Last Thursday, John Schaible, serial entrepreneur and chairman/CEO of Atlas Federal,

visited USF to share his advice on how to raise money to ensure you start your business

down the right track. He shared some of his missteps, like giving up on raising capital too soon,

doing it the ‘hard’ way for NexTrade.  Today, John will not start a business until he has met his

capital goals (e.g. for Anderen Bank, John raised $54 Mil before opening its doors).

Ten Things to Learn from John Schaible:

1. Learn to read a balance sheet (accounting).

2. Select a business model that works for your business: unique, drives the market,

is married to the corporate structure.

3. “Business plans are make believe,” but need to be as realistic as possible.

Research the marketplace and ensure your assumptions are based on research -

it’s more than just numbers, it has to follow a rational thought process.

*Tip for creating assumptions: Look at similar public companies’ financials and annual reports.

4. In order of actions: Select your business model; write a business plan;

choose your corporate structure; select your people; raise money;

and then start your business – Avoid starting a business without adequate money on-hand.

5. You can’t be afraid to get sued, but try to minimize your risk like communicating verbally

as much as possible. Think that every document or email you write will show up in court one day.

6. Find people with the experience you lack needed for your company.

Investors like to see: military service; a graduate of a well-known school;

a commendable business record like an IPO track record.

7. Investors go through the intellectual process in choosing to invest in your company,

but overall it’s a highly emotional process. They have to like you and believe in you. They invest in people.

8. Go for a 5-10 second business description, not an elevator pitch.

9. ALWAYS run a background check on investors – Screening is key for credibility & mitigating extraneous risk.

10. Believe in your business. You should be able to ask anyone for money

if you believe in your business; if you don’t believe in it, no one will invest.

Valpak Tour

Tour Valpak’s Manufacturing Center:Friday, September 24th from 2:30-4:00P.M.

Valpak, North America’s leading direct marketer has built one of the most advanced and

automated manufacturing centers in the world. The new state-of-the-art manufacturing center

located in St. Petersburg, Florida is a hub of technology where automation and robotics is at the core of

the operation.

* Occupying nearly 500,000 square feet of space
* Able to house approximately 13 Boeing 747 airliners
* The $200+ million building features a global list of suppliers and partners

To improve Valpak’s leading position, a dramatic change was necessary to help sustain the company’s

long term outlook. With the support of its parent company, Cox Enterprises, CTM set out to design a

premier manufacturing facility that would achieve its business model and meet its growth needs.

The facility is one of the largest single capital investments in Cox’s 107-year history.

Tour Note: Plan to arrive by 2:15 P.M. to get a security pass.

Event is open to Students and Alumni: YOU MUST SIGN UP BY SEPTEMBER 22nd through

Facebook OR Send an Email to contact_us@bnfe.org.

September 16th, 2010 at 6PM

USF College of Business, Room BSN 225

A local serial entrepreneur, Mr. Schaible was featured in the Saint Petersburg

Times on August 9, 2010 talking about his most recent entrepreneurial effort

– the creation of Atlas Federal Financial Holdings based in Panama.

Mr. Schaible was the founder of the electronic stock-trade NexTrade Holdings

in Clearwater in 1995 which grew into a global business, sold one of his companies

- OnTrade – to Citigroup in 2006, and was the co-founder of Anderen Bank of Tampa Bay in 2007.

Monday, September 20th @ 5:30 P.M. at the Wyndham (formerly the Quorum), 700 N. Westshore Blvd.

“Avoiding Pitfalls in Website Development— Lessons for Entrepreneurs”

At this event, an expert panel from the Tampa Bay WaVE (Web Venture Entrepreneurs),

a member-based not-for-profit organization of Web tech entrepreneurs dedicated to

generating and supporting successful home-grown Web ventures, will discuss their experiences, challenges,

and war stories in developing their Web ventures; including selecting and managing developers and bringing

their sites live. Additionally, gain helpful hints on such topics from a Web developer. The panel will feature

Allen Clary of Jibidee.com, Karen Post of Oddpodz.com, and Brian Burridge of Agile Nomads.

You don’t want to miss this educational discussion, so register today!

Event is Free to Current Entrepreneurship Students (please pre-register as a “High-Tech Entrepreneur”).

Follow the link to pre-register: http://www.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=74831103-f5a9-43d3-b86e-122251373830

2010 Watch Parties for Tampa, FL

College of Business Society
Lee Roy Selmon’s-New Tampa -  10/14/10 game
Jamie Ellison: jamie@usfcobalumni.org

TGI Fridays-New Tampa -  11/13/10 game
Jamie Ellison: jamie@usfcobalumni.org and
Brian Buckley: bsbuckley@tecoenergy.com

.

Tampa – New Tampa
Pasco/New Tampa Chapter
World of Beer-New Tampa
Kimberly Choto: kchoto@success-sciences.com
Party for the 10/14 game only

(Click on the above image link for other Watch Party locations).

We really enjoyed our time as Dr. Kevan Main, Director of Mote’s Center for Aquaculture R&D, gave us a tour of their facilities.  It was a wonderful and unique opportunity to get an insider’s tour at Mote Marine Labs and its MAP facilities. In mid 2009, USF College of Marine Science and Mote Marine Labs announced a landmark affiliation agreement that will allow two of the state’s leading research institutions to join forces in new science ventures, provide expanded learning programs and create economic development opportunities for the region and state.

Our students enjoyed an afternoon learning about the latest in aquaculture research of sturgeon fisheries. The MAP lab looks to build innovations in filtering systems, especially for fish farms, and other types of marine food source. The MAP facility raises sturgeon fishes and then harvest them at various levels of its life cycles.

This new affiliation opens up more opportunities to learn of potential ventures in aquaculture fields that may lead to opportunities for commercialization.

And that’s where our program comes into play.

Another event tour will be planned for the summer of the main Mote Marine Lab facility.

We hope to make this a regular club event as USF and Mote Marine Labs look to build a working relationship and take innovation to commercialization.

BNFE is a student organization that grew out of the Entrepreneurship master’s program at USF’s College of Business. It club is a standalone club that engages with our students, area business leaders, and other local officials.

BNFE

The heart of eWomenNetwork is the eWomenNetwork Foundation, a 501(c)(3) created soon after the start of eWomenNetwork, Inc. Through this non-profit organization, we are able to build upon the philosophy of our company “It takes teamwork to make the dream work” and extend its reach to those who need it most.  For more information, click here.