AWARE Grant Recipient Becky Fuller Discusses Her New App BassVision

Categories : EnterpriseWorks, Recognition & Awards
Posted on: October 25, 2017

Becky Fuller, an associate professor in the Department of Animal Biology at the University of Illinois, discusses her application BassVision with The News-Gazette. BassVision shows fishers how their lures appear to the fish, which increases the likelihood of them getting a leg or a fin up on a largemouth bass.

Becky’s startup is the 2017 recipient of the AWARE—Accelerating Women and under-Represented Entrepreneurs—grant, as well I-Start funding. She explains that, “The EnterpriseWorks out at the research park has provided an amazing amount of support for us. We took an I-Corps Sites course offered through EnterpriseWorks. They helped direct us towards the I-Corps National program. They have also supported us with an AWARE award and an I-Start award. Laura Bleill and Jed Taylor have given us a large amount of advice and guidance in how to navigate this new world we find ourselves in.”

The idea for BassVision originated from Becky’s own research as an evolutionary biologist who studies fish. The company currently has a team of five people, and they are continuing to expand the app’s features and capabilities, such as measuring the water properties right where the angler is fishing. Her advice to somebody who’s just begun a startup? “Make certain that you enjoy working on your startup. You need to believe in your product.”

Read more about Becky Fuller and BassVision here.