Fuse SPC co-working space in Richland is known for being a launch pad for new startups and an incubator for entrepreneurial activity. Even before it was founded, its members have played matchmaking to help fast-growing local startups, such as Sola Spirits Distillery and Dragon The Game.

Earlier this month, Fuse kicked off Launch University: Ideation, a program aimed at equipping business dreamers with the tools, knowledge and techniques to become successful entrepreneurs.

It’s the fourth session in a series over the last two years.

“Launch is an event series that helps people hone their ideas into a complete vision and brings people together to make those visions into reality,” said Erik Ralston, lead developer at LiveTiles and founding member of Fuse. “We’re dedicated to turning curious dreamers into hell-bent doers.”

The hope is to turn an individual with an idea into a founder with a business plan.

Ralston said the biggest challenge with wanna-be entrepreneurs, or “wantrepreneurs,” is creating lifelong habits around developing and fine-tuning their business. He said a program like Launch University is an answer to that.

“They have this grand vision but they don’t have the ability to create a rhythm of life around entrepreneurship. It takes five weeks to make a habit, so by spreading the program into this five-week program with Launch University and Launch Weekend, we’ve created the entrepreneurial habit in that person,” Ralston said.

Topics covered include finance and legal know-how, customer validation, business modeling, and marketing and branding.

Launch University: Ideation kicked off March 2 and runs every Thursday, concluding with Pitch Night on March 24, where entrepreneurs practice the skills learned and put them to use in front of a real audience. The event is open to the community and free for Fuse subscribers and Launch University participants, but costs $20 a plate for dinner-only participants.

Companies like Thrive Fitness Adventures, an outdoor fitness startup, and WholeStory, a business that seeks to humanize the hiring process, were products of Launch University.

Ralston said participants receive lifetime access to the program’s coursework and resources through an online platform called Thinkific, and he hopes people will use the techniques as a repeatable process to honing an idea.

Immediately following Launch University is Launch Weekend from March 31 to April 2 — a rapid fire workshop for building and validating a business idea in less than 54 hours.

Participants will prototype, research and validate to see if the idea will work in the real world. The weekend culminates with teams pitching their findings to a panel of experienced judges. The top three teams will be awarded an “Entrepreneurial Starter Kit.”

Ralston also urges interested businesses to keep an eye out for Launch University: Startup over the summer, an eight-week accelerator program designed for CEOs who want to grow or expand their business.

Launch University and Launch Weekend are held at Washington State University Tri-Cities. For more information visit www.tclaunch.com.

Fuse to offer Fireside Chats

This year, Fuse introduces Fireside Chats as part of its event programming. The series involves interviewing successful individuals who have had a significant impact in the Tri-City community through their accomplishments. Organizers hope to offer three or four a year, and bring in notable leaders and business owners from the community.

“It seems to fit well with our efforts to connect the local community with what Fuse is and has been doing. We decided that it’d be great to introduce the public to Tri-Cities ‘doers,’ folks who have dedicated their time and energy toward making Tri-Cities an awesome place,” said Vanessa Cozza, a professor at WSU Tri-Cities and one of the organizers for the event. “These folks consist of small business owners, artists, local authors, CEOs, medical professionals.”

Each event will include a one-on-one conversation between a host and guest, but will consist of a “loose-flowing” format or talk. The first event guest is Dara Quinn, owner of Emerald of Siam in Richland, and the host is Tyler Soldat, a Fuse member and Wildland project manager.

“As an advocate of education, especially outside of academia, I think it is extremely important for the general public to learn about the community that they live in, and to meet the people that make this community a great place,” Cozza said. “It is an opportunity for WSU students to network, meet professionals in different fields, learn about different possibilities for careers, especially if they’re English majors or in liberal arts, it allows students to see the value in careers other than sciences.”

The event was originally planned for February but had to be rescheduled due to weather conditions to April 12. It runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Fuse SPC, 710 George Washington Way, Richland.

To stay up to date on the Fireside Chat series, follow Fuse SPC on Facebook or go to fusespc.com. To learn more, email [email protected].