Ascender is a company based out of Pittsburgh that focuses on co-working, incubation, and connectivity. This is a company that is truly packed with opportunities for entrepreneurs in the innovations they generate. By focusing on co-working, Ascender has a work space that is free for innovators to use in developing their ventures. What makes this work space valuable is that others that spend their time in and around this work space are generally very connected and helpful people concerning entrepreneurship. There are owners of million dollar companies that are involved or connected with Ascender, and for this reason, entrepreneurs are given a golden opportunity to find connections and investors. The company also focuses on incubation for the startups owned by members of the company. Companies that partner with Ascender in their incubation process are given key wisdom and insight as to how they should run and expand their companies. Along with co-working and incubation, many people who are at Ascender are well experienced and knowledgeable about innovation in general. These people are valuable for the entrepreneurs who go to Ascender as they provide insight on how innovative ideas should be tweaked or pivoted.
Along with all of this value Ascender includes, they also put on the Thrival Festival in Pittsburgh every year. As someone who has attended this weekend-long experience, Thrival truly showcases the best Pittsburgh has to offer. The events held by Thrival during the weekend give emphasis to the artistic and innovative creations of the people in the Pittsburgh area. When I attended the concert, I met a 15-year-old who was running his own growing startup called Illegal Apparel Co. He began this startup in his garage, and now he is making a huge profit in his growing company. This is just an example of some of the incredible innovation Thrival showcased, and it was all made possible through the work of Ascender.
The idea behind Ascender is so cool. Prior to hearing the founder come to talk in class, I had heard of Thrival. I had heard of this event by word of mouth from varying sources. It was really cool to be able to learn about Ascender who is the company behind Thrival.