Innovators Workshop™
Next Event
Date: November 15, 2007
Time: 5 pm – 8:30 pm
Price: $29
Location: NC State University Centennial Campus
Monteith Research Center
Reservations: Required. Click here to register online.
Who Can Register? Registration is open to anyone who is working with a technology or idea and considering commercialization possibilities. Service partners such as attorneys and accountants are not able to register for this event.
Registration Deadline: Registration closes two business days before each event.
For More Information: Please see the CED calendar.
What is Innovators Workshop?
The Innovators Workshop is a half-day program that is designed to help potential entrepreneurs understand entrepreneurship, investors, business and the start-up process. The workshop gives attendees the tools and advice necessary to assess the commercial viability and feasibility of their idea and it helps equip them with the knowledge necessary to make the decision of whether to pursue a new venture. Each participant will learn how to compare their technology and idea against the investment criteria of angels and venture capitalists.
Who should attend?
Most participants in the Innovators Workshops are corporate and academic researchers, but the workshop is open to anyone who is working with an innovative technology or idea and is interested in starting a new venture.
How it works
Well-established entrepreneurs, investors and service partners (accountants, attorneys, etc.) deliver the content of the program, combining panel discussions with interactive workshops and take-away tools. The audience is limited to researchers and others who are considering starting a new venture.
The workshops are held on Saturday to accommodate the schedules of potential founders who are still working in a corporate environment.
Each workshop utilizes panel discussions and interactive work groups to help get the participants to a “go/no-go” decision. Participants will not be asked to disclose any information that they do not wish to, and any information given by any participants will be treated as confidential.
What topics will be covered?
The panels and workshop groups cover the following key topics:
- Understanding Entrepreneurship
- the entrepreneurial mindset
- characteristics of entrepreneurs
- Understanding Investors and Business
- venture capital and angel investment criteria
- how to approach (and not to approach) investors
- science vs. business and technology vs. product
- articulating a value proposition
- understanding potential customers and competition
- Understanding the Start-up Process
- intellectual property protection and ownership
- considerations with current employer
- business formation
- management and team/partner issues
Interested in sponsoring a CED program? Click here for details!