UP Cycle Design has been active for a whole year now! Over the course of the year, so much has been accomplished. Our team has grown, we’ve won pitch competitions, received several nominations, and much more. Our first 6 months have been recapped in another post, so be sure to check that out!
Picking up from where that article left off, let’s recap the things we have done since July:
This past December, our Founder Sierra placed 1st in the GDRI pitch competition, receiving funding, mentorship, and other business resources for UP Cycle Design.
Placed 1st in Hen Hatch
Every year, the University of Delaware hosts a pitch competition called Hen Hatch, and this year, UP Cycle Design took 1st place! We received over $21,000 in funding, as well as mentorship and business resources.
Nominated for Technical.ly’s “Business of the Year” Award
GDRI wasn’t the only thing going on in December…UP Cycle Design also received a nomination for Technical.ly’s “Business of the Year” award! We did not win unfortunately, but we are honored to have been a nomination amongst so many other incredible companies.
Invited to 2nd round of Reinventing Delaware
The Pete du Pont Freedom Foundation hosts a competition called Reinventing Delaware that serves as an entrepreneurial incubator for projects that will create jobs and improve Delaware. We were chosen to pitch in the 2nd round of the competition with UP Cycle Design! Unfortunately, we did not make it to the Final Round, but we are so excited to have made it that far.
Grew our team to 8 members
In our last recap, our team was maxed out at 5 members. Since then, we’ve gained 3 additional members: Riciah, Ӧykü, and Lauren! They all help with design and production work…enhancing our line of products!
Prototyped new ways to create our products and extend our product lines
We have not had any shortage of ideas for new upcycled products. Stay tuned as we prepare to relaunch and release some of them. And with that comes new ways to make our products. We have been experimenting with different machines and techniques to create high quality products that fall in line with our mission statement.
Added 12 organizations to our Partner Program
Over the last six months, we have expanded our Partner Program to include 12 more nonprofits (and a few for-profits as well!)! Stay tuned for us launching an official Partner Program coming soon!
Graduated over 70 students from Level UP
Level UP is our social entrepreneurship curriculum for teens in Wilmington, Delaware. Each cohort chooses a nonprofit to support, creates a design centered around that nonprofit, and then we incorporate it into our products, and donate a portion of the proceeds to the nonprofit. So far, over 70 students across 3 different cohorts have graduated from Level UP!
And there you have it! All the major events that have happened since July up to December. We aren’t slowing down as we are preparing for a relaunch with lots of new and exciting things planned! 2022 is shaping up to be a good year for us, and we can’t wait to show you what’s in store.
As always, thank you for reading! Please like, comment, and share with your family and friends.
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