Milestones on the Path to Entrepreneurship

As IJ’s Clinic on Entrepreneurship gears up to celebrate our 25th anniversary next year, we have been checking in on the many former Clinic clients who celebrated impressive milestones this year—milestones that were more reachable thanks to crucial support from our law students and attorneys. 

We met Teresa Ging of Sugar Bliss back in 2007. Her cupcake shop in the heart of the Loop presented all sorts of interesting questions about protecting the brand name and even the signature cupcake frosting in the shape of a flower! We have kept in touch with Sugar Bliss ever since. Now 15 years old, the bakery just announced that it has delectable cookies for sale in local Walgreens stores!

This fall, our former client Moovers Chicago shared pictures showing how they had grown from just two guys with a moving truck in 2014 to a powerful team of 35. Working with Moovers taught us almost as much as we could teach them: The regulatory restrictions and red tape for a moving company in Illinois are unfathomable! Despite all that, thanks in part to advice from the Clinic about hiring and contracts, Moovers is flourishing.  

Lastly, September brought a weekend-long festival celebrating the 10th anniversary of Cut Cats Courier. This worker-owned bicycle delivery company has literally weathered many storms, delivering for restaurants through World Series wins, polar vortexes, and a pandemic. It has also worked diligently with the Clinic to set up workable agreements about decision-making, distributing profits, and growing as a worker-owned collective. 

Cheers to these clients and to the alumni of the IJ Clinic who learned and taught valuable lessons helping real entrepreneurs while in law school.