Pat East. Photo by Martin Boling
by CRAIG COLEY
An app that helps nonprofits track volunteers, a social networking platform for people in show business, and an app that reminds college students to do their assignments. These Bloomington startups have all received funding from the Flywheel Fund, a new venture capital initiative of The Mill.
The Mill, founded in 2017, is a nonprofit organization that operates 19,000 square feet of space for coworking and entrepreneurship at 642 N. Madison St.
Executive Director Pat East says the Flywheel Fund, launched in 2020, has a dual purpose. One is to provide funding for promising startups. The other is to create more local “angel investors,” a name for people who finance startup companies. Most of the fund’s members are new to this kind of investing, and the fund’s mission includes teaching them its fundamentals.