Impulse’s mission is to help businesses grow by improving their communications. One of our core company values that helps achieve our mission is community involvement. We believe a strong and vibrant business community is the backbone of great communities. Goleta Entrepreneurial Magnet, or GEM for short, shares in this vision. GEM helps give young entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow an idea into a company; so supporting GEM is a natural fit for Impulse.
Impulse is helping to support GEM’s efforts by launching and supporting them in a multi-year in kind communications systems donation. Impulse provides GEM with ClearStar, our cloud based phone system. ClearStar is a perfect communications platform for start-ups that need a phone system that will grow with them as their company grows. Impulse provides GEM with high-speed Internet connectivity via our Broadband Ethernet service. Today’s startups require high quality dedicated Internet that offers symmetrical speeds and low latency connectivity.
GEM is a collaboration of business, government, and education that have come together to strengthen the local economy by supporting new and growing entrepreneurs. Committee Members include representatives from the City of Goleta, UCSB, Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the GEM team.
Impulse President Dave Clark serves on the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce and recently attended the open house event for the new GEM incubator. He had the privilege of meeting some of the 2014 Summer Accelerator team members and was inspired by their entrepreneurial spirit.
GEM will provide these teams with an investment of up to $8,000, the teams will attend weekly workshops, receive mentorship and advice from experts in their field, secure working space at the GEM business incubator, have the chance to pitch at Investor Demo Days, nd receive various other partner perks.
We believe that it is important to provide a mechanism for the great ideas coming out of UCSB and to put down roots and grow locally. More start up companies in Goleta and Santa Barbara will produce more job opportunities that will in turn enable recent graduates and young families to afford to stay in the area.
Good luck to all the 2014 teams competing and our thanks to GEM and their mission to make our great community a better place.
