The next Summer Fellowship team highlight is Spore.
Spore is led by College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources graduate Cameron Collins and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences graduate James Polo-Lossius.
Spore is dedicated to providing local options for fresh or processed gourmet and medicinal mushroom products. They aim to broaden the scope of mushroom varieties available locally as well as offer products that allow those who are not inclined towards mushrooms to enjoy their health benefits.
Collins and Polo-Lossius state that they were motivated to join Summer Fellowship because ”the two of us have little business experience and we knew that in order to get our venture off the ground we needed a lot of help with all of the topics that are covered in the Summer Fellowship program. This opportunity offers us priceless experience, as well as resources, that will enable us to make effective and meaningful business decisions.”
Over the past weeks of Summer Fellowship, the Spore team feels they’ve learned “how important it is to have a clear definition of not only who your future customers are, but what their personal struggles and victories are in day to day life. Putting ourselves in the shoes of our potential customers has been incredibly helpful for clarifying our path to market and prioritizing goals.”
Going forward, Collins and Polo-Lossius hope to “ learn about our individual strengths and weaknesses when it comes to starting a business. That way we can continue to hone our skills where it is needed as well as make the most of our existing strengths.”
We look forward to seeing how their venture develops and grows.