What do a purple food truck serving pancakes, a social media research site, and organic pet shampoo have in common? They are the latest business development initiatives of 18 local entrepreneurs, students at Gateway Community College, that will be showcased at a series of Pop Up events throughout April and May 2013. 

“Pop Ups”, the latest marketing technique being used by companies from Adidas to Zegna, are display and retail spaces that appear briefly in unusual places. An advance in marketing and promotion that blends traditional outlets (bricks and mortar) with the immediacy and availability of the Internet (ecommerce and clicks), the Pop Up displays will showcase innovative products, service concepts, and emerging businesses generated by the creativity of these local start-up companies, entrepreneurs, and business developers.

To see a pop-up event firsthand, stop by Gateway’s Café Vicenzo on May 8, from 3:30 pm - 8 pm. The business development concepts and products of the local developers enrolled in the Entrepreneurial Business Launch series at Gateway will be on display for the public to learn about and purchase and for potential investors to explore and evaluate.

The sequence of courses, led by Michael Roer, executive director of the Fairfield County-based Entrepreneurship Foundation, gives the students experience in business and financial planning, product development, marketing and market research, and the legal requirements for starting a business. 

“The businesses on display at these pop-up events will be the future of industries from food service, construction, and transportation, to technology applications and education," Roer said. "They cover every stage of business development from financial planning and investor relations to product development, prototyping, and marketing."

Gateway’s new state-of-the-art downtown campus not only adds to the vibrancy of the city by attracting students, faculty, and community members to its high tech learning environment from throughout Greater New Haven, but as an educational hub and regional resource, the college encourages economic development, brings people together to learn and collaborate on generating new ideas, cutting-edge businesses often through technology applications, and investment opportunities.