|
||||||||||||||||
|
Showing posts with label businessdevelopment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label businessdevelopment. Show all posts
Monday, September 10, 2012
Business Planning for Nonprofits
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Potsdam arts incubator project aims for new businesses
Village officials hope vacant downtown storefronts soon will fill up with arts-themed businesses.
The village is set to launch its arts microenterprise and incubator project. Potsdam received $100,000 to launch the program several months ago as part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s first award to the North Country Regional Economic Council.
Planning and Development Director Frederick J. Hanss said the funding hopefully will help launch up to eight to 10 arts-themed businesses.
“Potsdam has the reputation of being the arts and cultural capital of the north country,” Mr. Hanss said. “I hope it cements our reputation. ... I would hope it would make downtown Potsdam a more interesting place for visiting.”
The funding would be used as “seed money” for arts entrepreneurs to set up their business, Mr. Hanss said. An informational session will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Potsdam Civic Center Community Room. Those who cannot attend that meeting will have another chance at 7 p.m. April 24.
“We’ll walk them through the application process and the eligibility process,” Mr. Hanss said. “We’re being pretty open for eligible use of funds.”
The program will accept a wide variety of applicants, from an artist seeking to open a gallery, a potter who intends to sell products or a musician who repairs instruments, Mr. Hanss said.
“They have to present a body of work that’s original and innovative,” Mr. Hanss said. “We’re focused on new businesses. They’re the ones that typically need a leg up.”
A panel from the arts community will determine who can be admitted to the program, Mr. Hanss said. Applicants will have to complete a 10-week course to develop a business and marketing plan for their proposal before receiving any funding, which the village will distribute.
Discounted space in Clarkson University’s Old Snell Hall will serve as an “incubator” for successful applicants.
After a period of time, the businesses hopefully would move into downtown storefronts, Mr. Hanss said.
“Nobody has really applied it to this particular segment of the economy,” Mr. Hanss said. “I don’t think anyone has done this in rural parts of New York state.”
Mr. Hanss and Hillary Oak, executive director of the St. Lawrence County Arts Council, each have received five or six inquiries into the program over the last several months.
The program is co-sponsored by the village and the arts council.
Ms. Oak said the funding could be used to help reduce the business rent or pay for marketing expenses.
“If they have an interest in starting or expanding an arts-related business, these funds might help them,” Ms. Oak said. “We want to make sure businesses that use these funds are sustainable. As far as we know, this is the first microenterprise grant program geared specifically to the arts. Hopefully by next year, we’ll have some new businesses that have been given a boost by this program.”
Read article here.
The village is set to launch its arts microenterprise and incubator project. Potsdam received $100,000 to launch the program several months ago as part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s first award to the North Country Regional Economic Council.
Planning and Development Director Frederick J. Hanss said the funding hopefully will help launch up to eight to 10 arts-themed businesses.
“Potsdam has the reputation of being the arts and cultural capital of the north country,” Mr. Hanss said. “I hope it cements our reputation. ... I would hope it would make downtown Potsdam a more interesting place for visiting.”
The funding would be used as “seed money” for arts entrepreneurs to set up their business, Mr. Hanss said. An informational session will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Potsdam Civic Center Community Room. Those who cannot attend that meeting will have another chance at 7 p.m. April 24.
“We’ll walk them through the application process and the eligibility process,” Mr. Hanss said. “We’re being pretty open for eligible use of funds.”
The program will accept a wide variety of applicants, from an artist seeking to open a gallery, a potter who intends to sell products or a musician who repairs instruments, Mr. Hanss said.
“They have to present a body of work that’s original and innovative,” Mr. Hanss said. “We’re focused on new businesses. They’re the ones that typically need a leg up.”
A panel from the arts community will determine who can be admitted to the program, Mr. Hanss said. Applicants will have to complete a 10-week course to develop a business and marketing plan for their proposal before receiving any funding, which the village will distribute.
Discounted space in Clarkson University’s Old Snell Hall will serve as an “incubator” for successful applicants.
After a period of time, the businesses hopefully would move into downtown storefronts, Mr. Hanss said.
“Nobody has really applied it to this particular segment of the economy,” Mr. Hanss said. “I don’t think anyone has done this in rural parts of New York state.”
Mr. Hanss and Hillary Oak, executive director of the St. Lawrence County Arts Council, each have received five or six inquiries into the program over the last several months.
The program is co-sponsored by the village and the arts council.
Ms. Oak said the funding could be used to help reduce the business rent or pay for marketing expenses.
“If they have an interest in starting or expanding an arts-related business, these funds might help them,” Ms. Oak said. “We want to make sure businesses that use these funds are sustainable. As far as we know, this is the first microenterprise grant program geared specifically to the arts. Hopefully by next year, we’ll have some new businesses that have been given a boost by this program.”
Read article here.
Friday, February 3, 2012
How National and Local Government Can Promote Entrepreneurship
David Teten, ff Venture Capital
David Teten is a Partner with ff Venture Capital and Chairman of Harvard Business School Angels New York.
I’ve recently met with several universities, nonprofits, and government employees who’ve all asked the same question: how can we promote entrepreneurship? Just like me, they’re distressed about the poor economy and jobs situation, which contrasts dramatically with the growth and tight labor market in the technology ecosystem. They’re concerned with this issue at both the local and national levels.
The first and primary role of a government is to provide basic public goods competently. Like many Americans, I’m disappointed that our government sometimes fails to do this. Above all, I’d like our friends in government and the policy world to figure out how the US government can deliver what it’s supposed to but sometimes doesn’t: sound money; an affordable budget; effective education; functioning infrastructure (e.g. airports, less-intrusive airport security); functional legal system (tort reform); logical immigration reform; and a functional tax system (tax simplification). To Mayor Bloomberg’s credit, he is using his bully pulpit for exactly this purpose, e.g., decrying US immigration policy as ‘national suicide’. Sadly, he doesn’t control our immigration policy.
There are a range of organizations that help address issues in the technology ecosystem, including: Women in Technology, Technology Policy Institute, New York Technology Council and various other state technology councils, Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies, Information Technology Industry Council, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and Tech Policy Central. I support their goals of making entrepreneurship accessible to those who have the ingredients to become a successful self-starter. Like virtually the entire tech industry, I am particularly in favor of Startup Visa, which has the goal of stimulating our domestic startup community through acts to keep our foreign-born entrepreneurs in the United States.
Following is a list of some of the ideas I’ve working on (to various extents). If you see something that piques your interest and want to get involved, please contact me. I have ranked this list in ascending order of cost (defined as combined time and money).
- Educating the VC/angel community on the city/state resources available to them to build companies. I’ll likely organize a Harvard Business School Angels of NY event on this topic in 2012.
- Studying best practices of VCs in supporting portfolio company operational improvement. I am now leading a Columbia MBA team (ex-Mckinsey and BCG) on a study regarding best practices of VCs in supporting portfolio company operational improvement. This is effectively a sequel to my study of best practices in deal origination, published in the Journal of Private Equity, Harvard Business Review, Institutional Investor, and Business Insider. You can see preliminary results of this value creation study here.
- Encouraging non-US companies to set up operations in the US.As the former CEO of an Israeli startup with a (modest) US and UK presence, this is an obvious way to create more jobs here.
- Creating angel groups with other alumni organizations, using HBS Angels as a model, e.g., alumni of major NY schools (Columbia, NYU) and institutions (McKinsey, Goldman Sachs). I’ve talked informally with some universities about doing exactly this. -
Creating a for-profit business with the goal of helping students conduct research projects for businesses, so that they’re more connected with potential employers. I wrote a blog poston this.
- Organizing events for local mid- to large-company CIOs / CEOs to meet technology startups, in order to help startups get traction and keep their momentum going. HBS Angels will likely execute this in 2012.
- Publishing notes on local tech events. New York has an extremely active Meet-up culture; almost every night there are 3-10 tech-focused events. However, no one systematically provides notes/videos of these events. Here’s a win-win way to address this: recruit a team of students who would attend these events and publish their transcripts/videos, so that everyone learns more and faster and can network more easily. I’m already doing this on an experimental basis on my blog.
- Publishing joint research. See ffvc.com/topicsfor a full list of topics we want to research. Part of our strategy as a VC is to do in-depth research on the questions that interest us, in order to make us smarter and to help improve industry best practices. We typically do this by partnering with graduate student teams. In particular, we think it would be helpful to the ecosystem if someone were to publish research on who are the most active and most successful New York-area angels, superangels, and early-stage VCs, in order to identify the leaders with whom entrepreneurs should most want to work. (it is likely that ‘active’ and ‘successful’ are not synonymous.)
- Creating a master operating checklist for New York entrepreneurs. Visualize a grid, with the standard entrepreneurial steps down the y-axis (ideation, market research, incorporation, etc.), and the major New York industries across the X-axis (internet, food, retail, fashion, etc.). It would be valuable to have checklists for all of the intersections in this grid. We’ve created some but not all of these checklists for the tech industry; see our presentation notes and links on our resources page. Other useful checklists we’ve identified include Biztree, Wickedstart, Goodwin Founders Workbench, American Express Open Forum Crash Courses, StartupToDo , Entrepreneurcountry, and StartupPlays.
- Organizing angel pitch nights focused on special-interest communities, including industries (healthcare, retail, fashion) and affinity groups(Women, Asian-American, Latino, LGBT, African-American). I am now talking with some affinity groups in these domains about co-organizing such pitch nights under the umbrella of HBS Angels. Our goal is to source and fund great entrepreneurs, regardless of personal or industry background. We are planning a healthcare-focused evening on February 29, and are working on an evening focused on African-American entrepreneurs and on the mobility sector. Details to come.
Here are some much more ambitious and expensive ideas:
- Setting up a ‘virtual seastead’, perhaps on UN headquarters territory, for high-quality entrepreneurs who do not have US visas. A team in California is already creating a offshore seastead for non-US citizens who want to build companies in the US. The UN headquarters in New York is technically located on ‘international territory’. I’m sure there are already some for-profit businesses there, e.g., restaurants. I wonder if it is possible to set up an apartment building near UN HQ as a virtual seastead? I’m unclear whether this legal arbitrage is possible. Is anyone else looking into this?
- Launching a seastead acceleratoroffshore from New York.
Read more: http://www.teten.com/blog/2012/02/02/how-national-and-local-government-can-promote-entrepreneurship/#ixzz1lKvpNxR4
David Teten is a Partner with ff Venture Capital and Chairman of Harvard Business School Angels New York.
I’ve recently met with several universities, nonprofits, and government employees who’ve all asked the same question: how can we promote entrepreneurship? Just like me, they’re distressed about the poor economy and jobs situation, which contrasts dramatically with the growth and tight labor market in the technology ecosystem. They’re concerned with this issue at both the local and national levels.
The first and primary role of a government is to provide basic public goods competently. Like many Americans, I’m disappointed that our government sometimes fails to do this. Above all, I’d like our friends in government and the policy world to figure out how the US government can deliver what it’s supposed to but sometimes doesn’t: sound money; an affordable budget; effective education; functioning infrastructure (e.g. airports, less-intrusive airport security); functional legal system (tort reform); logical immigration reform; and a functional tax system (tax simplification). To Mayor Bloomberg’s credit, he is using his bully pulpit for exactly this purpose, e.g., decrying US immigration policy as ‘national suicide’. Sadly, he doesn’t control our immigration policy.
There are a range of organizations that help address issues in the technology ecosystem, including: Women in Technology, Technology Policy Institute, New York Technology Council and various other state technology councils, Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies, Information Technology Industry Council, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and Tech Policy Central. I support their goals of making entrepreneurship accessible to those who have the ingredients to become a successful self-starter. Like virtually the entire tech industry, I am particularly in favor of Startup Visa, which has the goal of stimulating our domestic startup community through acts to keep our foreign-born entrepreneurs in the United States.
Following is a list of some of the ideas I’ve working on (to various extents). If you see something that piques your interest and want to get involved, please contact me. I have ranked this list in ascending order of cost (defined as combined time and money).
- Educating the VC/angel community on the city/state resources available to them to build companies. I’ll likely organize a Harvard Business School Angels of NY event on this topic in 2012.
- Studying best practices of VCs in supporting portfolio company operational improvement. I am now leading a Columbia MBA team (ex-Mckinsey and BCG) on a study regarding best practices of VCs in supporting portfolio company operational improvement. This is effectively a sequel to my study of best practices in deal origination, published in the Journal of Private Equity, Harvard Business Review, Institutional Investor, and Business Insider. You can see preliminary results of this value creation study here.
- Encouraging non-US companies to set up operations in the US.As the former CEO of an Israeli startup with a (modest) US and UK presence, this is an obvious way to create more jobs here.
- Creating angel groups with other alumni organizations, using HBS Angels as a model, e.g., alumni of major NY schools (Columbia, NYU) and institutions (McKinsey, Goldman Sachs). I’ve talked informally with some universities about doing exactly this. -
Creating a for-profit business with the goal of helping students conduct research projects for businesses, so that they’re more connected with potential employers. I wrote a blog poston this.
- Organizing events for local mid- to large-company CIOs / CEOs to meet technology startups, in order to help startups get traction and keep their momentum going. HBS Angels will likely execute this in 2012.
- Publishing notes on local tech events. New York has an extremely active Meet-up culture; almost every night there are 3-10 tech-focused events. However, no one systematically provides notes/videos of these events. Here’s a win-win way to address this: recruit a team of students who would attend these events and publish their transcripts/videos, so that everyone learns more and faster and can network more easily. I’m already doing this on an experimental basis on my blog.
- Publishing joint research. See ffvc.com/topicsfor a full list of topics we want to research. Part of our strategy as a VC is to do in-depth research on the questions that interest us, in order to make us smarter and to help improve industry best practices. We typically do this by partnering with graduate student teams. In particular, we think it would be helpful to the ecosystem if someone were to publish research on who are the most active and most successful New York-area angels, superangels, and early-stage VCs, in order to identify the leaders with whom entrepreneurs should most want to work. (it is likely that ‘active’ and ‘successful’ are not synonymous.)
- Creating a master operating checklist for New York entrepreneurs. Visualize a grid, with the standard entrepreneurial steps down the y-axis (ideation, market research, incorporation, etc.), and the major New York industries across the X-axis (internet, food, retail, fashion, etc.). It would be valuable to have checklists for all of the intersections in this grid. We’ve created some but not all of these checklists for the tech industry; see our presentation notes and links on our resources page. Other useful checklists we’ve identified include Biztree, Wickedstart, Goodwin Founders Workbench, American Express Open Forum Crash Courses, StartupToDo , Entrepreneurcountry, and StartupPlays.
- Organizing angel pitch nights focused on special-interest communities, including industries (healthcare, retail, fashion) and affinity groups(Women, Asian-American, Latino, LGBT, African-American). I am now talking with some affinity groups in these domains about co-organizing such pitch nights under the umbrella of HBS Angels. Our goal is to source and fund great entrepreneurs, regardless of personal or industry background. We are planning a healthcare-focused evening on February 29, and are working on an evening focused on African-American entrepreneurs and on the mobility sector. Details to come.
Here are some much more ambitious and expensive ideas:
- Setting up a ‘virtual seastead’, perhaps on UN headquarters territory, for high-quality entrepreneurs who do not have US visas. A team in California is already creating a offshore seastead for non-US citizens who want to build companies in the US. The UN headquarters in New York is technically located on ‘international territory’. I’m sure there are already some for-profit businesses there, e.g., restaurants. I wonder if it is possible to set up an apartment building near UN HQ as a virtual seastead? I’m unclear whether this legal arbitrage is possible. Is anyone else looking into this?
- Launching a seastead acceleratoroffshore from New York.
Read more: http://www.teten.com/blog/2012/02/02/how-national-and-local-government-can-promote-entrepreneurship/#ixzz1lKvpNxR4
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Philanthro-teens delving into nonprofit world
Crain's New York Business reported that kids raise the bar on giving with Facebook fundraisers, even their own foundations.
When Shannon McNamara was 13, her parents took her and her siblings to Peru during summer vacation to volunteer in an orphanage.
“At the beginning of the trip, I was thinking, 'Why can't I be on a cruise ship instead?' ” said Ms. McNamara, now 17 and a senior in high school in Basking Ridge, N.J. But the experience was “worth more than any cruise or trip to Disneyland could give you,” she said.
The family took a similar trip to Africa three years ago, and Ms. McNamara started her own nonprofit, Share (Shannon's After-School Reading Exchange), shortly after to help educate African girls. She has since volunteered in Tanzania every summer, and has collected 23,000 books and shipped them to schools there. She has also begun raising money for scholarships.
Meet the teen philanthropists. Armed with new technology and an awareness of global issues, post-Millennials are engaging in social entrepreneurship in previously unimaginable ways. Though still materialistic, these teens and even preteens want to do something more significant than acquire the latest i-Pod Touch or Wii.
Looking for a purpose
Borrowing from trends in celebrity charity, kids are mobilizing their peers to address everything from infant mortality in developing nations to neighborhood concerns. They're donating presents to charity, and they're establishing their own nonprofits.
“The number of kids creating their own organizations and taking action for causes they care about is skyrocketing,” said Nancy Lublin, chief executive of DoSomething.org, a New York-based nonprofit that helps young people to engage in philanthropy.
“Kids today just saw their parents go through a recession, get laid off and struggle,” Ms. Lublin said. “They look around and say: 'What's the point? I don't just want a second car in my driveway. I want a life of purpose.' ”
In the past year, 79% of girls in the United States have contributed food or clothing, 53% have given their own money, and 66% have asked family or friends to give or volunteer, according to research commissioned by the United Nations Foundation.
READ MORE HERE.
When Shannon McNamara was 13, her parents took her and her siblings to Peru during summer vacation to volunteer in an orphanage.
“At the beginning of the trip, I was thinking, 'Why can't I be on a cruise ship instead?' ” said Ms. McNamara, now 17 and a senior in high school in Basking Ridge, N.J. But the experience was “worth more than any cruise or trip to Disneyland could give you,” she said.
The family took a similar trip to Africa three years ago, and Ms. McNamara started her own nonprofit, Share (Shannon's After-School Reading Exchange), shortly after to help educate African girls. She has since volunteered in Tanzania every summer, and has collected 23,000 books and shipped them to schools there. She has also begun raising money for scholarships.
Meet the teen philanthropists. Armed with new technology and an awareness of global issues, post-Millennials are engaging in social entrepreneurship in previously unimaginable ways. Though still materialistic, these teens and even preteens want to do something more significant than acquire the latest i-Pod Touch or Wii.
Looking for a purpose
Borrowing from trends in celebrity charity, kids are mobilizing their peers to address everything from infant mortality in developing nations to neighborhood concerns. They're donating presents to charity, and they're establishing their own nonprofits.
“The number of kids creating their own organizations and taking action for causes they care about is skyrocketing,” said Nancy Lublin, chief executive of DoSomething.org, a New York-based nonprofit that helps young people to engage in philanthropy.
“Kids today just saw their parents go through a recession, get laid off and struggle,” Ms. Lublin said. “They look around and say: 'What's the point? I don't just want a second car in my driveway. I want a life of purpose.' ”
In the past year, 79% of girls in the United States have contributed food or clothing, 53% have given their own money, and 66% have asked family or friends to give or volunteer, according to research commissioned by the United Nations Foundation.
READ MORE HERE.
Monday, December 20, 2010
New Start Up Resource
The name Wicked Start, while irreverent and fun, is also a play on a slang definition of “wicked,” meaning masterful. A "wicked start" is a masterful way of starting a business. At Wicked Start, we believe entrepreneurs and small business owners are on the forefront of business today, leading change and innovation with great ideas.
Starting a business is one of the biggest decisions that you will ever make, and it can be as daunting as it is exciting. To be successful, you must take lots of personal, financial and planning considerations into account. At Wicked Start, our objective is to combine a practical, manageable business approach with a dose of “heart” to manage these considerations during the entire start-up process. This “heart” is compassion, which plays an instrumental role in how you create, drive and build a successful business on based on principles, integrity, and best practices. By injecting compassion into your solutions, you will find a healthier business in the long term and a healthier bottom line.
Starting a business is one of the biggest decisions that you will ever make, and it can be as daunting as it is exciting. To be successful, you must take lots of personal, financial and planning considerations into account. At Wicked Start, our objective is to combine a practical, manageable business approach with a dose of “heart” to manage these considerations during the entire start-up process. This “heart” is compassion, which plays an instrumental role in how you create, drive and build a successful business on based on principles, integrity, and best practices. By injecting compassion into your solutions, you will find a healthier business in the long term and a healthier bottom line.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
For Artists’ Fund-Raising, a Social Network Site
The NY Times featured an article about United States Artists, a nonprofit group founded by foundations and wealthy art donors to broaden support for working artists, and their new Web site that solicits small donations from regular people to help underwrite specific artworks.
Part social network, part glossy brochure, part fund-raising mechanism, the site seeks to democratize arts patronage as government support for the arts continues to decline and private sources of financing also shrink.
“What we’ve tried to do is take the good ideas about microphilanthropy and the good ideas about social networking and put them together in a way that people can learn about artists and learn about their projects and how they work,” said Katharine DeShaw, the organization’s executive director.
In testing, the Web site attracted roughly 36,000 unique visitors and raised a total of $210,000, with an average of $120 from each of 1,500 small donors, Ms. DeShaw said.
Artists like Zoe Strauss, a photographer, who have received United States Artists grants in the past were asked to participate in the test, and 47 did so. Ms. Strauss sought $4,000 for a project to document the effects of the BP oil spill on the Gulf Coast and its people, and to make a book of her photographs.
Ms. Strauss said about fund-raising, “I would rather have someone stab me in the face.” She added, “I’m totally unskilled in how to hustle money and totally repulsed by the idea of asking people for it, so this site was a dream come true for me.”
She ended up raising $5,185, which is helping her make additional trips to the region to take more photos. “I probably would have had to stop at the one trip I made because I couldn’t afford anymore,” she said. “By making one or two more trips down there, I will have much more to choose from for the book.”
Ms. Strauss said she also appreciated the social networking aspects of the site. “I work very much by myself, and so the ability to talk back and forth with other artists and see how they go about raising money and talking about their work is great.”
Thomas Allen Harris worried it might be too much work. But he decided he could use the test to raise money for a documentary that grew out of his work on Digital Diaspora Family Reunion, a multimedia project that asks blacks to share their family photos as a means of broadening the historic record of the black experience in America. As part of that project, he interviewed Byron Rushing, a Massachusetts legislator who had played a pivotal role in the state’s debate over gay marriage, and saw a way of tying that issue to the civil rights movement in a film.
Using the new Web site and other resources, Mr. Harris raised $11,600, 16 percent more than he had sought, to pay for archival materials, a composer and other postproduction costs.
“In first week or two, all I raised was $25, and I started wondering what would happen if people started thinking about this as a failure,” Mr. Harris said. “I’m used to sharing my creative process, but sharing how I’m actually raising money in such a public way introduces another level of vulnerability.”
Bill Frisell, a jazzss guitarist, said he, too, was uncomfortable with so publicly soliciting money. “I’m not rich but I make a living, and so for me to say, ‘Please, please, please give me money,’ it felt a little embarrassing,” Mr. Frisell said. “I had to get over that.”
He raised $20,300 through the new site, which will be used to complete a program called “The Great Flood,” a suite of original music composed by Mr. Frisell and accompanied by a film by Bill Morrison about the Mississippi River flood in 1927 and its effect on society and music.
The money will enable him to take the band that will perform the music on a tour along the Mississippi River. “We’ll play in various places,” Mr. Frisell said, “set up on the street and play or get smaller gigs that wouldn’t pay enough to cover expenses without this money.”
Ms. Strauss, Mr. Harris and Mr. Frisell say they anticipate that the kind of incremental fund-raising on the site will become more and more important to sustaining art. Mr. Frisell said, “We have to try new things.”
Part social network, part glossy brochure, part fund-raising mechanism, the site seeks to democratize arts patronage as government support for the arts continues to decline and private sources of financing also shrink.
“What we’ve tried to do is take the good ideas about microphilanthropy and the good ideas about social networking and put them together in a way that people can learn about artists and learn about their projects and how they work,” said Katharine DeShaw, the organization’s executive director.
In testing, the Web site attracted roughly 36,000 unique visitors and raised a total of $210,000, with an average of $120 from each of 1,500 small donors, Ms. DeShaw said.
Artists like Zoe Strauss, a photographer, who have received United States Artists grants in the past were asked to participate in the test, and 47 did so. Ms. Strauss sought $4,000 for a project to document the effects of the BP oil spill on the Gulf Coast and its people, and to make a book of her photographs.
Ms. Strauss said about fund-raising, “I would rather have someone stab me in the face.” She added, “I’m totally unskilled in how to hustle money and totally repulsed by the idea of asking people for it, so this site was a dream come true for me.”
She ended up raising $5,185, which is helping her make additional trips to the region to take more photos. “I probably would have had to stop at the one trip I made because I couldn’t afford anymore,” she said. “By making one or two more trips down there, I will have much more to choose from for the book.”
Ms. Strauss said she also appreciated the social networking aspects of the site. “I work very much by myself, and so the ability to talk back and forth with other artists and see how they go about raising money and talking about their work is great.”
Thomas Allen Harris worried it might be too much work. But he decided he could use the test to raise money for a documentary that grew out of his work on Digital Diaspora Family Reunion, a multimedia project that asks blacks to share their family photos as a means of broadening the historic record of the black experience in America. As part of that project, he interviewed Byron Rushing, a Massachusetts legislator who had played a pivotal role in the state’s debate over gay marriage, and saw a way of tying that issue to the civil rights movement in a film.
Using the new Web site and other resources, Mr. Harris raised $11,600, 16 percent more than he had sought, to pay for archival materials, a composer and other postproduction costs.
“In first week or two, all I raised was $25, and I started wondering what would happen if people started thinking about this as a failure,” Mr. Harris said. “I’m used to sharing my creative process, but sharing how I’m actually raising money in such a public way introduces another level of vulnerability.”
Bill Frisell, a jazzss guitarist, said he, too, was uncomfortable with so publicly soliciting money. “I’m not rich but I make a living, and so for me to say, ‘Please, please, please give me money,’ it felt a little embarrassing,” Mr. Frisell said. “I had to get over that.”
He raised $20,300 through the new site, which will be used to complete a program called “The Great Flood,” a suite of original music composed by Mr. Frisell and accompanied by a film by Bill Morrison about the Mississippi River flood in 1927 and its effect on society and music.
The money will enable him to take the band that will perform the music on a tour along the Mississippi River. “We’ll play in various places,” Mr. Frisell said, “set up on the street and play or get smaller gigs that wouldn’t pay enough to cover expenses without this money.”
Ms. Strauss, Mr. Harris and Mr. Frisell say they anticipate that the kind of incremental fund-raising on the site will become more and more important to sustaining art. Mr. Frisell said, “We have to try new things.”
Helping 1,000 startups in 2,000 days
Veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneur Martin Babinec is looking for an Albany-area university to team up with him.
Babinec, of Little Falls, N.Y., founded Upstate Venture Connect in January and already has partnered with Cornell University, Syracuse University and LeMoyne College in Central New York to make it easier for technology startups to succeed.
Babinec formed UVC with a goal of helping entrepreneurs team up with advisers and find access to investors to increase their odds of survival. UVC seeks to help create 1,000 technology startups in upstate New York over the next 2,000 days.
“For entrepreneurs to get connected here is extremely difficult,” Babinec said.
UVC, a nonprofit, is developing a database and social network for mentors, advisers, startup companies, incubators and investors.
Teaming up with upstate universities to create a network of resources to help entrepreneurs solve funding, marketing, sales and commercialization problems is a key that Babinec said will help upstate encourage the development of more startup companies.
The resident of Herkimer County, N.Y., spent 22 years building TriNet HR Corp., a San Leandro, Calif.-based human resources outsourcing company, into a national firm with $200 million in annual revenue and more than 2,800 clients in the Unites States.
Babinec, who remains on the TriNet board and is the second-largest shareholder of the private company, said he is dedicating the next 10 years to bringing some of Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurship culture to upstate New York.
UVC is run by Nasir Ali, president of The Tech Garden in Syracuse.
Last month, UVC opened an office in Saratoga Springs. Greg Gibson, an entrepreneur who moved to Saratoga Springs from Boston two years ago, is running the local office.
“Upstate has many of the assets necessary to build an innovation-oriented economy,” Babinec said. They include 113 universities and colleges, roughly 500,000 students who attract more than $3 billion in research funding each year.
Those assets are spread out and do not work together as much as they should.
By partnering with universities throughout upstate, Babinec said he hopes to start changing the entrepreneurship culture here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..
Read more: Helping 1,000 startups in 2,000 days The Business Review
Babinec, of Little Falls, N.Y., founded Upstate Venture Connect in January and already has partnered with Cornell University, Syracuse University and LeMoyne College in Central New York to make it easier for technology startups to succeed.
Babinec formed UVC with a goal of helping entrepreneurs team up with advisers and find access to investors to increase their odds of survival. UVC seeks to help create 1,000 technology startups in upstate New York over the next 2,000 days.
“For entrepreneurs to get connected here is extremely difficult,” Babinec said.
UVC, a nonprofit, is developing a database and social network for mentors, advisers, startup companies, incubators and investors.
Teaming up with upstate universities to create a network of resources to help entrepreneurs solve funding, marketing, sales and commercialization problems is a key that Babinec said will help upstate encourage the development of more startup companies.
The resident of Herkimer County, N.Y., spent 22 years building TriNet HR Corp., a San Leandro, Calif.-based human resources outsourcing company, into a national firm with $200 million in annual revenue and more than 2,800 clients in the Unites States.
Babinec, who remains on the TriNet board and is the second-largest shareholder of the private company, said he is dedicating the next 10 years to bringing some of Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurship culture to upstate New York.
UVC is run by Nasir Ali, president of The Tech Garden in Syracuse.
Last month, UVC opened an office in Saratoga Springs. Greg Gibson, an entrepreneur who moved to Saratoga Springs from Boston two years ago, is running the local office.
“Upstate has many of the assets necessary to build an innovation-oriented economy,” Babinec said. They include 113 universities and colleges, roughly 500,000 students who attract more than $3 billion in research funding each year.
Those assets are spread out and do not work together as much as they should.
By partnering with universities throughout upstate, Babinec said he hopes to start changing the entrepreneurship culture here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..
Read more: Helping 1,000 startups in 2,000 days The Business Review
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Connecting Entrepreneurs in Central New York: New Website
Enitiative, a coalition of six campuses in Central New York that promotes student and community entrepreneurship, has a new website aimed at connecting Central New York entrepreneurs with the resources available to help them launch and grow their ventures.
Students, faculty, staff and community members can visit www.cnyentrepreneurship.com to find resources they might need at any stage in their business. From conducting basic market research to forming legal structure and designing a marketing campaign, fledgling and established business owners can find both university and community resources that are there to help them succeed.
“There are many organizations, college courses and seasoned entrepreneurs in Central New York that offer services, knowledge and experience to those entrepreneurs who are just starting out or who want to take their business to the next level,” says Bruce Kingma, associate provost for entrepreneurship and innovation at Syracuse University. “We wanted to provide a single place for entrepreneurs to get this important information.”
Enitiative worked with organizations and colleges across Central New York to compile the resources listed on the website. Any organization that would like to be included on the website as a resource for entrepreneurs should email the Enitiative office at excel@syr.edu.
The SU-led Enitiative is funded by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Mo., focusing on entrepreneurship in the arts, technology and neighborhoods. SU’s academic and community partners in this initiative include Cayuga Community College (CCC), Le Moyne College, Morrisville State College, Onondaga Community College (OCC), the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), the Central New York Community Foundation, the Gifford Foundation, CenterState CEO, Messenger Associates Inc. and National Grid.
Students, faculty, staff and community members can visit www.cnyentrepreneurship.com to find resources they might need at any stage in their business. From conducting basic market research to forming legal structure and designing a marketing campaign, fledgling and established business owners can find both university and community resources that are there to help them succeed.
“There are many organizations, college courses and seasoned entrepreneurs in Central New York that offer services, knowledge and experience to those entrepreneurs who are just starting out or who want to take their business to the next level,” says Bruce Kingma, associate provost for entrepreneurship and innovation at Syracuse University. “We wanted to provide a single place for entrepreneurs to get this important information.”
Enitiative worked with organizations and colleges across Central New York to compile the resources listed on the website. Any organization that would like to be included on the website as a resource for entrepreneurs should email the Enitiative office at excel@syr.edu.
The SU-led Enitiative is funded by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Mo., focusing on entrepreneurship in the arts, technology and neighborhoods. SU’s academic and community partners in this initiative include Cayuga Community College (CCC), Le Moyne College, Morrisville State College, Onondaga Community College (OCC), the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), the Central New York Community Foundation, the Gifford Foundation, CenterState CEO, Messenger Associates Inc. and National Grid.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Looking to jump-start your business? You might try entering a contest.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a growing number of corporations, nonprofits and universities are giving small companies a chance at a big break—by holding contests.
Covering a broad range of categories, from the most promising women entrepreneurs to the strongest tech ideas, these competitions offer a number of powerful lures. Some offer cash prizes that can range into the six figures. Then there are longer-term rewards, such as increased exposure and grist for future marketing campaigns. Even if they don't win, entrepreneurs often come away with valuable critiques from expert panels of judges.
But there's an art to deciding which contests to enter and making the best case for your company. Here are some keys to finding, entering and winning these competitions.
The best place to start looking for contests is www.AwardSync.com, a site that helps groups publicize their awards. Once you've focused in on some competitions, the groups' own sites can be valuable. For instance, you could scour their sites for more information about what they do—which might give you ideas about what to highlight in your presentation.
At the outset, start small with awards from, say, local chapters of national organizations. This has a number of benefits. You can refine your case and practice your presentation without as much at stake. You also stand a better chance of winning a smaller contest—and judges of larger events like to see that you have some victories under your belt.
Once you've homed in on some contests, network like crazy. Call previous winners to see what worked for them; more than anyone else, they'll understand why you're in the hunt—and typically they have nothing to lose because they're ineligible to win again. If you can get into the audience for an award's oral presentations, go do it one year, see what makes the finalists stand out, and then apply the next year. Read more here.
Covering a broad range of categories, from the most promising women entrepreneurs to the strongest tech ideas, these competitions offer a number of powerful lures. Some offer cash prizes that can range into the six figures. Then there are longer-term rewards, such as increased exposure and grist for future marketing campaigns. Even if they don't win, entrepreneurs often come away with valuable critiques from expert panels of judges.
But there's an art to deciding which contests to enter and making the best case for your company. Here are some keys to finding, entering and winning these competitions.
The best place to start looking for contests is www.AwardSync.com, a site that helps groups publicize their awards. Once you've focused in on some competitions, the groups' own sites can be valuable. For instance, you could scour their sites for more information about what they do—which might give you ideas about what to highlight in your presentation.
At the outset, start small with awards from, say, local chapters of national organizations. This has a number of benefits. You can refine your case and practice your presentation without as much at stake. You also stand a better chance of winning a smaller contest—and judges of larger events like to see that you have some victories under your belt.
Once you've homed in on some contests, network like crazy. Call previous winners to see what worked for them; more than anyone else, they'll understand why you're in the hunt—and typically they have nothing to lose because they're ineligible to win again. If you can get into the audience for an award's oral presentations, go do it one year, see what makes the finalists stand out, and then apply the next year. Read more here.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Foundations Offer Loans to Nonprofits: Possible Idea of Seed Funds
The Buffalo News reported that a $650,000 check in 2008 from the Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York for a new program to assist the frail elderly in Cattaraugus County came with a caveat: Trustees of the foundation wanted the money back, with interest.
A single grant of that size was beyond the capacity of the foundation, so trustees decided instead to make it a loan.
The money allowed Community Care of Western New York to launch a program that will keep more than 200 rural elderly people safely in their homes. Without it, the project probably would have stalled.
"It would not have opened without us, and what is a really promising model for elder care in a rural community would have been lost," said Ann Monroe, foundation president.
Increasingly, foundations in Western New York and across the country are turning to loans, loan guarantees and other measures as a way to aid needy nonprofit organizations without giving away the store.
The John R. Oishei Foundation, the area's largest private foundation, currently has more than $12 million — nearly 4 percent of its $280 million asset base — being used in this fashion. And at least two other local foundations, the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation and the Joy Family Foundation, have experimented with alternative financing.
Known as "program-related investments," or more popularly "PRIs," the loans and loan guarantees are serving a dual purpose for foundations hammered by stock market losses in 2008.
PRIs, like grants, put money toward projects that might not otherwise get off the ground. Read more here.
A single grant of that size was beyond the capacity of the foundation, so trustees decided instead to make it a loan.
The money allowed Community Care of Western New York to launch a program that will keep more than 200 rural elderly people safely in their homes. Without it, the project probably would have stalled.
"It would not have opened without us, and what is a really promising model for elder care in a rural community would have been lost," said Ann Monroe, foundation president.
Increasingly, foundations in Western New York and across the country are turning to loans, loan guarantees and other measures as a way to aid needy nonprofit organizations without giving away the store.
The John R. Oishei Foundation, the area's largest private foundation, currently has more than $12 million — nearly 4 percent of its $280 million asset base — being used in this fashion. And at least two other local foundations, the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation and the Joy Family Foundation, have experimented with alternative financing.
Known as "program-related investments," or more popularly "PRIs," the loans and loan guarantees are serving a dual purpose for foundations hammered by stock market losses in 2008.
PRIs, like grants, put money toward projects that might not otherwise get off the ground. Read more here.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
New York Entrepreneur Week April 12-16
New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) is a non-profit movement formed around a single belief: entrepreneurs change the world. And now is the time for entrepreneurs who have the will and drive to prove they can achieve anything, to stand up and come together in New York State for another groundbreaking NYEW event.
With over 100 speakers from 40 cities, 15 states and 3 continents, NYEW unites the state’s diverse entrepreneurial community; giving you the opportunity to connect with and learn from New York’s best and brightest entrepreneurs who are relentless, driven and dedicated to improving your business and the economy. View the full agenda here.
New York Entrepreneur Week encompasses five days of innovative and hyper-targeted events, including:
* Inspiring keynote speeches from recognized business leaders
* Riveting panels delivering relevant mission-critical advice
* The flagship RELENTLESS business plan competition
With over 100 speakers from 40 cities, 15 states and 3 continents, NYEW unites the state’s diverse entrepreneurial community; giving you the opportunity to connect with and learn from New York’s best and brightest entrepreneurs who are relentless, driven and dedicated to improving your business and the economy. View the full agenda here.
New York Entrepreneur Week encompasses five days of innovative and hyper-targeted events, including:
* Inspiring keynote speeches from recognized business leaders
* Riveting panels delivering relevant mission-critical advice
* The flagship RELENTLESS business plan competition
Monday, March 15, 2010
Need Ideas for Your Venture? How About Recycling Soap?
Here is a great example of an entrepreneurial start up that an individual developed. Although this is a stand alone nonprofit, tourism-focused nonprofits could have (or maybe still can) developed this type of program and partnership with local accomodations. Here is some info from a recent article:
Children in earthquake-devastated Haiti may already be washing their hands with Mickey Mouse soap from a Walt Disney World hotel.
The giant Disney resort recently signed on with Clean the World Foundation Inc., a year-old nonprofit group that hopes to improve hygiene in impoverished parts of the world by recycling soap and shampoo from tens of thousands of local and out-of-state hotel rooms.
The nonprofit group collects the used toiletries, which hotels previously tossed in the trash, sanitizes them and then redistributes them to people in need around the world. Read more here.
Look at your organization. What opportunities do you have, or can you create with your partners or supporters? Have your own ideas? Share them here.
Children in earthquake-devastated Haiti may already be washing their hands with Mickey Mouse soap from a Walt Disney World hotel.
The giant Disney resort recently signed on with Clean the World Foundation Inc., a year-old nonprofit group that hopes to improve hygiene in impoverished parts of the world by recycling soap and shampoo from tens of thousands of local and out-of-state hotel rooms.
The nonprofit group collects the used toiletries, which hotels previously tossed in the trash, sanitizes them and then redistributes them to people in need around the world. Read more here.
Look at your organization. What opportunities do you have, or can you create with your partners or supporters? Have your own ideas? Share them here.
Friday, February 5, 2010
New nonprofit aims to spark growing firms
The Central NY Business Journal reported that a new nonprofit group has launched to encourage the development and growth of more small, innovative companies in upstate New York.
The organization, Upstate Venture Connect, aims to increase connections among mentors, entrepreneurs, and those interested in working for young, growth-oriented firms. Group leaders also want to spark more collaboration among business groups, universities, and economic development organizations.
Upstate New York isn't likely to generate major job growth by attracting large companies that will hire hundreds or thousands of people, says Martin Babinec, founder and chairman of Upstate Venture Connect, which started in January.
"That's yesterday's industrial model," he says. "But it's not reality with the way things currently work."
A better path, Babinec says, is to focus on developing numerous smaller companies. The group will concentrate on firms that can attract private-equity financing since they tend to be those with the best shot at growth. Read more here.
The organization, Upstate Venture Connect, aims to increase connections among mentors, entrepreneurs, and those interested in working for young, growth-oriented firms. Group leaders also want to spark more collaboration among business groups, universities, and economic development organizations.
Upstate New York isn't likely to generate major job growth by attracting large companies that will hire hundreds or thousands of people, says Martin Babinec, founder and chairman of Upstate Venture Connect, which started in January.
"That's yesterday's industrial model," he says. "But it's not reality with the way things currently work."
A better path, Babinec says, is to focus on developing numerous smaller companies. The group will concentrate on firms that can attract private-equity financing since they tend to be those with the best shot at growth. Read more here.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Inventing as a way of business
Business First of Buffalo reported that ideas lead to inventions and, sometimes, a business. As the article relates:
“But that’s just a starting point on a long journey,” said registered patent attorney Vincent LoTempio of the law firm Kloss, Stenger and LoTempio.
On Jan. 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Buffalo State College auditorium, LoTempio and other area experts will host entrepreneurs with big ideas and explain what to expect throughout that journey.
The event is called Product Idea Expo, where attendees will get overviews on writing business plans, starting a business and creating prototypes.
Local entrepreneur Richard Conway is scheduled to discuss his experiences in how to bring a product to market.
In 1998, Conway developed the Balance Buddy, a U-shaped handle that attaches to the rear axle of a child’s bicycle.
“It works like a stroller, so parents don’t have to bend down and struggle as they teach their kids to ride a bike.” Conway said.
Patented in 2001, Conway estimates he’s sold more than 100,000. The product can be found at Target, Toys R Us and Amazon.com.
Other sessions include how to avoid the common mistakes inventors make, how to sell a product and what retailers look for in products. “The program is open to anyone who has an idea and wants to market it,” said William Grieshober, business adviser at the Small Business Development Center at Buffalo State.
The event is co-sponsored by the college, New York State Small Business Development Center and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Besides LoTempio and SBA representatives, presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Scheduled to present are SBDC counselors, as well as professionals with experience in customs, advertising and marketing.
For more information or to register, visit www.wnyinvents.com.
“But that’s just a starting point on a long journey,” said registered patent attorney Vincent LoTempio of the law firm Kloss, Stenger and LoTempio.
On Jan. 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Buffalo State College auditorium, LoTempio and other area experts will host entrepreneurs with big ideas and explain what to expect throughout that journey.
The event is called Product Idea Expo, where attendees will get overviews on writing business plans, starting a business and creating prototypes.
Local entrepreneur Richard Conway is scheduled to discuss his experiences in how to bring a product to market.
In 1998, Conway developed the Balance Buddy, a U-shaped handle that attaches to the rear axle of a child’s bicycle.
“It works like a stroller, so parents don’t have to bend down and struggle as they teach their kids to ride a bike.” Conway said.
Patented in 2001, Conway estimates he’s sold more than 100,000. The product can be found at Target, Toys R Us and Amazon.com.
Other sessions include how to avoid the common mistakes inventors make, how to sell a product and what retailers look for in products. “The program is open to anyone who has an idea and wants to market it,” said William Grieshober, business adviser at the Small Business Development Center at Buffalo State.
The event is co-sponsored by the college, New York State Small Business Development Center and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Besides LoTempio and SBA representatives, presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Scheduled to present are SBDC counselors, as well as professionals with experience in customs, advertising and marketing.
For more information or to register, visit www.wnyinvents.com.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Recession Brings Out Entrepreneurial Spirit
The NY Times offered an article about the recent entrepreneurial focus in Detroit. As the article related:
With $6,000 and some Hollywood-style spunk, four friends opened this city’s only independent foreign movie house three months ago in an abandoned school auditorium on an unlighted stretch of the Cass Corridor near downtown.
After the unlikely hoopla of an opening night, red-carpet-style event in an area known for drugs and prostitution, exactly four customers showed up to see a film.
Since then, the Burton Theater has had a few profitable nights. But, the owners say, this adventure in entrepreneurship was never completely about making money. It was also about creating a more livable community.
“Nobody could comprehend why we’d start a theater,” said an investor, Nathan Faustyn, 25. “But when you live in Detroit, you ask, ‘What can I do for the city?’ We needed this. And we had nothing to lose. When you’re at the bottom of the economic ladder, you have nowhere to look but up.”
Despite the recession — and in some cases because of it — small businesses are budding around Detroit in one of the more surprising twists of the downturn. Some new businesses like the Burton are scratching by. Others have already grown beyond the initial scope of their business plans, juggling hundreds of customers and expanding into new sites.
Across from the Burton, for instance, Jennifer Willemsen just celebrated the first anniversary of her shop, Curl Up and Dye, a retro-themed hair salon serving 1,500 clients. Not far away, Torya Blanchard, a former French teacher, recently opened the second location of Good Girls Go to Paris, a creperie. Next door, Greg Lenhoff, also a former teacher, opened a bookstore in August called Leopold’s.
And just down the street from Leopold’s, on Woodward Avenue, Victor Both runs Breezecab, a company he started with a severance package after a layoff from Wayne State University. He uses rickshaws to ferry workers and conventioneers around downtown. “This filled a transportation void,” said Mr. Both, 34, who picked up the pedicab idea while touring Las Vegas before his layoff. “I haven’t made much money, but the experience has been priceless. I had no idea Detroit had so much love.”
It is not an uncommon instinct to start an enterprise in bad times and seize on weakened competition, lower overhead costs and perhaps more free time. Nor is it limited to Detroit. But the trend is particularly striking here, in a city that was suffering long before the rest of the nation fell into recession and where hard times, business closings and abandonment became routine generations ago. Read more here.
With $6,000 and some Hollywood-style spunk, four friends opened this city’s only independent foreign movie house three months ago in an abandoned school auditorium on an unlighted stretch of the Cass Corridor near downtown.
After the unlikely hoopla of an opening night, red-carpet-style event in an area known for drugs and prostitution, exactly four customers showed up to see a film.
Since then, the Burton Theater has had a few profitable nights. But, the owners say, this adventure in entrepreneurship was never completely about making money. It was also about creating a more livable community.
“Nobody could comprehend why we’d start a theater,” said an investor, Nathan Faustyn, 25. “But when you live in Detroit, you ask, ‘What can I do for the city?’ We needed this. And we had nothing to lose. When you’re at the bottom of the economic ladder, you have nowhere to look but up.”
Despite the recession — and in some cases because of it — small businesses are budding around Detroit in one of the more surprising twists of the downturn. Some new businesses like the Burton are scratching by. Others have already grown beyond the initial scope of their business plans, juggling hundreds of customers and expanding into new sites.
Across from the Burton, for instance, Jennifer Willemsen just celebrated the first anniversary of her shop, Curl Up and Dye, a retro-themed hair salon serving 1,500 clients. Not far away, Torya Blanchard, a former French teacher, recently opened the second location of Good Girls Go to Paris, a creperie. Next door, Greg Lenhoff, also a former teacher, opened a bookstore in August called Leopold’s.
And just down the street from Leopold’s, on Woodward Avenue, Victor Both runs Breezecab, a company he started with a severance package after a layoff from Wayne State University. He uses rickshaws to ferry workers and conventioneers around downtown. “This filled a transportation void,” said Mr. Both, 34, who picked up the pedicab idea while touring Las Vegas before his layoff. “I haven’t made much money, but the experience has been priceless. I had no idea Detroit had so much love.”
It is not an uncommon instinct to start an enterprise in bad times and seize on weakened competition, lower overhead costs and perhaps more free time. Nor is it limited to Detroit. But the trend is particularly striking here, in a city that was suffering long before the rest of the nation fell into recession and where hard times, business closings and abandonment became routine generations ago. Read more here.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
New place for R.I. culture
The following article relates a newly opened arts center that is a for profit enterprise. Is this a new trend? Share you thoughts. As the article relates:
The name is sure to grab the attention of would-be theatergoers. It’s catchy, it’s ambitious, it emphasizes a sense of place.
And yet, when the Rhode Island Center for Performing Arts at the Historic Park Theatre hosts its first stage production next weekend, the people who enter the state’s newest live entertainment venue will find more than just a theater.
In its new incarnation, the building that once housed the Park Cinema is also home to a café, a nightclub and a 200-seat all-purpose area that can serve as a restaurant for theatergoers, a comedy club and a room for receptions and business functions.
The extras are part of owner Piyush Patel’s plan to make sure the new theater at the corner of Park and Pontiac avenues does what any business sets out to do: make money.
That will not be easy. Even in good times, it’s hard for theaters to make money, industry people say. And with the economy in tatters, it will be that much harder.
There’s also the issue of size. With 1,050 seats, the new theater is relatively small in the world of live entertainment.
Patel, 69, a native of India whose business interests include real estate, hotels and personal care products, says that is why he has cast such as wide net.
“Every business plan has some kind of escape strategy, you know, what happens if it doesn’t work,” he said. “That’s why I came up with the idea, a total entertainment complex.”
This is not to say that Patel won’t be trying to make money from the theater end of the business.
He has hired Jack Nicholson, a New Englander with a long history in managing sporting and entertainment venues, to oversee the theater operation. And Nicholson, like Patel, is casting a wide net.
For patrons who think theater means plays and musicals, the new venue will be working with the Stoneham Theatre, in Stoneham, Mass., which has been producing its own shows since it — like the Park — reopened in a historic former cinema. The Park will help subsidize those productions — this year’s list includes “My Fair Lady,” “Gaslight,” “Always … Patsy Cline,” and “Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad” — and will host perhaps four or five shows a year.
Dates for those performances are still being determined, in part because Nicholson is also working to book live acts. Three will come to the Park during the late-winter/spring, though those dates are not set either: The Moscow Circus, the Rat Pack and the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
The live theater and live entertainment represent the jewels that the new theater plans to offer. Rounding out those offerings will be large-screen, high-definition broadcasts of sporting events — the Super Bowl, the World Series, World Cup soccer — and independent movies. Read more here.
The name is sure to grab the attention of would-be theatergoers. It’s catchy, it’s ambitious, it emphasizes a sense of place.
And yet, when the Rhode Island Center for Performing Arts at the Historic Park Theatre hosts its first stage production next weekend, the people who enter the state’s newest live entertainment venue will find more than just a theater.
In its new incarnation, the building that once housed the Park Cinema is also home to a café, a nightclub and a 200-seat all-purpose area that can serve as a restaurant for theatergoers, a comedy club and a room for receptions and business functions.
The extras are part of owner Piyush Patel’s plan to make sure the new theater at the corner of Park and Pontiac avenues does what any business sets out to do: make money.
That will not be easy. Even in good times, it’s hard for theaters to make money, industry people say. And with the economy in tatters, it will be that much harder.
There’s also the issue of size. With 1,050 seats, the new theater is relatively small in the world of live entertainment.
Patel, 69, a native of India whose business interests include real estate, hotels and personal care products, says that is why he has cast such as wide net.
“Every business plan has some kind of escape strategy, you know, what happens if it doesn’t work,” he said. “That’s why I came up with the idea, a total entertainment complex.”
This is not to say that Patel won’t be trying to make money from the theater end of the business.
He has hired Jack Nicholson, a New Englander with a long history in managing sporting and entertainment venues, to oversee the theater operation. And Nicholson, like Patel, is casting a wide net.
For patrons who think theater means plays and musicals, the new venue will be working with the Stoneham Theatre, in Stoneham, Mass., which has been producing its own shows since it — like the Park — reopened in a historic former cinema. The Park will help subsidize those productions — this year’s list includes “My Fair Lady,” “Gaslight,” “Always … Patsy Cline,” and “Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad” — and will host perhaps four or five shows a year.
Dates for those performances are still being determined, in part because Nicholson is also working to book live acts. Three will come to the Park during the late-winter/spring, though those dates are not set either: The Moscow Circus, the Rat Pack and the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
The live theater and live entertainment represent the jewels that the new theater plans to offer. Rounding out those offerings will be large-screen, high-definition broadcasts of sporting events — the Super Bowl, the World Series, World Cup soccer — and independent movies. Read more here.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Nonprofits rethinking business model
Buffalo's Business First featured an article about how nonprofits are developing new ways of generating unrestricited operating dollars: Entrepreneurial Ventures! As the article relates:
The region’s nonprofit service providers are faced with the toughest of challenges: How to deal with increased demand while facing declining revenues.
Small agencies are dealing with it. So are the largest.
Even the millionaire agencies – those with at least a million dollars in revenues that have made it onto the Business First Million Dollar Nonprofits list – say the situation doesn’t appear to be getting easier. They had collective revenues of $1.92 billion in fiscal 2007, but individually many are struggling and seeking ways to stay solvent. Many are exploring new funding options from foundations and contract opportunities as well as earned income through for-profit social enterprises.
Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute will start one such venture Jan. 1 when it begins a management contract with the Industrial Macromolecular Crystallography Association (IMCA), a consortium of nine of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies. The five-year contract calls for Hauptman-Woodward to manage IMCA’s Advanced Photon Source near Chicago, where X-rays used for X-ray crystallography are produced.
In addition to the $1 million management fee over a five-year period, the real value of the venture comes in the form of future possibilities, says Eaton “Ed” Lattman, CEO and executive director at HWI, a $7 million organization.
“We earn some money out of it, but we also get on the radar screens of these nine companies,” he says. “It’s at least equally important that we might get them, for example, to be customers of the high output crystallography lab here at the institute, or we might develop intellectual property with one of these firms.”
The agency is not alone. Nonprofits are increasingly investing in social enterprises despite the economic downturn, according to a survey by Community Wealth Ventures Inc. and the Social Enterprise Alliance of Washington, D.C. More than half of the 848 social sector organizations surveyed already operate a social enterprise, while 60 percent indicated they plan to launch another in the next few years.
Those considering their first enterprise cite a motivation to increase revenues and to extend the mission of their organization.
Mark Foley, president and CEO of Community Services for the Developmentally Disabled, says he’s been focusing on better business practices to avoid cutting programs or making layoffs at the $21 million agency. Now he’s beginning to explore the possibility of social enterprise.
“I don’t know that I’ve come up with anything that’s rocket science here,” he says. “Nonprofits have to be more business-like when funding support from donors and government start shrinking.”
The sale of reproduced rare prints and artwork is the newest venture for the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, which already earns dollars through Fables Cafe in the central library. Bridget Quinn-Carey, executive director, says the library is exploring a variety of opportunities for new revenues.
“We’re rethinking what we’re doing in our retail store too, thinking how can we better take advantage of this great real estate in there,” she says.
A cafe is also bringing in new revenue at the Buffalo Museum of Science. First opened this summer during the run of the popular Body Worlds exhibit, the museum is continuing the venture along with an increased emphasis on facilities rentals such as weddings and events in the main hall as well as the auditorium.
CEO Mark Mortenson says the nearly $3.3 million organization is looking at expanding those opportunities, as well as overnight programming for families.
“We always want to make sure it’s a unique experience every time an individual comes here,” he says. “We have a three-year approved strategic plan now aimed at identifying funding opportunities to change experiences throughout the museum.”
Habitat for Humanity Buffalo, with overall revenues of $1.5 million, has found better than expected success through its Restore, a retail shop that sells donated goods including building supplies, appliances, furniture and housewares. Over the four years since it opened in North Buffalo, the store has generated $500,000 in income, enough funds to build 12 houses.
David Zablotny, executive director, says the venture is working.
“It’s been much better than anyone has expected,” he says, adding that the agency is looking at whether it would make sense to add a second outlet, as other Habitat chapters have done. “That money we brought in through the Restore last year Is about 12 percent of our revenues, so we’re looking to find ways to increase that number.”
The YWCA of Niagara began a social enterprise last year with the creation of The Catering Crew, a catering company/culinary training program for the women living at its Carolyn’s House shelter in Niagara Falls. In this case, the venture serves a dual purpose: providing women with both training and a paycheck, and with additional revenues funneled back into the program.
Read more here.
The region’s nonprofit service providers are faced with the toughest of challenges: How to deal with increased demand while facing declining revenues.
Small agencies are dealing with it. So are the largest.
Even the millionaire agencies – those with at least a million dollars in revenues that have made it onto the Business First Million Dollar Nonprofits list – say the situation doesn’t appear to be getting easier. They had collective revenues of $1.92 billion in fiscal 2007, but individually many are struggling and seeking ways to stay solvent. Many are exploring new funding options from foundations and contract opportunities as well as earned income through for-profit social enterprises.
Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute will start one such venture Jan. 1 when it begins a management contract with the Industrial Macromolecular Crystallography Association (IMCA), a consortium of nine of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies. The five-year contract calls for Hauptman-Woodward to manage IMCA’s Advanced Photon Source near Chicago, where X-rays used for X-ray crystallography are produced.
In addition to the $1 million management fee over a five-year period, the real value of the venture comes in the form of future possibilities, says Eaton “Ed” Lattman, CEO and executive director at HWI, a $7 million organization.
“We earn some money out of it, but we also get on the radar screens of these nine companies,” he says. “It’s at least equally important that we might get them, for example, to be customers of the high output crystallography lab here at the institute, or we might develop intellectual property with one of these firms.”
The agency is not alone. Nonprofits are increasingly investing in social enterprises despite the economic downturn, according to a survey by Community Wealth Ventures Inc. and the Social Enterprise Alliance of Washington, D.C. More than half of the 848 social sector organizations surveyed already operate a social enterprise, while 60 percent indicated they plan to launch another in the next few years.
Those considering their first enterprise cite a motivation to increase revenues and to extend the mission of their organization.
Mark Foley, president and CEO of Community Services for the Developmentally Disabled, says he’s been focusing on better business practices to avoid cutting programs or making layoffs at the $21 million agency. Now he’s beginning to explore the possibility of social enterprise.
“I don’t know that I’ve come up with anything that’s rocket science here,” he says. “Nonprofits have to be more business-like when funding support from donors and government start shrinking.”
The sale of reproduced rare prints and artwork is the newest venture for the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, which already earns dollars through Fables Cafe in the central library. Bridget Quinn-Carey, executive director, says the library is exploring a variety of opportunities for new revenues.
“We’re rethinking what we’re doing in our retail store too, thinking how can we better take advantage of this great real estate in there,” she says.
A cafe is also bringing in new revenue at the Buffalo Museum of Science. First opened this summer during the run of the popular Body Worlds exhibit, the museum is continuing the venture along with an increased emphasis on facilities rentals such as weddings and events in the main hall as well as the auditorium.
CEO Mark Mortenson says the nearly $3.3 million organization is looking at expanding those opportunities, as well as overnight programming for families.
“We always want to make sure it’s a unique experience every time an individual comes here,” he says. “We have a three-year approved strategic plan now aimed at identifying funding opportunities to change experiences throughout the museum.”
Habitat for Humanity Buffalo, with overall revenues of $1.5 million, has found better than expected success through its Restore, a retail shop that sells donated goods including building supplies, appliances, furniture and housewares. Over the four years since it opened in North Buffalo, the store has generated $500,000 in income, enough funds to build 12 houses.
David Zablotny, executive director, says the venture is working.
“It’s been much better than anyone has expected,” he says, adding that the agency is looking at whether it would make sense to add a second outlet, as other Habitat chapters have done. “That money we brought in through the Restore last year Is about 12 percent of our revenues, so we’re looking to find ways to increase that number.”
The YWCA of Niagara began a social enterprise last year with the creation of The Catering Crew, a catering company/culinary training program for the women living at its Carolyn’s House shelter in Niagara Falls. In this case, the venture serves a dual purpose: providing women with both training and a paycheck, and with additional revenues funneled back into the program.
Read more here.
Friday, November 27, 2009
ESF plans workshop to aid students with business ideas
CNY Business Journal reported that the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) will host a workshop to help high-school students develop ideas for a business competition.
ESF has partnered with the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York (MDA) to provide help to students interested in the annual Creative Core Emerging Business Competition. The workshop will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo.
Marcie Sonneborn of the Central New York Technology Development Organization will run the event, which will help students expand and develop business ideas for submission to the competition.
The contest features a $5,000 prize for the best student idea. Its grand prize is $200,000 for the region's most innovative and growth-oriented company.
Pre-registration for the student workshop is required, but there is no charge. For more information, visit www.esf.edu/outreach/sage/.
ESF has partnered with the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York (MDA) to provide help to students interested in the annual Creative Core Emerging Business Competition. The workshop will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo.
Marcie Sonneborn of the Central New York Technology Development Organization will run the event, which will help students expand and develop business ideas for submission to the competition.
The contest features a $5,000 prize for the best student idea. Its grand prize is $200,000 for the region's most innovative and growth-oriented company.
Pre-registration for the student workshop is required, but there is no charge. For more information, visit www.esf.edu/outreach/sage/.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Facebook co-founder offers advice for entrepreneurs
The Central NY Business Journal reported on Chris Hughes speech at Onondaga Community College where he let his audience know his definition of entrepreneurship.
"Profit isn't what defines what entrepreneurship is about," the Facebook co-founder said just a few minutes into his speech.
Rather, he said entrepreneurs focus on building organizations that have an impact on the world. Those organizations could be companies. They could be nonprofits or schools or churches.
The desire to spark change is what drives them, he said.
Hughes spoke today during the first lecture in this year's Famous Entrepreneurs Series. The annual lecture series aims to inspire more entrepreneurship in the region. OCC's Storer Auditorium was filled to capacity for the talk and an overflow crowd of students watched a video feed of the event elsewhere on campus.
Hughes founded Facebook in 2004 with Harvard University roommates Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz. In 2007, he left the company and became director of online organizing for President Barack Obama's campaign.
Hughes said he and his roommates never really thought of themselves as entrepreneurs. None of them were even business students.
And, of course, he said they made plenty of mistakes along the way.
"In a lot of ways, we didn't know what we were doing when we got started," he said.
For more on this story, see the Nov. 20 print edition of The Central New York Business Journal.
"Profit isn't what defines what entrepreneurship is about," the Facebook co-founder said just a few minutes into his speech.
Rather, he said entrepreneurs focus on building organizations that have an impact on the world. Those organizations could be companies. They could be nonprofits or schools or churches.
The desire to spark change is what drives them, he said.
Hughes spoke today during the first lecture in this year's Famous Entrepreneurs Series. The annual lecture series aims to inspire more entrepreneurship in the region. OCC's Storer Auditorium was filled to capacity for the talk and an overflow crowd of students watched a video feed of the event elsewhere on campus.
Hughes founded Facebook in 2004 with Harvard University roommates Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz. In 2007, he left the company and became director of online organizing for President Barack Obama's campaign.
Hughes said he and his roommates never really thought of themselves as entrepreneurs. None of them were even business students.
And, of course, he said they made plenty of mistakes along the way.
"In a lot of ways, we didn't know what we were doing when we got started," he said.
For more on this story, see the Nov. 20 print edition of The Central New York Business Journal.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Online Entrepreneurial Forums: Ask Questions and Network
Interested in a forum to ask for assistance or float ideas? There are a number of online resources that offer an opportunity to network and connect with other individuals and businesses looking at new ideas and ways to generate money. One example is a newly launched resource I came across.
EntrepreneursBoard is a fresh, budding new online discussion forum dedicated to providing all entrepreneurs with a niche in which they can network and share ideas with other like-minded entrepreneurs.
Have other suggestions? Share them here.
EntrepreneursBoard is a fresh, budding new online discussion forum dedicated to providing all entrepreneurs with a niche in which they can network and share ideas with other like-minded entrepreneurs.
Have other suggestions? Share them here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
