Sept. 11 2009

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Entrepreneurship 101: Getting Started

• Are you an entrepreneur?
• How do you get started?
• Where do good ideas come from?
• Evaluating opportunities

Oct. 9 2009

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Creating Value for Your Customers

• Who is your target customer?
• Understanding what customers value
• Crafting a compelling value proposition
• Pricing, positioning, communicating value

November 13, 2009

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Capturing Value for the Entrepreneur:

• Understanding the industry ecosystem
• Strategies and business models: choosing wisely
• Creating and sustaining competitive advantage
• Strategic alliances: when do they make sense?
• Exit Strategies

January 15, 2010

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Legal Issues for The Entrepreneur

• When Do You Need a Lawyer? (When Can You Get By Without One?)

• Protecting Your Intellectual Property

• Legal Structures: Alternatives, Pros & Cons

• Negotiating the Jungle of Employment Law

• Securities Laws: When/How do they Affect Me?

February 12, 2010

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Business Plan and Investor Pitch

• Do You Need a Business Plan?

• What are Investors Looking For?

• The Essentials of a Business Plan

• The Most Important Two Minutes: the Elevator Pitch

• Workshop: Crafting and Delivering Your Message

Mar 12, 2010

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

What Do You Have to Offer?

• Where do you fit in the industry ecosystem?
• Managing the technology adoption life cycle
• Understanding the difference: technologies, devices and whole products
• The role of standards: platform products vs. one trick ponies
• A disciplined approach to product/service development

Apr 9, 2010

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Building the Startup Team

• What skills does your venture need?  When?
• Designing and implementing the proper structure
• Recruiting, hiring, retention
• Compensation issues and strategies

May 14, 2010

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Financing Startup and Growth

• Financing sources and options: what makes sense?
• Government programs: what you need to know
• Friends and family: practical guidelines
• Working with professional investors
• Managing your financial resources: lengthening the runway

Jun 11, 2010

8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Positioning Your Company for Sustained & Profitable Growth

• What is your objective?  What should it be?
• The critical period of transition: eight hurdles
• Entrepreneurial leadership: changing roles and responsibilities
• Anticipating and managing risks: sources and strategies