoria Innovation Alliance.
This episode is a special one. Jake opened up and brought us into his story in such a powerful and honest way. He shares about growing up in Pekin, how his entrepreneurial mindset has led him to build initiatives and businesses throughout his life, the painful journey of losing his wife of 14 years to cancer, why he continues to pursue his dream of turning Peoria into the innovation capital of the midwest, and some fun random questions about Diet Coke, cheetahs, pineapples, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.
his week, Peoria Innovation Alliance announced a new campaign dedicated to “fundamentally shifting Greater Peoria’s economic landscape to one of opportunity and prosperity.” Founder and Executive Director Jake Hamann outlined the initiative and its importance amid the region’s response to COVID-19.
The Greater Peoria region has been affected much like other communities of our size. We are seeing the most significant challenges in the hospitality industry (restaurants, hotels, conventions, tourism, etc.) as well as a wide variety of small businesses; especially those in our minority communities.
Two weeks ago, Start Us Up coalition member Peoria Innovation Alliance hosted policy, business, and community leaders to discuss America’s New Business Plan (ANBP) and the needs of entrepreneurs.
Founder and Executive Director Jake Hamann shared with us his takeaways from the event and his hopes for the future of Peoria.
A new initiative aims to reposition the region through the renewed celebration of innovation, entrepreneurship and startup activity.
Innovation is a popular word these days. Every community strives to be driven by an innovative spirit, but innovation is not a switch one can turn on and off. It is deeply rooted in who you are, what drives you and what your vision is for the future. Innovation sets Peoria apart, although that may not be obvious to the outside world—and is often not even recognized in our own backyard.
As founder of OneFire and co-founder of Startup Peoria (now Startup GP), Jake Hamann has some serious bona fides when it comes to entrepreneurship. He’s also a serious Jeep guy. His latest project brings the two worlds together—fusing his role as serial entrepreneur with that of specialty vehicle enthusiast.
It all started in the fall of 2016 when Hamann picked up a custom Jeep from a specialty dealership. Having modified the vehicle to taste, he requested a build list of its components and accessories. “Much to my surprise, the ‘list’ came back as a simple copy-and-paste from the dealership website,” he explains, “missing all of the factory specs, along with several of the modifications, such as gear ratio, axles, engine output, etc.”
CEO, President and founder of OneFire Jake Hamann joins the Journal Star’s Steve Tarter to chat about business development and the potential he sees in Peoria’s future.
Todd Farwell from Caterpillar speaks to Jake Hamann of OneFire and Colin Evran of Yard Club about how CAT is leverages Startups to bridge the gaps between major corporations and the tech that will power the 21st century.
Josh Swank had a good idea of what to present at the Startup Peoria Weekend held last week at Bradley University.
Swank and his team, made up of Chelsie Tamms, a senior graphic arts student at Bradley, and Patrick Hoban, a member of the Decatur Economic Development Council, won the start-up competition with Swank’s concept of Virtual ID.
“IDs don’t contain much information and they’re difficult to update,” said Swank, explaining that what his team presented was an upgrade to a business card in a luggage tag, a concept using modern technology, allowing for immediate updates and additional information.
This “innovation agency” acts like a middle man between traditional companies and the new tech-driven era of marketing and product development. Cofounder Jake Hamman previously worked in advertising and consulting for Caterpillar, developing CGI content around products, and launched OneFire in 2012 to help more companies understand how to use new digital tools, such as augmented reality and touchscreen displays, not just as a gimmick, but to drive their business forward. Since launching, they’ve grown from two employees to 30, and grew to offer more services such as AR/VR and Internet of Things. OneFire also just launched OneFire Labs, an “idea accelerator” that lets clients and employees develop and iterate their own ventures.
Venture capitalist Brad Feld says it takes about 20 years to grow a strong tech ecosystem. So with that time frame, Peoria, Ill. hasn’t even reached its rebellious teenage years.
But if you talk to entrepreneurs and investors in Peoria, there’s an undeniable energy happening around startups and innovation in the Central Illinois town that sits 160 miles Southwest of Chicago. Though Peoria’s 116,000 residents are just 20,000 more than Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, the town packs a business punch anchored by Fortune 100 company Caterpillar and bolstered by startups that have garnered national attention. It may still have a ways to go before it catches up with Chicago, or even neighboring Central Illinois anchor Urbana-Champaign. But it’s certainly growing up.
Jake Hamann is the founder, president and CEO of OneFire, a Peoria-based innovation agency and digital technology company, and cofounder of Startup Peoria, an organization that works to develop and promote the entrepreneurial startup community in Greater Peoria.
At OneFire, Hamann is responsible for leading the company’s overall strategy and direction. In just three years, he has built a team of more than 30 talented “ideators” who deliver innovative experiences that inspire, impact and transform. Meanwhile, his efforts at Startup Peoria have been critical in helping more than a dozen entrepreneurs launch new businesses over the past two years.
PEORIA — Now there’s a place in town where ideas can go to grow up.
OneFire, Inc., the start-up technology firm based at the Peoria NEXT Innovation Center, 801 W. Main St., is launching what’s called an idea accelerator through OneFire Labs, a newly-formed division of the company.
“We’re looking at it as an innovation agency, one that solves problems for others,” said Jake Hamann, OneFire president and CEO.
Jake Hamann is the founder, president and CEO of OneFire, responsible for leading the company’s overall strategy and direction. The cofounder and board president of Startup Peoria, he also serves on the boards of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council and the Downtown Development Corporation of Peoria.
Tell us about the beginnings of OneFire. How did you enter the tech world?
I started as a freelance graphic designer. I picked up my first Mac on September 10, 2001—I remember it well because of the day after, of course. That’s how I got started. It’s not what I went to school for—I went to ISU on a scholarship for music education.
PEORIA — Jake Hamann is running out of room on his business card.
Along with being the president and CEO of OneFireMedia, Hamann is the co-founder of Startup Peoria, the organizer of the Startup Weekend and the 1 Million Cups program.
He’s also a board member of the Economic Development Council for Central Illinois and the Peoria Downtown Development Corp. as well as a contributor to the Whiskey City Collaborative.
That business card also reads: husband, father, serial entrepreneur.
A growing movement of young entrepreneurs is taking the region by storm.
For years, popular opinion has dictated that to be successful in science, technology or startup ventures, one must relocate to Silicon Valley, the U.S. hub for technological innovation and venture capital. But the myth that businesses can only grow in northern California is being debunked as entrepreneurial communities sprout and flourish all across the country. Today, the next great business idea can come from anywhere.
The road to being a high-tech center has had its twists and turns in central Illinois.
The Peoria NEXT consortium made up of engineers and other tech types from area resources such as Caterpillar Inc., universities, hospitals and government agencies such as the Peoria Ag Lab was greeted with great fanfare back in 2001.
Richard Florida, author of “The Rise of the Creative Class,” came to town in 2004, drawing more than 1,000 people to a forum on creativity at the Peoria Civic Center.
The Peoria NEXT Innovation Center opened at 801 W. Main St. in 2007, not only providing an incubator for startup businesses but a high-tech symbol for central Illinois.
The year 2014 is also likely to see more activity on the technology front in Peoria. Startup Peoria, part of Seattle-based Startup America, had its first event in November at Bradley University and looks to promote new ideas in the future, said Startup Peoria co-founder Amy Lambert.
Prospective and practicing entrepreneurs now meet on a regular basis — at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Thirty-Thirty Coffee Co., 734 Main St., for a program called 1 Million Cups, the chance to hear two six-minute accounts of those involved in entrepreneurial activity, said Jake Hamann, CEO of OneFire Media, located in the Peoria NEXT Innovation Center, 801 W. Main St.
If you think you have an idea or want to join a group working on a concept you’re interested in, your time has come. Peoria hosts its first Startup Weekend on Friday, Nov. 15, with registration at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. and presentations at 7:30 p.m. at the Robert Michel Student Center at Bradley University.
If you think you have an idea or want to join a group working on a concept you’re interested in, your time has come.
Peoria hosts its first Startup Weekend on Friday, Nov. 15, with registration at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. and presentations at 7:30 p.m. at the Robert Michel Student Center at Bradley University.
A local company wants to put a little of the Harry Potter magic into your next wall calendar. OneFire, a high-tech firm located at the Peoria NEXT Innovation Center, 801 W. Main St., wants to make those calendar images come alive with the use of their smartphone app. The 2014 wall calendar that OneFire seeks to produce — with the help of funding from Kickstarter.com — contains pretty pictures from around the world: sunsets, majestic vistas and so forth. But when you point your app-equipped smartphone at the picture, things start happening, reminiscent of the framed pictures in the Harry Potter series.
Google Glass, the much-celebrated effort to bring the Internet into view — through a pair of glasses — is now being used and demonstrated by a Peoria start-up company. Anton Peck, a technologist at OneFire Inc., 801 W. Main St., flew to New York last week to pick up the sought-after glasses. “You basically had to enter a contest saying what you planned to do with the glasses,” said Peck, noting that he planned to let his disabled daughter try the glasses in order to get an expanded view of the product.
As executive director of the Alliance, Hamann works in collaboration with a wide range of individuals, organizations and institutions dedicated to connecting entrepreneurial efforts across the community. “Our goal is to maintain visibility, tear down silos, and be the glue that binds the various components of the ecosystem together,” he explains. Facilitated by a diverse board of directors, the Alliance has played a key role in numerous initiatives over the past year, including the creation of a downtown Innovation District and the initial planning and branding of Distillery Labs, the world-class innovation and entrepreneurial center under development in downtown Peoria.