Global Entrepreneurship Institute

Posted by: Robert W. Price

The 5th Annual Tech Coast Angels Los Angeles Fast Pitch Competition takes place on February 24th at UCLA Anderson School of Management. CEOs of 12 early stage companies, selected from more than 100 applicants, will have 90 seconds to pitch their companies to a panel of judges. The winner will be invited to present at a Tech Coast Angels screening session and will be considered for funding.

Steve Streit, CEO of TCA-funded Green Dot, will give the event keynote beginning at 3 P.M.. The program will include a CEO panel discussing funding war stories, a angel and venture capitalist panel giving tips on how to get funded, and the Fast Pitch competition itself. A light dinner and refreshments will be served after the program at a networking event attended by hundreds of investors, entrepreneurs and other industry experts. More details about the event agenda will be available in mid-January.

CEOs who want to be a Fast Pitch competitor should submit an application now. Applicants will be initially reviewed by Tech Coast Angels members starting in mid-January. More than 20 CEOs will be invited to participate in coaching sessions in February.
>>Apply Now: TCA LA 2010 Fast Pitch 

About Tech Coast Angels
Tech Coast Angels is the largest angel investor group in the U.S. Its members provide funding and guidance to more early-stage, high-growth companies in Southern California than any other investment group. TCA members invest in companies in a wide range of industries, including the life sciences, biotech, IT, services, retail, Internet, financial, software, media, consumer products and tech startups. TCA members give companies more than just capital. They also provide counsel, mentoring and access to an extensive network of potential investors, customers, strategic partners and management talent. TCA has more than 250 members, including its venture capital affiliates, in five networks in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Westlake/Santa Barbara and the Inland Empire.
>>Learn More: Tech Coast Angels

SOURCE: Tech Coast Angels

Posted by: Robert W. Price

Open to All Entrepreneurs Interested in Company Startup and Angel Funding

A “Meet the Angels” mixer designed to encourage and support new entrepreneurs, will be held January 18, 2010.
This event is sponsored by the Tech Coast Angels (TCA), the nation’s largest angel investment network. The mixer is the second in TCA’s new program of “Meet the Angels” mixers launched after the success of the first event, which generated demand from attendees for more mixers.

It will be held in Aliso Viejo, California from 5:00pm-7:00pm. It is an open and free event to entrepreneurs seeking information about angel funding, startups or other aspects of early-stage company development.

According to Stu Roberts, president of TCA’s Orange County Chapter, “Entrepreneurs have questions about funding their startups and our mixer is the perfect place to start collecting information by interacting with and hearing directly from angel investors. We want our customers, the entrepreneurs, to learn what companies TCA is funding and provide them with an informal setting to answer their questions.”

The last TCA Mixer held in November was attended by more than 100 entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to RSVP as soon as possible  as space is limited. Address and directions are listed on the website.
>>Register for TCA Mixer 

Roberts continued, “TCA is working hard to provide entrepreneurs with the tools and opportunities to fund their dreams. We encourage all entrepreneurs to join us for this informal event.”

About Tech Coast Angels
Tech Coast Angels is the largest angel investor group in the U.S. Its members provide funding and guidance to more early-stage, high-growth companies in Southern California than any other investment group. TCA members invest in companies in a wide range of industries, including the life sciences, biotech, IT, services, retail, Internet, financial, software, media, consumer products and tech startups. TCA members give companies more than just capital. They also provide counsel, mentoring and access to an extensive network of potential investors, customers, strategic partners and management talent. TCA has more than 250 members, including its venture capital affiliates, in five networks in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Westlake/Santa Barbara and the Inland Empire.
>>Learn More: Tech Coast Angels

SOURCE: Tech Coast Angels

Discussions of Entrepreneurship

Few words are as abused in the lexicon of the business world, as ill defined in the management literature, and as open to multiple meanings as entrepreneurship. The concept of entrepreneurship has been in our modern society for thousands of years and in the history of economic study the word has been overused, and in some cases underused.

Carl Voigt, dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, explains, “We sort of defined entrepreneurialism too narrowly as someone who wants to start their own business. But entrepreneurialism can also mean finding new business opportunities and expansion at existing companies.”

Continue reading ‘What is the history of entrepreneurship?’ »

Discussions About Entrepreneurial Capitalism

Entrepreneurial capitalism is key to the success for entrepreneurship. But few words are as abused in the lexicon of the business world, as ill defined in the management literature, and as open to multiple meanings as entrepreneurship. The concept of entrepreneurship has been in our modern society for thousands of years and in the history of economic study the word has been overused, and in some cases underused.

entrepreneurial capitalism: private capital, investing in private start-ups, with potential for a viable harvest

Continue reading ‘What are the origins of entrepreneurial capitalism?’ »

Case In Point: Sam Walton, America’s Entrepreneur

In 1945, with $5,000 of personal funds and $20,000 borrowed from his father-in-law, Sam Walton, perhaps the world’s most successful businessman, became an entrepreneur and opened his first retail store. Later, as a franchisee with the Ben Franklin variety stores, Walton and his brother started buying up other variety stores. They began experimenting with “discounting” in certain departments in their stores. By 1960 they owned and operated some fifteen stores with total sales of $1.4 million.

Continue reading ‘Discussions of Entrepreneurship’ »

Discussions About the Different Types Of Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur is a word borrowed from the French words entreprendre, “one who undertakes”—that is, a “manager.” In fact, the word entrepreneur was shaped probably from celui qui entreprend, which is loosely translated as “those who get things done.” In the early eighteenth century, a group of thinkers called the Physiocrats surfaced in France around a school of new economic theory. They were the first proponents of laissez-faire and opposed all government intervention in industry, especially taxation. Their doctrine was that the economic affairs of society are best guided by the decisions of individuals.

One of the most famous among them was Richard Cantillon. In a paper he worked on between 1730 and 1734 and that was later published in 1775 as Essai sur la Nature du Commerce en General, he introduced the concept of entrepreneur. He developed these early theories of the entrepreneur after observing the merchants, farmers, and craftsmen of his time. Jean-Baptiste Say, a French businessman turned economist, followed Cantillon with his Trait d’economie politique in 1803. His work commented on the theory of markets and how the entrepreneur is involved in this transaction of goods for money.

Continue reading ‘What type of entrepreneur are you?’ »

Posted by: Robert W. Price

Kauffman Foundation Poll of Entrepreneurs Suggests Economic Growth Engine Still in Low Gear

Entrepreneurs are the Nation’s Primary Job Creators–They Say Government Should Do More

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation announced the results of a new survey of American entrepreneurs showing that entrepreneurs and small businesses continue to struggle despite increasing optimism on Wall Street.

One week before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made the statement that the recession is “very likely over,” two-thirds of entrepreneurs reported that the economy is heading in the wrong direction.

Continue reading ‘Entrepreneurs In USA Gloomy About Economic Crisis’ »

Discussions About Entrepreneurial Management

The adjective “entrepreneurial” is used in a host of varying contexts and embodies a wide variety of meanings and implications. For instance, “entrepreneurial knowledge,” as J.J. Kao points out in The Entrepreneurial Organization, can be referred to the concepts, skills, and mindset associated with operating large corporations with greater flexibility, innovation, and responsiveness.

Continue reading ‘What is entrepreneurial management?’ »

Posted by: Robert W. Price

Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship launches a Business Plan Competition across MENA

The Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship as a regional partner recently announced the launch of the MENA 100 Business Plan competition, which is organized by the MENA-OECD Enterprise Financing Network, in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank and the MENA Center for Investment.

The primary objective of the MENA 100 business plan competition is to encourage existing and inspire potential entrepreneurs and connect the 100 best of them in the Middle East and North Africa region with potential sources of finance to generate business transactions.

Continue reading ‘Call For Innovative Arab Entrepreneurs!’ »

Posted by: Robert W. Price 

Kauffman Foundation president Carl Schramm talks to Inc. Magazine about why great companies tend to get launched during recessions

If you are thinking of starting a company these days, this article states you’re not alone. Schramm says many entrepreneurs first take the plunge during tough economic times. And they’re not foolish to do so. “The most important message of our research is: Don’t despair,” he says. “Good things grow even in the darkest times.”

Continue reading ‘Now is a Great Time to Start a Company: Here’s Why!’ »

Posted by: Robert W. Price 

SBA’s Patriot Express Loan Initiative Delivers $315 Million to 3,750 Vets, Military Community

In just two year’s time, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative has supported more than $315 million in loans to more than 3,750 veterans and their spouses who are using the SBA-guaranteed funds to establish and expand their small businesses.  As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which raised loan guarantees to 90 percent, and eliminated fees temporarily, the number of Patriot Express loans increased to record levels in April and May of 2009.

Patriot Express, launched June 28, 2007, builds on the more than $1 billion in loans SBA guarantees annually for veteran-owned businesses, and the counseling assistance and procurement support it provides each year to more than 200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and Reserve members.

Continue reading ‘SBA’s Patriot Loans Delivers Millions for U.S. Vets’ »

Peter L. Bernstein, the author of Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk and other books, died on June 5th at the age of 90.
>>Discussion About Managing Entrepreneurial Risks 
>>Buy His Book At Amazon.com 

In this McKinsey Quarterly video, the well-known author discusses the meaning of risk and explains why sophisticated mathematical models to control it sometimes go awry.
>>Read More About Peter L. Bernstein

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Special Guide for Raising Money From Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors 

Is your company “really” investor ready? Do you know how to market and sell to outside investors? Do you have a sound financing strategy? Here is what Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, once said: “There are only two ways of raising money: the hard way and the very hard way.”

Continue reading ‘Free Guide: Raising Venture Capital’ »

The business plan is perhaps the most important written document you can ever create. It describes all critical internal and external elements and strategies for guiding the direction of your venture’s first several years as well as giving potential investors an idea of the venture’s structure, objectives, and future plans.

Continue reading ‘Free Guide: Creating Your Business Plan’ »

Discussions About Leading An Entrepreneurial Business Venture

It is not easy to be the boss if you have never been one, and the mistakes you make early on can come back to haunt you. In fact, the first-time entrepreneur faces perhaps no challenge greater than learning how to be the boss. But there is more.

Continue reading ‘Are you ready to be the lead entrepreneur?’ »