Open to All of Our Entrepreneurship Students and Alumni

Behind the Scenes Tour:

Mote Marine Laboratory and the Mote Aquarium

We look forward to another great semester for our students and faculty.

Make sure to check out the 2011 Spring events for our BNFE, CEO, and Alumni groups.

Welcome Spring 2011 Entrepreneurs!

Tickets $25 per Guest

TO REGISTER,

Click the link below:

Celebration of Entrepreneurship

If you would like to register by phone and/or pay by check.

please contact Lu Thompson at 813-974-7900.

This event supports the

Michael W. Fountain

Entrepreneurial Scholarship Fund

Honoring a legacy of inspiration, innovation and collaboration
to develop tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and leaders.
Accelerating entrepreneurship
through interdisciplinary education, training, and research.

USF Center for Entrepreneurship
and the Colleges of
Business – Engineering – Medicine

To Donate Now,  Click Here!

Sponsored by:

USF Entrepreneurship Alumni Society

Bulls New Frontier of Entrepreneurship

USF Center for Entrepreneurship

Tech Venture Conference Volunteer Opportunity

The Florida Technology Journal’s Tech Venture Conference is here again and they need some entrepreneur volunteers.  If you are interested in helping with registration and running the event, please contact Eliot at dill2 {at} mail.usf.edu to reserve your spot.  Volunteer positions are limited so RSVP ASAP.

Details below:

Event: Friday, December 3, 2010 at Sonesta Orlando Downtown Hotel.

Registration starts at 7 am.  Volunteers will need to arrive 30 minutes early.

For more information:

http://www.floridatechnologyjournal.com/tech-venture-2010

About the conference

TechVenture 2010 will showcase next-generation technologies being developed by Florida’s emerging technology companies.

The 2010 event will serve as an ideal meeting place that connects entrepreneurs and executives of early stage and growth stage technology companies from throughout Florida with sources of capital, economic development professionals, corporate buyers, technology transfer professionals, university researchers, incubators, media, successful entrepreneurs and premier service providers.

Through educational keynotes and demonstrations of cutting-edge technologies being developed across Florida, TechVenture provides a forum to network with some of the industry’s most influential high-tech leaders and entrepreneurs within the region.

Industries represented include:

• Alternative Energy
• CleanTech
• Cloud Solutions
• Hardware
• Digital Media
• Medical Device
• Software
• Web Applications
• Wireless Technologies

Agenda

Friday, December 3,  2010

*Note – agenda subject to change

Delivering Happiness Bus Tour

Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com is coming to town next week [Monday, Oct 18th, as of now] for a book signing, Q&A, BBQ, Live music, who knows?  He is on tour promoting his book through a variety of event functions.  The book is an inspiring entrepreneurial story and highly recommended.

Details are still TBD, check out:  Tony Hsieh to visit Tampa, FL

To see Tony in action, check out: Tony Hsieh – CEO of Zappos.com discussing company culture

Event: “You think you know… but you have no idea…” about Dr. Fountain
Date: Oct 14th, 2010
Time: 6pm – 7pm
Where: USF COB Building, BSN 225

Our speaker…
…Has a sports beverage in the market endorsed by Tennis star Andy Roddick
…Has created a high-line cosmetic line sold at Neiman Marcus, Bloomindale’s, and in Europe
…Had a partnership with BluBlocker Sunglasses
…Has bootstrapped; brought his start-up through IPO; and has set-up an European business…

Please join us in this round table event while we go down the Corporate Journey with Dr. Michael Fountain and find out how everything started, the twists in life, the price and the rewards that invention and entrepreneurship can bring.

Please RSVP via Facebook or contact_us@bnfe.org.

Motes' Automated Underwater Vehicle (AUV), Slocum Glider

Friday, October 29, 2010, 1:00PM -5:00PM:

Behind the Scenes Tour of Mote Marine Laboratory.

The tour will include a “Behind the Scenes” look at Mote’s groundbreaking laboratories and research facilities.

It will also include a question and answer session with Mote’s patent agent, other members of the research staff, and those involved in bringing Mote’s innovations to either the market or for use within Mote.

Following the tour, attendees may enjoy free time in Mote’s Marine Mammal Center and Aquarium.

Incorporated in 1955, Mote Marine Laboratory encompasses three campuses

with over 191 staff members and seven major research divisions.

More information is available at www.mote.org.

The tour will conclude with free time in the Aquarium.

That will allow those that would like to leave early to avoid traffic to do so

if they chose or stay longer depending on their preference.

Saving sea life from the Gulf's oil spill.

MOTE MARINE LABORATORY – Sarasota

If you choose to visit Mote Aquarium on your own, please feel free to use this coupon flier as provided by Mote Marine. Mote invites visitors to explore the secrets of the sea with touch pools, shark, dolphin, manatee and sea turtle exhibits and over 100 other species of marine life. Viewable working labs and interactive theaters showcase recent discoveries in marine science and the world-renowned research of Mote Marine Laboratory. Discover why sea life matters at Mote. Open 365 days a year, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Located in Sarasota, FL.

To use this coupon:
• Print from your computer’s menu bar

1. •Cut along dotted line
2. •Take coupon to ticket window



Earlier this week, BNFE student members were invited to attend the Tampa Bay Technology Forum’s

(TBTF) Emerging Companies Network. This event showcased the Tampa Bay WaVE group,

a non-profit member organization of area Web venture entrepreneurs. Allen Clary of Jibidee,

Karen Post of Oddpodz, and Brian Burridge of Agile Nomads headlined the panel discussion titled,

“Avoiding Pitfalls in Website Development- Lessons for Entrepreneurs.” Each of spoke about their

experiences in creating their Web ventures providing simple, but sometimes forgotten, lessons and

insight for those seeking to dive in to this space.

In summary, here are the panel’s top words of wisdom for future Web entrepreneurs:

1. Do Your Due Diligence: Read & understand all vendor contracts; research vendors by calling past clients of jobs similar to the one you are hiring for; make sure there is enforceability in the contract if deadlines are missed by the vendor.

2. Stick to your Core Competency: Don’t try to be everything and do everything- Keep it Simple! Having a lot of startup capital doesn’t solve all problems, sometimes it can make things more complicated, because you have the cash you think you can do more

and without clear direction this equals a high burn rate.

3. Be obsessed with the project.

4. Creating a Web venture is not simply building a Website, it’s product development and you’re hiring

your product development team.

5. The cost the Web developer (or other vendors) quote, multiply it by two (2x) or maybe three (3x).

He/she already has [developers in the room agreed].

6. It’s difficult to get traction on the Web- It’s Not “If you build it, they will come.”

7. Have someone involved who has done this before- writing code is different than building a product.

8. Create a Website wireframe prior to hiring a developer, the storyboard of the entire site’s design and structure.

See if he/she gives you push back or tries to up sell non-critical features.

*Tip: Create a wireframe: Balsamiq

9. Hire an intermediate, a project manager linking the business (AKA the product vision) to the code,

like a CTO or Tech Advisor. This person needs to lean toward the overall product, not the code.

10. Suggested reading: “Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules”

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.