UWB CSE

Hell Night at the North Creek Cafe March 6 & 8 2007

Everyone is invited!

It occurs at 5:40 pm on Tuesday March 6 and Thursday March 8 at the North Creek Cafe. If you can make only one day, then choose Thursday March 8.

There are 12 teams preparing their elevator pitches and presentations. They need you to create the winner and be their helpful critic to prepare them for that which lies ahead. The teams contain some of UWB’s hungriest students.

At the conclusion of Thursday’s Hell Night, the first place team wins complementary legal services from Schwabe, Willamson, & Wyatt.

They’re young, hungry, and are giving their best. Help them to rise above the best.

Each team is allowed to have no more than 4 persons pitching the crowd. You’re encouraged to bring it on. The dress code is definitely casual.
View the Event Brochure and the directions and campus map.

After Thursday Hell Night Celebrations: Country Cottage Wines in Bothell
Please join us for wine tasting ($5) and heavy appetizers ($10). Everyone is invited, parents, friends, and all!

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for Student Entrepreneurship

Warmer Experience but is it Entertainment?

Last night, I participated in a fascinating discussion of Second Life with performer George Michael. George performs concerts on Second Life, connects with fans, cells CDs, and gets tipped in Linden Dollars.

With over 3M registered accounts and 30K concurrent users online, Second Life has become a phenomenon.

“People want their personal experiences captured and shared”

From Wikipedia”

“The Medium is the Message” is a phrase meaning that the generic form of media is more important than any “meaning” or “content” that the media conveys. For Marshall McLuhan, the content of media is irrelevant. The form of the medium itself is what changes our consciousness.

McLuhan examines television as an extension of the movie, with the exception that the visual quality of television as a medium is much less resolute than a movie as it would be seen in a theatre. Whereas a movie extends man’s vision to a high degree and is thus “hot,” a television image with less detail requires the viewer to fill in more details with their imagination and is therefore a “cool” medium.

Things have changed since McLuhan made that quote. Home entertainment systems have become warmer mediums, but what is second life? For audio concerts, it’s hotter and colder than traditional audio mediums. It captures a “virtual audience” and thus creates a shared experience.

Rebecca Nesson, an instructor at Harvard who brought her Legal Studies class to Second Life in the second half of 2006. “Normally, no matter how good a distance-learning class is, an inherent distance does still exist between you and your students,” she says. “Second Life has really bridged that gap. There is just more unofficial time that we spend together outside of the typical class session.” (Lagorio, Christine. “The Ultimate Distance Learning“, New York Times, 2007-01-07.)

Now here’s the rub. Is Second Life entertainment? It certainly encompasses it, but it’s something more. It’s not just recreation because some people are generating regular income from it. What is it? (in one sentence please).

And what does the entertainment in Second Life represent?

Topher’s Proposition 1

So proposition 1: technology is neither increasing nor decreasing span of control in any significant way, but is rather shifting the loci of the spheres of control, taking over some aspects and losing control of others.

Questions to Ponder (Topher White)

Questions to ponder:

Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said in the Wall Street Journal that there is not enough talent in Hollywood to produce even half the content we’re currently producing. What does this mean to alternative media? Does 6 minutes of 8mm fame on YouTube really translate into 22 episodes of 44 minutes each?

Last week I went to a small club concert for Daughtry (AWSOME BAND!). Everyone in the audience had their camera phones out snapping shots, and I knew they were going to be up on blogs the next day. But the phones and
blogs are distantly secondary to the live show itself. How does technology contribute to non-electronic experiences?

How do art and commerce mix? See -
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7213219 and
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7248869

Think about it!

Topher White
Worshipful Master, Kirkland Lodge 150, F&AM of Washington
Author, Technologist, Visionary, Inventor and Really Good Cook
Redmond, WA

6th Annual Hell Nights for Student Entrepreneurs

When: 5:40 pm - 7:40 pm
Dates: Tuesday, March 6 and March 8, 2007
Where: North Creek Cafe, University of Washington Bothell

Co-sponsored by the Center for Student Entrepreneurship.

View the Event Brochure and the directions and campus map.

Exam Questions

The Exam is on Thursday March 1. You’re allowed THREE pages, front and back of cheat sheet material.

There are no multiple choice nor T/F questions. At most, there are brief answers. Most questions are concept questions and you will also have to analyze a business case involving a startup.

The following is a study guide for the exam. It incorporates material from the book, lectures, and the handout.
First Lecture

How does Guy Kawasaki define entrepreneurs? (It’s even on the syllabus!)

What does Alan mean by the “entrepreneurial minded”? Does it mean just the entrepreneurs? If not, then who?

It’s alright to dream, but in this course how do we delineate real vs. fake?

Finance Concepts (Saturday Lecture or Book by John Tracy or Critique

What things should be included in a financial section? What questions need to be answered?

What financial metric most concerns the startup? For what reason? Why isn’t it simply just profitability?

What are the three items wanted for Entrepreneurial Finance?

How do you plan your profit?

What do the instructors mean by “financial drivers”.

The Mottoes of Eric Mattson

Why doesn’t Eric Mattson state that “cash flow is king”?

More TBA

Corporate Law & Trademarks (Jen Jolley)

1. Contrast the advantages bestowed by C-corps vs. S-corps vs. LLCs

2. How do you lose pierce the (liability) veil? How do you help maintain the veil?

3. Does a limited partnership confer liability protection?

4. What is a trademark? Why does “Kodak” provide a stronger mark vs. “shoes”?

Patents (Adam Philipp)

1. What is a patent?

2. Why does Adam suggest that a small company not be involved in patent litigation?

3. What is a provisional patent? What advantages does it provide?

4. What’s the difference between establishing an American patent vs. European patent?

5. Why is Adam not a big advocate of patent searches?

Introduction Handout

1. After you’ve read the preface and the first page, then you should be able to answer this question: “Why do many current bplan reviewers and professionals eschew the long detailed plan?”

2. Why are the instructors against “blindly following a template”? Does this mean that you shouldn’t read other business plans or look at templates?

3. What are the 5 sacred elements?

4. What should be contained in an elevator pitch? How do you create an “advanced pitch”? Why pitch?

5. What is the magic number? What is wisdom? Why does Alan say that Wisdom is the goal, not just tons of info?

6. Why does Alan barf when he hears: “I have no competitors” or “All we need is 1% of the market”

7. Why do the instructors say that “Cash flow is king?” Isn’t it about making profits?

8. What are “financial drivers”?

9. Can you review a small case and apply the checklists?

Marketing (Jen Hall)

1. How do you know “you haven’t done your marketing”? Why does this apply?

2. How do you facilitate “word of mouth”? What is it? Can you describe it?
3. Why does Jen caution us about the “initial customers”?

4. Understand the marketing notes

Michael O’Donnell

1. Can you describe Mike’s startup phases and objectives?

2. Can you provide key tips associated with each phase?

Sales for Entrepreneurs (Bill Abbott)

1. What does Bill mean by this: “Your job isn’t to sell, but to create buying pressure“?

2. Why does Bill feel it’s so essential to get a laundry list of things wanted by your customer? Why must it be done almost at the first meeting?

3. What tips for hiring good sales people? What separates them from other personnel?

4. How do you recruit good sales folks?

5. What are some marks of a good sales compensation plan? What are the three types? How might you contrast them?

6. What are Bill’s two secrets for networking?

7. What are some of his tips for starting a business?

Lessons from a BioEntrepreneur (Rob Hershberg)

1. Regarding how to staff a startup: What do Rob Hershberg and Michael O’Donnell share in common?

2. Which of Rob’s tips seem more suited to biotech and which are suited to most startups?

3. TBA

Lessons from a BioEntrepreneur (Martin Simonetti)

1. Marty gave his version of “Cash is King” How does it contrast with Alan vs. Eric Mattson?

2. Marty talked about “People people people”. In biotech, big names are seen as important. How does Marty address this issue?

3. When Marty and Rob once had to give 30 presentations in 11 days, how did they amuse themselves?

Community & Entrepreneurship (Dave Williams)

1. What does Dave mean by generative knowledge and generative leadership?

2. What does Dave view as the problems with Northwest towns? How does his bank try to be a solution? (this is a multi-part answer)

Funding

Bank loans

Term loans

Not for speculative finance, can finance something specific (equipment, improvements…)

Lines of credit

Often based on your accounts receivable and or inventory.

This is used for short term cash needs

Equity Financing

Bridge loans

Debt that turns into equity when more funding is achieved.

Angel Groups

A group of people with money to spend looking for investment opportunities. May except bridge loan or preferred stock. Around 50 thousand plus investment. May last for a year or two.

Alliance of Angels

Keiretsu Forum

Puget Sound venture Club

Seraph Capital

Zino Society

Seed Funding Firms

You have about three months to build your product and you get enough money to live on, it gets you started. Probably around 6k investment

Often take common stock equity in the company.

Venture Capital Funding

Determine the terms. Take preferred stock, may elect their own management team. 3 -7 years of investment, usually several million