Entrepreneurship Seminars

In celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week WPI's Collaborative for Entrepreneurship & Innovation will host several events. November 15, 2010 marks the beginning of thousands of worldwide celebrations which will inspire young and old alike to embrace innovation, creativity, and imagination through events and competitions. The Kauffman Foundation co-founded Global Entrepreneurship Week. Visit the Kauffman Global Entrepreneurship Week web site. 

Agenda

Please register at least 24 hours in advance of each event. For multiple event registration, fill in one form with all information and then for subsequent registrations, fill in just your name and company, or school, name.

"Get Help Writing and Practicing Your Elevator Pitch"

Monday, November 14, 2011Campus Center - Odeum Room
1:00-3:00PM

Mentor: Norman T. Brust

Developing an artful yet influential Elevator Pitch is something everyone should be able to do. From trying to argue a point in a heated debate to trying to sell a new business or product idea to an investor, Elevator Pitches are valuable tools for effective communication in the art of persuasion.

You will meet others, learn about the pitch, start writing one, present it, and rework it until it is perfect. Time is an important factor in keeping your audience engaged. How much time you have to communicate is not always open-ended. You may only have a fleeting moment to convey the essence of your thoughts. What can you say in one minute? Will you impress the listener? Will you be prepared to make an impression when you have one of those rare opportunities?

It can be a challenge -- and this workshop will prepare you for those opportunities by having attendees think about writing an Elevator Pitch. This two-hour workshop is open to the public. Bring your own lunch. We'll provide refreshments. Register Now... 

"Legally Structuring Your New Company"

Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Campus Center Hagglund Room
12:00-1:00 pm
NOTE: This seminar repeats at 5:50 p.m. in Salisbury Labs, Room 115 (Kinnicutt Hall)

Speaker: Michael A. Refolo, Esq, of Mirick O'Connell, LLP

Starting a new company requires an understanding of the legal structure.  Among the choices are LLP, LLC, Corp, S-Corp, Sole Proprietor, and Partnerships, among many new options.  Mike will cover the basics and provide many resources in the steps required for legally setting up a new company.

"Understanding and Navigating the IP Landscape - An Intellectual Property Overview"

Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Campus Center - Hagglund Room
1:00-2:00 p.m.
NOTE: This seminar repeats at 5:00 p.m. in Salisbury Labs, Room 115 (Kinnicutt Hall)

Speaker: Jeffrey Duquette, Esq, Mirick O'Connell, LLP

Intellectual property (IP) refers generally to a group of intangible assets which can have a significant impact on a company's operation and growth. This workshop explores the different types of intellectual property protection available - patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets - as well as ways in which to identify and protect your company's IP. Register Now...

"Intellectual Property Bootcamp: Lessons in how to start an IP Centric Company"

Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Campus Center - Hagglund Room
4:00-5:00PM

Speaker: David C. Schwartz

This workshop will explore how to start an IP centric company using the licensing model. The "Big Bang Theory" will be used as a way to look at the time line in taking an idea from concept thru the steps of reduction to practice, prototype, and licensed royalty bearing commercial distribution.   The barriers to licensing large corporations will be examined by taking a close look at a typical idea submission agreement. The steps that bridge the inventor/founders goals to successful licensing outcomes will be analyzed with real world examples from the process.  

David Schwartz is the Technical Founder of Productive Education, LLC

"Developing a Sales and Marketing Program That Really Works"

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Campus Center - Mid-Century Room
2:00-5:00PM

Speaker: Norman T. Brust

Profitable cash flow is the lifeblood of a successful company. This session will describe the elements of an effective sales and marketing program that will ensure profitable cash flow and show you how to tailor them to your company's needs. Topics to be covered will include Product and Market Definition - Defining target markets; Determining market need; Defining needed products; Evaluating the competition; Product Promotion -Creating a corporate image; Telling the market what you have to sell; Drip Marketing; Pricing and Profit -Methods for pricing a product or service; Evaluating a product's business potential; and Product Distribution - Types of distribution channels; Metric-based sales; Supporting product distribution.

Presidents, CEO's, marketing managers, sales managers, product managers, salespersons and anyone else involved in the development, management or implementation of a sales and marketing effort should attend this seminar. Time will be allocated for attendee questions and answers.

Norman Brust has over thirty years of successful management, marketing, engineering and manufacturing experience with such technology based companies as General Dynamics, RCA, EG&G, Racal-Dana, Datel-Intersil and Amistar. He founded NTB Associates in 1988 to help manufacturing and technology based businesses increase profitable sales. Mr. Brust is a recognized authority on consultative, business-to-business sales and marketing and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Brown University and a Master of Science degree in Electronic Engineering from Northeastern University. Register Now...   

"Cheating Death by PowerPoint"

Thursday, November 17, 2011
WPI Campus Center - Hagglund Room
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM 

Speaker: Laura M. Foley

Avoid making "Death by PowerPoint" presentations by transforming your visual presentation skills into powerful tools.  Communication expert, Laura Foley, will enlighten our audience with tips, tactics, and strategies for better audience engagement during PowerPoint presentations.

Have you sat through a PowerPoint presentation where the speaker read the slides, colors were too loud, or too much information was crammed on the slides?  Maybe you are guilty of creating your own bad PowerPoint...hmm?  Learn common PowerPoint pitfalls and how to avoid them. Learn to create effective leave-behinds that will reinforce your message long after your presentation is done. At the end of the seminar, you will view participants' PowerPoint presentations and use your new skills to brainstorm ways to improve them. (If you have a PowerPoint presentation you'd like the class to critique, please send it to laura@lauramfoley.com by Friday, Nov 5th.)

Laura Foley has been making PowerPoint presentations less lousy since 1989 for organizations such as Atlas Venture, Kodiak Venture Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, and Tufts New England Medical Center. As the principal of Laura M. Foley Design, Laura helps her clients communicate their messages visually with effective branding and marketing materials. Regsiter Now... 

"Value Proposition and Customer Validation?"

Thursday, November 17, 2011
Campus Center - Hagglund Room
1:00 - 2:30 PM

Speaker: Barbara Finer, Founder, QuiVivity Marketing Partners, LLC

Value Proposition-
You've come up with an idea that you think is the greatest thing since sliced bread... or close to curing cancer... or, at least, making you as rich as Bill Gates. But wait, even Apple had products that failed. So, how do you make sure your product will be accepted by 'the market'?

First clues of a market mismatch occur when in a conversation and someone's eyes start to cross. Another clue is when only your friends and family are interested and everyone else is 'waiting for a prototype'.

In this workshop, we'll talk about and start to write (ahem, bring a notepad, iPad, etc.) a Value Proposition for your business.

Value Propositions try to capture the essence, in just a handful of words; of what your product is and why in terms that 'my 90 year old Aunt Alice' can understand and appreciate. VPs are expanded in Elevator Pitches and serve as the foundation for feedback to every successful business.

Come take the challenge!

"Customer Validation - Will they eat the dog food? An Entrepreneur's approach to market validation" -
Once you have figured out how to succinctly describe your product and its value to the market, you need to test that the market really wants it.

Sometimes, there is some value but not enough to get someone to switch from what they have been doing to something new. Sometimes, you find that your product is valued for reasons different from your intention. Sometimes, you're going after the wrong target. And sometimes, they don't want to eat the dog food.

We'll explore the ways to figure out if your time and money will be well spent if you continue on the current path.

About the speaker:
Barb Finer has started four companies and successfully launched dozens of products to market. Her expertise includes evaluating and assessing markets, developing messaging that resonates, defining go-to-market plans, and leading teams to launch well-positioned technology-based products. She has held senior leadership roles at companies that include NetGenesis, WebPresence, 3Com, Keithley Instruments and Synoptics. She has been on Boards of several companies and currently serves with the WPI Venture Forum. In her spare time, Barb teaches Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Boston-area colleges. Barb has a BS from Northeastern University and an advanced degree in management of innovation and technology (MSA) from Boston University.

"Business Plan Research"

Thursday, November 17, 2011
Gordon Library - Lab A
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Register early. Very limited space.

Instructor: Stacy Schwartz

Have an idea for a business? Dreaming about one day starting your own company? Learn how to effectively and efficiently find research about your industry, target market, customers and competition. Co-sponsored by the Library and WPI's Collaborative for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, this workshop will help you learn about the resources and research strategies for creating a business plan.

"What's Your One-Minute Pitch?"

Elevator Pitch Contest
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Campus Center - Hagglund Room
3:00-4:00 p.m.

How would you pitch a great business idea to potential partners or investors? How would you pitch yourself to a career fair recruiter? What would you say about yourself during a brief social or business encounter? How would you persuade other students to join your project team or convince a potential advisor or sponsor of your project's merit?

You have one minute to compete for cash prizes!