Advanced Invention to Venture Workshop
Little Rock, Arkansas
September 29 - October 2, 2008
Register online at the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance web site.
Background
Little Rock has been selected as the site for the first Advanced Invention to Venture (AI2V) workshop in Arkansas. The Arkansas Small Business Development Center, together with local co-sponsors Arkansas Capital Corporation Group and Arkansas Science & Technology Authority, is proud to offer this National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance program to the state's small business and university communities. The workshop will be held September 29 through October 2 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Regardless of whether you intend to start a company, license the technology or develop a non-profit organization to commercialize your technology, AI2V will enable you to develop a solid plan and the ability to articulate that plan. AI2V will accelerate the progress of your business development at a rate you might not otherwise experience. Participants have called it the single most important turning point for their venture.
AI2V is a highly acclaimed 4-day intensive workshop for IP-based venture teams. It provides instruction, exercises, venture pitching and coaching, complete with real-time feedback from coaches and investors. The in-class time is followed by 6-8 weeks of homework and exercises, monitored by an assigned coach. The end result is a 15-minute investor pitch and commercialization plan fundamentals to back it up. Qualifying teams will have a panel of investors, customers, mentors and advisors assembled for an investor pitch.
Startup teams often get caught up in hectic, day-to-day activities and don't stop to analyze business opportunities or develop breakthrough strategies. Working alongside qualified venture development instructors and coaches, teams will be amazed at how their respective visions for their ventures will align.
Download a 2-page, full color AI2V Arkansas brochure (PDF)
An Arkansas Entrepreneur's View of AI2V
Craig Pair, President of Control Technologies, Inc. of Fort Smith, Arkansas attended AI2V last November in New Mexico. "It was great training," stated Pair. "I wish I had had this early on. It has taken me almost twenty years to gather the information that was presented in about a week. The training brought back into focus the things that I have to do to keep my company growing and therefore viable. The topics that were discussed in the class, pinpointed the skills that are required to bring a product, or service to the attention of an investor. Whether that investor is going to contribute capital, or their trust and allow you to perform work for them, the AI2V training, demonstrates what is required to make the investment happen, re-enforced by what is required to capitalize on that investment once it does happen."
University Student Views of AI2V
Drew Jensen, UALR MBA student, attended AI2V last November also. He and Ekeleda Dervishi, a UALR Applied Science Ph.D. candidate, were two of the three members of TruSource Technologies, a student-created venture seeking to commercialize a UALR nano-based technology. "AI2V revolutionized the way I think about what it takes to launch a tech-based venture. I learned from a been-there-done-that entrepreneur what it takes to transform an idea into a successful commercial reality," Jensen stated. Dervishi added, "The AI2V workshop was very valuable, especially for someone like me with a science background. I would recommend anyone, students or professionals, to sign up because it is a gold mine."
Audience
The target audience includes college students, entrepreneurs and college researchers and faculty. The in-class time is followed by 6-8 weeks of homework and exercises monitored by an assigned coach.
About Sharon Ballard of EnableVentures, Inc.
Sharon C. Ballard, a multiple-SBIR awardee and entrepreneur with extensive experience as entrepreneurial coach and instructor, is the founding president and CEO of EnableVentures, Inc., and the former president and CEO of Reticular Systems, Inc. Under her leadership, the company won more than 30 SBIR and related awards.
A frequent lecturer on all aspects of high technology entrepreneurship, Ballard has been assisting clients in the preparation of their SBIR/STTR proposals since 1993. She has coached entrepreneurs in Europe and across the U.S. and is a founding management fellow for Arizona State University's Technopolis Program, which focuses on educating, coaching and networking early-stage entrepreneurs. She developed the Supercoach® system and toolset.
"Scientists and engineers tell us what is possible, but I really enjoy helping them turn what is possible into business realities," Ballard says. "I am convinced that some of the best entrepreneurs are actually scientists and engineers who make the decision to learn the language and science of business."
Sponsors
The national sponsors of this workshop is the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance.
Arkansas Capital Corporation Group is a Platinum sponsor.
The Arkansas Science & Technology Authority is a Gold sponsor.
Registration
Register online at the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance web site.
Contact the NCIIA if you experience registration difficulties: 413-587-2172 or email info@invention2venture.org
