Some serious business talent and experience is gathering in one place in Northern Kentucky on March 19 to help entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground.
The Start-Up Slam, a new effort by the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation and its partners, brings aspiring entrepreneurs together with business veterans for a day of networking, with the ultimate goal of cultivating new and successful businesses.
Sponsored in part by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, the NKU Entrepreneurship Institute and Tri-ED, the Slam will be at Northern Kentucky University's Student Union. The event starts at 10 a.m., and includes a series of 15-minute presentations on marketing your product, forecasting revenues and expenses, and how and when to pitch your idea to investors. Representatives from the Small Business Development Center and the Service Corps of Retired Executives are expected to be on hand.
"The goal of the Start-Up Slam is to provide valuable information on what it takes to start a business, and to make it last," explains Keith Schneider, Commercialization Director of the Northern Kentucky ezone and an organizer for the event. "People who attend will get that information from business leaders who have been there and done that.
Often, reading about how to do something is very different from the actual practice of doing it. Participants will get the best advice from people who know what they're talking about," he adds.
Executives lined up for the Slam include Lyle T. Hawkins, a longtime executive with several firms, including the Bosch Tool Co., Home Depot, Sears and owner of his own advertising agency; Steve Kaiser, a product development and technology commercialization veteran with Ford Motor Co., Union Carbide and Dow Chemical; Jodi Graham, the vice president of sales and marketing at United Medical Resources-United Healthcare Co.; Patrick Just, an associate with bCatalyst Advisors and CFO of PackStream, a marketing firm; and Chris Semones, a strategist and 15-year Silicon Valley veteran who has held executive positions at IBM and Intel.
Attorneys will be available to meet one-on-one with participants to offer legal advice, help set up single-member limited liability corporations, and register new businesses with the state. They will also help with legal documents for LLCs, while other consultants will help participants set up websites and register internet domain names.
After lunch, there will be an opportunity to meet on an individual basis with the attorneys and executives. “With the depth of knowledge and experience these individuals provide, this one-on-one time is probably the most valuable part of the Slam," Schneider continues.
Another selling point for the NKU event is the presence of representatives from the Small Business Development Center, located at the university. The Center provides a wide variety of professional consulting and training services to hundreds of prospective business owners each year.
This will be the third Slam by KSTC, following events late last year in Louisville and Lexington. Between the two events, 10 new start-up companies were formed, with participants signing up for another 20 vouchers that allowed them 90 days to take advantage of this discounted program.
The Northern Kentucky event's goal is to double this total, creating another 10 start-ups the day of the Slam at NKU.
Admission to the Start-Up Slam is free, though it does cost $65 if you choose to set up a business during the event -- compared to three times that much if you sought help from attorneys and business consultants outside the event. There will be free pizza, and early registrants will receive a free gift.
To register for the Start-Up Slam, contact Shari Ball at [email protected] or visit www.Start-UpSlam.com.
SOURCES: Keith Schneider, Commercialization Director, ezone