March 21st marked Bellevue Forward’s inaugural VueFWD event– an event that harmoniously brings together students, industry professionals, professors, mentors, entrepreneurs, and business owners. RJ Thompson, the founding chairperson of Bellevue Forward, utilized his massive network to bring in sponsors, donors, and participants. Point Park University’s Rowland School of Business sponsored the event through the Community Engagement PhD program’s Social Impact Grant award. The community engagement program prepares leaders for outreach and partnership work in civic, business, and community organizations, and grants from this program fund interdisciplinary social impact projects that connect Point Park University to organizations in the area to effect social change. This gave VueFWD $1,000 – a huge contribution that made the event possible.
The day started at Bellevue Beans, where people checked in, enjoyed complimentary coffee or tea, and networked. Half the group stayed there for more networking, resume and portfolio reviews, and field practice consultations, where participants consult local entrepreneurs and brainstorm ways they can improve their businesses based on their goals. For example, how to utilize social media to expand their business. The other half of the group walked over to the Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Suburban community innovation building for the Marketing Hackathon, sponsored by the American Marketing Association Pittsburgh Collegiate Committee. For the Marketing Hackathon, participants had 3 hours to create a marketing presentation recommending ways to differentiate AHN Suburban’s brand identity and increase brand awareness, hopefully leading to more funding and more entrepreneurs to utilize the AHN Suburban space. AHN Suburban was once a hospital that closed in 2010, but reopened in 2020 as a “community innovation hub”, where office and wet lab space is open for rent at an affordable price. The case outlined that there is little to no brand awareness, and with that, the building lacks residents in their spaces and funding to stay afloat. There were three teams of three, and the presentation with the best ideas won a $300 prize. Through their presentations, groups reiterated the importance of an online presence and digital marketing via social media and websites solely for the AHN Suburban brand. Groups also presented ideas on fundraising events, and explained that these events would build strong relationships with the community and encourage people to invest. Teams presented ideas on types of actionable social media content they could post, forms of collateral media such as flyers that can be handed out in the community or signage to be posted around the area, and more. All in all, all three teams gave amazing ideas and presentations, making it very difficult for the judges to pick a winner. Congratulations, Brooke, Ayuanna, and Bara-Serene, for your team win!
“As one of the professional consultants present, it was a great opportunity to not only meet students that could be future talent, but also network with businesses that might want to partner in the future.” – Bryan Engel, professional marketer
After the Marketing Hackathon presentations and enjoying a delicious lunch at Tavern Pizza, VueFWD offered four panel discussions hosted in various locations in Bellevue. Locations included Tavern Pizza, Vintage Max, Bellevue Beans, and AHN Suburban. Topics included Telling Your Brand Story through Social Media, Small Business Growth: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities, Economic Development: Building a Thriving Community, and Entrepreneurship: From Idea to Impact. Each topic had two panelists who spoke about their experiences, recommendations, and answered questions.
After the panel discussions, participants separated into two groups once more. One group walked to AHN Suburban for the Design Hackathon sponsored by Joe Zeff Design, and the other half stayed at Tavern Pizza for more field practice consultations. Students, mentors, and industry professionals put their heads together at Tavern Pizza to discuss how they can reach their business goals, solve problems, and create action items for each situation they were facing at work that called for change. The hackathon participants focused on a storytelling website that promoted the incubator companies within Alpha Lab Health. The storytelling website utilized best practices in user experience and infographic design. Participants gathered back at Tavern Pizza when the teams were ready to present. Judges decided that all three groups had amazing presentations and decided to give everyone the cash prize!
“I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the Bellevue Forward UXDesign Hackathon […] where we tackled the challenge of attracting investors to the 2025 cohorts of AlphaLab Health. Over the course of the hackathon, our team brainstormed, ideated, and designed innovative approaches to showcase the potential of AlphaLab Health’s future cohorts. The energy, creativity, and collaboration were truly inspiring!” – Pio-Anthony, a Design Hackathon participant
The last two hours of VueFWD consisted of more chatting and networking at Tavern Pizza. The bar was open, and there was even live music. We had a successful day, and it couldn’t have gone any smoother. Strong connections and fond memories were made, and we at Bellevue Forward are so happy about our outcomes:
- We completed 10 primary activities, 20 resume and portfolio reviews, and 17 business consultations
- 8 universities and 1 high school were represented
- 95.24% mentor attendance at 19 mentors present
- 61.3% student attendance at 19 students present
- 85% business attendance at 17 businesses present
- $600 donated cash awards
- $326 net revenue
- 100% of voters would like VueFWD to continue as an annual event