Aug20th2008
The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship is a flagship Houston program designed to showcase both technologies and entrepreneurs from the Greater Houston Region through educational workshops, venture forums and the national recognized Business Plan Competition. Every event is well attended and manages to attract the best and brightest minds year after year.
I recognize that I am a little late on getting this out, but wanted to provide everyone with the upcoming schedule of events for the Rice Alliance:
- 9th Annual Rice Alliance Kick-Off Celebration: Thursday, August 28, 2008, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
- 6th Annual Energy & Clean Technology Venture Forum: Thursday, September 25, 2008, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
- 6th Annual IT & Web 2.0 Venture Forum: Thursday, December 11, 2008, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
- 8th Annual Nanotechnology Venture Forum: Thursday, February 12, 2009, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
- 2009 Rice University Business Plan Competition: Thursday - Saturday, April 16-18, 2009
- 7th Annual Life Science Technology Venture Forum: Thursday, June 11, 2009, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The best way to make a point of being at each event is to become a Rice Alliance member, like me. I like all of the events, personally, but would rank the clean tech and nanotech as ones not to miss. See you there!
Jul2nd2008
Earlier this year, I was invited to College Station to judge an MBA Technology Transfer Challenge hosted by Texas A&M’s Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship. While there, I met several students who were part of an amazing project through the Mays MBA program, Aggies in Business (AiB). AiB is a corporation managed and operated entirely by students. Through AiB, students receive hands-on experience planning, leading and running a real-world, for-profit business.
“Launched in September of 2006, AiB Consulting was the first of the AiB businesses to start operations. AiB Consulting does business consulting projects for paying clients seeking assistance. It is run by students, including project management, company leadership, and strategic planning. Currently, the students are primarily MBA students, but also include other graduate students, both within and outside of the business school, as well as outstanding undergraduate students. Outstanding consultants have an opportunity to lead and manage the operations of a for-profit company.”
AiB Consulting is currently lining up projects to begin work in the fall and are targeting 8-10 projects running concurrently. Projects are billed at forty dollars per hour ($40) and typically range from 100-300 hours.
Throughout the year, AiB employees worked on projects ranging from a feasibility study to an IT needs analysis. In addition, consultants have reviewed and constructed business plans and conducted several market analysis projects. Summer employees are currently working on projects including a research study of the fuel cell market and a business plan for a company providing business education for medical professionals.
As a consultant myself, I feel that this is a steal. Getting valuable insight from outsiders is an important step in the development of your startup. Who knows, you may even find future employees through their work.
May12th2008
A recent bizjournals study that ranks the brainpower levels of America’s 100 largest metropolitan areas places Houston 83rd with a brainpower index of 41.05. Madison, Wisconsin topped the list with an index of 57.80. Washington and San Jose were right behind Madison. Washington boasts the nation’s largest share of adults with advanced degrees, 22.2%, while San Jose follows close behind with just under 20%. Outside of Austin, most Texas cities faired poorly in this survey with high school dropouts outnumbering college graduates by a margin of over 2:1.
So why does a blog devoted to technology startups care about this? If you even ask that question, you’ve made my point. Almost every “so called” startup expert points to certain required elements, one of which is proximity to centers of higher learning.
Education is extremely important to me both as a startup advocate and as a father. Having been less than 2 years through the Houston public school system with our oldest, we have placed our children’s future in the hands of private education. Things seem so bad to me that I now wonder if the film Idiocracy is not a very topical and intelligent docudrama (who knew Beavis and Butthead were statement pieces).
Enough about me…what do you think?
Apr23rd2008
I received an email earlier today from Julie Niehoff of Constact Contact informing me that they are having a lunch-n-learn at the UofH Small Business Development Center on how effective ways of using their email marketing service. Constant Contact is one of the better known email marketing services out there so if you are looking for some good info on making the most out of your email marketing campaigns it might be a good idea to check this out.
Here are the details:
Date: Friday, April 25th
Time: 11:30-1:30 pm
Cost: $19 if you pay online
Location :
University of Houston SBDC
2302 Fannin, Suite 200
Houston, Texas 77002
Class Description:
This session covers best practices in email marketing and how to use it in your business planning and strategy to achieve specific goals. Topics will include list building, how to avoid spam, tips for scheduling and examples of successful email campaigns and how they were set up to build business and drive sales.
– Specific instruction on how to get your email promotions and updates opened
– How to position the value of your message so that recipients will act on it
Click to register online!
Mar26th2008
The Houston area is emerging as a center for the life sciences industry. Numerous start-up companies have emerged in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, and telemedicine. This is generating a demand for leaders with a background in both entrepreneurship and the life sciences. To educate these leaders, Rice University Executive Education, the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, and BioHouston have collaborated to offer the Life Sciences Entrepreneurial Management Certificate. Participants will learn about market opportunities, intellectual property issues, life science business plans, sources of funding, and the successful launch and management of a life science start-up.
Registration:
General Registrants ($995)–Register Online
Members of Houston Academic Institutions ($500)–To register, please contact the Registrar at 713-348-6060
| Course Schedule: Spring 2008 |
Unit 1: Understanding the Life Science Industry and Business Environment
| Module 1 |
Overview of the Biotech/Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Industry |
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| Module 2 |
Understanding the Regulatory Process of FDA |
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| Module 3 |
Understanding Intellectual Property Protection and Licensing |
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| Module 4 |
Assessing the Market Opportunity |
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Unit 2: Business Strategy and Planning in Life Science Entrepreneurship
| Module 5 |
Business Strategy and Planning |
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| Module 6 |
Communicating Your Plan |
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| Module 7 |
Sources of Funding |
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Unit 3: Company Formation in Life Science Entrepreneurship
| Module 8 |
Issues and Strategies in Forming a Company |
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| Module 9 |
Management, Corporate Governance & Human Resources |
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| Module 10 |
Issues in Growth, Sales and Exit Strategies |
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| Module 11 |
Elevator Pitches |
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Participants will receive admission to the 7th Annual Rice Alliance Life Science Technology Forum on May 15, 2008. |
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