Need a break from the snarky, sharky, and stiff pitch forums? Come join the Kauffman Foundation’s 1 Million Cups for a cup of coffee and a community-centered approach to helping start-ups answer that 1 question that is stumping your business. Presentations start at 9am sharp so come a few minutes early to grab a cup of coffee and settle in.

How 1MC works:
On Wednesday mornings, one or two early-stage businesses present their companies to a diverse local audience of peers, mentors, educators, and advisors.

Each founder’s presentation lasts six minutes and is followed by a 20-minute question-and-answer session with the audience.

After the question-and-answer session, the presenter is always asked this question: “What can we, as a community, do to help you?”

1 MILLION CUPS is a free, nationwide program designed to educate, engage and accelerate early-stage startups. We believe in the notion that entrepreneurs can discover solutions and thrive when they collaborate over a million cups of coffee. Drop in on our community of innovators and entrepreneurship enthusiasts to connect and support our local startups.

The 1MC name was inspired by an article titled “A Million Cups,” written by Seth Kravitz, founder of Technori. The premise of the article is that true communities are built through meaningful interactions between people over a million cups of coffee.

1MC’s culture is supportive and neutral, welcoming entrepreneurs to be open and honest about their businesses and the challenges they face. The program’s platform is not a traditional “pitch” environment. Rather, an entrepreneur makes an educational presentation to a room of individuals who can provide constructive criticism, share experiences and support one another as a community.