BBB and GoDaddy plan new business incubator partnership

Better Business Bureau Serving the Pacific Southwest (BBB) and GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY), the company that empowers everyday entrepreneurs, announced today plans to launch a business incubator for main street entrepreneurs in Phoenix. 

The announcement took place during the grand opening of ignite sparked by BBB, a vibrant 5,000 sq. ft. coworking and collaboration space in central Phoenix where the new incubator will be based. State and local dignitaries were present to show support.

“As Phoenix’s largest trade association, BBB has proudly served the Greater Arizona business community for 81 years and our coworking space allows us to connect with and create a home for main street entrepreneurs and startups,” BBB Pacific Southwest President/CEO Matthew Fehling said. “The power of our new partnership with GoDaddy, the company that champions entrepreneurs and a BBB Accredited Business for nearly 20 years, will make a significant impact on our business community.”

Empower by GoDaddy is GoDaddy’s social impact and philanthropic program equipping entrepreneurs in underserved communities with the training, tools and resources they need to be successful. Launched in 2017, GoDaddy partners with organizations around the world to deliver high-impact, customized training for underserved entrepreneurs.

“At GoDaddy, we believe that anyone, anywhere should have an equal opportunity to make their entrepreneurial dreams a reality,” said Stacy Cline, Director of Corporate Citizenship at GoDaddy. “We also know that some people don’t have access to the right tools and support to get them going. Empower by GoDaddy seeks to find solutions that are tailored for individual communities. Partnering with ignite sparked by BBB gives us the opportunity to co-develop a custom community-based program with local volunteer efforts to bring content, people, products and networks to entrepreneurs in our own backyard.”

According to the Kauffman Foundation, Arizona ranks eighth for startup activity but falls to 38th place for main street entrepreneurship, an index that measures what businesses remain in business after five years.

SpotRx continues southern Arizona expansion

SpotRx, the world’s most technologically advanced retail pharmacy company, expanded its greater Tucson presence with the installation of three self-service kiosks at CareMore Care Centers focused on Medicare members. The strategic placement of these SpotRx kiosks provides convenient medication access for Caremore’s Medicare Advantage patient population, allowing them to pick up their medications prior to leaving the Caremore clinic. This helps patients stay adherent to their medications keeping them healthy and out of the hospital. Couple the placement of the pharmacy kiosks with SpotRx’s free next day delivery service and patients now have access to their medication both at the clinic and at their home. 

The SpotRx kiosk in each care center is simple to use and dispenses medications on the spot. Patients can also access low-cost over-the-counter drugs through the kiosk.

The SpotRx next-gen pharmacy model is dedicated to providing people medication access within a fast, safe, secure and convenient experience. Patients can also expect a hometown feel from the SpotRx pharmacists, who have a collective 100-plus years of experience and have owned their own pharmacies. The pharmacist in charge is a professor of pharmacy at the University of Arizona.

WhizKidz Preschool expands to East Valley

WhizKidz, a Scottsdale-based preschool, is opening it’s first East Valley location in August. 

WhizKidz will open at 4909 E Brown Road in Mesa.

“We are so excited to bring WhizKidz to Mesa,” said Martha Piccaio, owner of WhizKidz Preschool. “It is my vision that each child that enters our schools, joins a community of children, families and teachers. And they are engaging in the joy, curiosity and wonder of childhood. We are excited to bring this to the families and community out in the East Valley.” 

WhizKidz is now enrolling 125 students, ages 0-5, for the 2019 – 2020 school year. WhizKidz is an all-inclusive preschool with play based curriculum and weekly enrichment classes including music, P.E., art and gardening. WhizKidz provides diapers and wipes, as well as all-natural meals and snacks for their pre-schoolers.  

WhizKidz strives to create a safe place for children to grow and thrive; as well as offer parents the convenience of all-inclusive care and foster a place for parents to meet and create a support system to navigate parenting together.

WhizKidz has two other locations in the Valley, one in Phoenix and Scottsdale. 

For more information on WhizKidz visit whizkidzpreschool.com. 

UA establishes global micro-campus in Lima, Peru

Strolling down the historic streets and rocky beaches of the cliffside capital of Peru, locals stopped in their tracks to snap photos and videos. They witnessed something they had never seen before, something entirely unique to the University of Arizona – none other than Wilma and Wilbur Wildcat.

During their foray into South America, the famous couple helped launch the UA’s first micro-campus on the continent, UA Lima at Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, or UPC. They connected with students and university leaders during the June visit, even donning their formal attire at an event to celebrate the new UA location.

Micro-campuses, as unique to the UA as Wilma and Wilbur, operate at universities worldwide where students earn both a UA degree and a degree from the partner university. UA and local professors offer the courses collaboratively in a co-teaching environment.

The micro-campus at UPC offers six academic paths, including accelerated master’s options, allowing students to earn up to three degrees in as little as five years.

UA colleges that currently offer degrees at this micro-campus include the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture; the Eller College of Management; the College of Engineering; the James E. Rogers College of Law; and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Students can complete the U.S.-accredited degrees entirely in Lima or choose to study at the main campus in Tucson for a summer, a semester or longer.