BASE Accelerator Snapshot: Chip Specker

Last month was the kick-off of the BASE Accelerator event at the University of Minnesota. Seven student entrepreneurs pitched ideas to a group of mentors and advisors. Over the next four weeks they will refine their concepts in advance of a final Go / No Go session at Walter Library in August. 

We're taking a look at each of the entrepreneur teams in turn. This week: Chip Specker from Groupit. He is the only member of his team. His mentors are Sibi Murgesan, Paras Shah, and Zach Meierhofer.

Q: Hi Chip! What's the elevator speech for your concept?

Groupit is a software service designed to let people take ownership and protect their online connections. If any social media/network account is compromised–hacked, deleted, or lost–there's no way to easily restore an account with the same network. The user starts from scratch when they shouldn’t have to. Our service solves this problem by creating an off-platform representative network that a user can access and migrate across the internet.

Q: How is the BASE accelerator process helping you move the idea forward?

The BASE accelerator is helping me refine my concept especially in the areas of audience research and business model. My mentors continue to provide clarity for next-steps and early steps where I was previously lost. They've also helped with deck advice and pitch-coaching.

"Decision Day" for the BASE Accelerator concepts will be held Thursday, August 4 at Walter Library of the University's Twin Cities campus.