Best Buy is Coming to the U: Learn How to Get Funded

Do you have a product you want to see on the shelf at Best Buy? Join Best Buy executive and Lassonde Institute alumnus Joel Nelson to learn about Best Buy Ignite, a new program to fund entrepreneurs with products that could be sold in Best Buy. Nelson will be at the University of Utah for an information session about the program on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 4:30-5:30 p.m. at Lassonde Studios. Attend to learn more.

With $40 billion in annual revenue, 125,000 employees, 1,400 stores and almost two billion visitors annually, Best Buy is a market leader in consumer electronics retail. Historically, the Best Buy story has been one of careful organic growth, driven by broad assortment, category expertise and adherence to a powerfully simple consumer value proposition – expert service, unbeatable price. The growth, The Strategic Growth Office and the Innovation and Strategy Team seeks to write the next chapter of Best Buy’s growth, with a tight focus on exploring M&A, entering new categories and developing new business models.

Best Buy is seeking partnerships with startups that are creating the hardware and software that will power the next phase of our digital, connected lives. To that end, Best Buy recently launched the Best Buy Ignite program, a multistep program that works with PCH, a global hardware accelerator and manufacturing company, to remove barriers that have kept startup products from Best Buy shelves.

Maybe your product is still an idea scribbled on the back of a napkin or a passion project in your garage. Or maybe you’ve had your first initial successes and are hungry to build on that success. Whatever the case, Best Buy Ignite can help you take critical next steps toward growth. Best Buy Ignite will consult with you on business strategy, introduce you to world-class retail experts who have been there before, and work with you to achieve efficient, scaled manufacturing – all with the goal of reducing time from idea to shelf. Best Buy’s industry-leading scale and experience gives it a powerful capability to amplify good ideas wherever they are found.

Learn more about Best Buy Ignite at www.bestbuy.com/ignite/vendors.