FIRST Robotics Regional competitions begin
March 5, 2010
Imagine a sport where the participants put more hours in practicing in six weeks than other sports do in a whole year - and then they practice all year too! Imagine a sport where there is around a 1-2 ratio between coaches and participants. Imagine a sport where EVERY SINGLE participant can go pro, and get a job helping their country and their company build the devices and software needed to keep us competitive in the world economy. Imagine a sport that gives every participante the opportunity to learn leadership, gracious professionalism, coopetition, good values, and an excellent work ethic. Now imagine that sport had only one competition a year in your area - wouldn’t you want to go!? PLEASE come cheer on the hard working kids at your local FIRST ROBOTICS competition. It’s just one day out of your life - it’s countless hours out of theirs and their mentors. It’s free and in Rochester it’s at the RIT Gordon Field house TODAY AND TOMORROW ONLY!
The Entrepreneur’s Network begins recruiting 9th class
February 15, 2010
The Entrepreneurs Network is now accepting applications for Class IX
Eligibility
Candidates should be Founders, Senior Executives, CEO’s or hold a controlling position in an early stage technology, life science, and/or scalable high-revenue potential firms with business operations primarily in Upstate New York.
Who Should Apply
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Early Stage Technology Firms
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Life Science Firms
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Serial Entrepreneurs
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Scalable Businesses (Up to $50 million)
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Businesses Undergoing a Leadership Transition
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Family-owned Businesses
Application
TEN is now accepting applications for Class IX. Please submit an application form, a brief non-confidential executive summary (maximum length 3 pages) describing your business, and a summary of your professional background for review and acceptance into the next four-month program. Class size is limited to 20 participants per class to allow for maximum interaction.
Cost
Approved applicants will be charged a one-time processing fee of $350.00.
“Class IX” is a member-only 4-month program comprised of the following boot camps:
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March 4-5, 2010 |
Entrepreneurship Boot Camp featuring Derby Management, Boston, MA |
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April 8-9, 2010 |
Building Block Boot Camp featuring Upstate experts and funding sources |
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May 6-7, 2010 |
Sales Effectiveness Boot Camp featuring Derby Management, Boston, MA |
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June 3, 2010 and June 17, 2010 |
Investor Presentation Boot Camp featuring Upstate experts and funding sources |
To apply for Class IX, Submit an on-line application: online application.
Apply Today!
About The Entrepreneurs Network The Entrepreneurs Network-TEN - is an innovative program designed to provide Upstate entrepreneurs significant hands-on exposure to, and interaction with, national and regional business experts and funding sources. TEN has an exclusive, members-only class consisting of boot camps on securing equity investments and traditional financing, effective sales and marketing strategies, leadership and business strategy for today’s competitive environment. TEN augments its program activities with “Lunch and Learn” and other special events to offer training, educating and networking to connect entrepreneurs, established firms, academic institutions and investment resources to advance the regional economy.
About County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency COMIDA’s goal is to promote, encourage, attract and develop job and recreational opportunities and economically sound commerce and industry throughout Monroe County. COMIDA’s projects generate a 4 to 1 benefit to incentive ratio. They do not lend money nor guarantee loans. Assistance is provided though incentives.
About High Tech Rochesteris a non-profit economic development organization driving growth in the Rochester/Finger Lakes region through the Creation, Mentoring, and Incubation of high-tech start-up businesses, and through advanced consulting services provided to small manufacturing firms through its NYSTAR-funded Regional Technology Development Center.
20 questions to determine if you’re cut out to be an Entrepreneur…
February 13, 2010
I was directed by my friend Pierpaulo Frigerio to this post by Dr. Isenberg at Babson College with the provocative 20 questions to help you determine if you’re cut out to be an entrepreneur. As with many of the talks I give to young entrepreneurs Isenberg believes that money is not and cannot be a motivating factor in becoming an Entrepreneur. His 20 questions come from some of the same sources as the book I frequently recommend to young entrepreneurs and would-be consultants: E-Myth revisited. In E-Myth we discover the 4 quadrants of the employer/employee grid - from working a job to true entrepreneur.
Gerber in E-Myth finds that you can be an employee, a consultant, a “lifestyle” business owner or a true entrepreneur. Isenberg refines that down to the characteristics that designate you a true entrepreneur. Most people are not suited to entrepreneurial lifestyle - it’s very different than the other 3 quadrants and requires a high degree of passion, work ethic, creativity and willingness to fail. Isenberg feels it’s not about money or risk - it’s about the excitement of making a difference in the world. I agree,
Tenrehte’s smart grid wins CES Green Tech award
January 9, 2010
Rochester, NY based Tenrehte Technologies Inc won the CNET Green Technologies award at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. Their new PicoWatt smart plug will provide the benefits promised to consumers by a “smart grid” including real time electricity usage information and the ability to control all your appliances from a central plug. You can even control usage to make sure that high-energy using utilities operate at off-peak times - saving money.
CNET cited the PicoWatt for letting the home user set up monitoring themselves, unlike other smart grid technologies that are waiting on long-term deployment of smart home power meters. Each smart plug is a mini linux wifi router, gathering data and controlling devices remotely through a central control program. Users can view their data on a smart phone, or even a facebook application. It can automatically monitor and eliminate standby power on televisions and other appliances when they are not in use.
According to CNET’s reporter Martin LaMonica, the final consumer version has a planned price of $79 and will be sold direct to consumers later this year.
This blog of course has covered success story Tenrehte from their humble beginnings, to their planned TED Talk later this year. I am happy to count Tenrehte as one of Rochester’s entrepreneurial success stories! Great job to Jen Indovina (CEO) and the rest of her awesome team. Check out the CNET Video on Tenrehte here.
Tenrehte CEO selected as TED Fellow
December 14, 2009
Rochester startups are getting noticed outside the Rochester area! Jennifer Indovina, CEO of Rochester Startup Tenrehte has become one of the newest TED Fellows to participate in the prestigious TED2010 Conference in Long Beach, CA. Organizers of the TED Conference announced today the 25 TED Fellows who will participate in TED2010, TED’s annual conference in Long Beach, CA, February 9 - 13, 2010. The TED2010 Fellows join the TED community as the most recent additions to the TED Fellows program, joining the TED, TEDGlobal and TEDIndia Fellows from 2009.
The TED2010 Fellows reflect both geographic and discipline diversity. From Israel to Brazil to Malaysia, these innovators excel in the technology, entertainment, design, science, film, art, music, entrepreneurship and nonprofit worlds. The group also includes filmmakers, engineers, artists, scientists and musicians. “They represent a
spectacular concentration of cross-disciplinary talent in the arts and sciences, entrepreneurship and engineering, education and new journalism. We look forward to their contributions to the TED community and the amazing collaborations that are sure to occur among them,” said Tom Rielly, TED Fellows director.
In addition to participating as full members of the TED2010 conference audience, each TED Fellow will participate in a two-day pre-conference, where they will receive world-class communication training, deliver a short TEDTalk, and collaborate with their peers, among other benefits. The Fellows will also participate in the TED community throughout the next year, by telling their ongoing stories on the TED Fellows blog, being featured in the online Fellows directory and participating in a private social network.
Follow TED on Twitter, http://twitter.com/tedtalks, or on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/TED
TED2010, “What the World Needs Now,” will be held Feb. 9-13, 2010, in Long Beach, California, along with TEDActive, a simulcast conference of TED2010, in Palm Springs, California.
RIT presents serial entrepreneur and investor Terry Matthews
December 10, 2009
‘Serial Entrepreneur’ Terry Matthews to Speak at RIT Dec. 11
Matthews to offer his secrets on how to launch successful businesses
Terry Matthews, the founder of more than 60 telecommunications, information technology and software companies, will discuss how to create successful new ventures during a 3 p.m. talk on Friday December 11th at Rochester Institute of Technology’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences Auditorium.
The event is free and open to the public.
Matthews is the chairman of Wesley Clover, a private equity firm that describes itself as being in the business of building businesses. Matthews and his team at Wesley Clover utilize their extensive experiences in the technology realm to identify gaps in the marketplace and launch new enterprises to fill them. Wesley Clover reaches out to either recent college graduates or those at the tail end of their academic career to lead the charge, offering training and mentoring along the way.
In the past two years, seven recent RIT graduates have formed companies for Wesley Clover.
“Terry Matthews is what I call a serial entrepreneur,” says Richard DeMartino, director of RIT’s Albert J. Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “His passion is empowering and coaching young entrepreneurs in building businesses. The insight he will offer in his presentation will be invaluable for anyone looking to launch their own business.”
Abby gets it wrong….
December 5, 2009
In her December 5th, 2009 column famous columnist Dear Abby (aka Jeanne Phillips) gets a letter from a reader who has come into some money which would give her a “cushion” to use while she tries to build her own business (basically it would cover a year’s worth of her income). The letter writer goes on to say that she’s dreamed of being an entrepreneur all her life but in the past has not had the opportunity that this inheritance has given her. Her friends and family are telling her she’s “crazy” and will end up “blowing her inheritance” on this dream because small businesses are destined to fail. To any of you who are entrepreneurs you are already laughing. She’s just going through what every single entrepreneur on the planet has been through. But the real problem comes with Dear Abby’s reply.
Abby’s (aka Jeanne Phillips) sage recommendation (which she obviously didn’t ask any REAL entrepreneur’s about) is to write up a business plan (ok so far) and present it to a bank and ask for a loan. Supposedly if the bank says “yes” to the loan then the idea is a sound one. Does anyone else see the silly irrationality of this “test” to see if the business idea is valid? No? Well let me spell it out. The bank will either say yes or no - based on it’s own interests - not the validity of the business plan:
- YES - ok, rule number one - bank’s will only loan you money when you don’t need it. So if they say “YES” to loaning money on this plan it will be for one reason only - that this young lady already has enough money and assets to act as collateral against the loan they are giving. They know that any bet on an entrepreneurial venture is a long shot - so they won’t loan her any money she can’t already cover. They’ll ask her to put her home equity, personal assets and everything else up against the loan and then will only loan her a portion of that total. As a test for whether this is a “good idea” this fails miserably.
- NO - this is the most likely answer. Banks don’t take “angel capital” style risks. You could walk in with the full business plan for Facebook(before Facebook was created) and they would say “that’s a nice idea. Where’s your income stream or other collateral that we can hold in case your silly idea fails? Your booked A/R? Your history of past performance? Oh you don’t have any? Sorry no luck.” This poor woman would walk away thinking she can’t be an entrepreneur because the most fiscally conservative organization you can find won’t invest in her.
So if Abby’s foolish advice is NOT the route to take - what should this woman do? Well the first thing she needs to do is that business plan - she needs to fully flesh out her business idea and examine it critically. She needs to bounce it off other entrepreneurs, and preferably get an experienced entrepreneur mentor (Try SCORE, or social media to connect to one) or gather a board of directors made up of other business owners she knows together to review the plan before she spends her effort and cash on it. Just because she has a dream does not mean she has a marketable idea. If there are startup resources (say a Springstage Blog) in her area she should go to them to help connect her with others who have been down the road she wants to take.
In addition she needs to approach this venture with some reality checks in mind:
- The likelihood of successfully starting a business and maintaining your marriage without your spouse’s full buy-in is vanishingly small. Starting a business will affect everyone in her immediate family. She needs to have their support, help and understanding to succeed. It may actually come down to “which is more important - your dream or your marriage”. Better to decide that before she starts the business.
- Does she want to build a business as a consultant, a lifestyle business, or an asset that she will eventually resell, or retire from and will provide her with long term wealth. Those are different routes, with different risks and rewards. She should choose which she’s going for on purpose.
- She should read a couple of excellent books*. I’ll make some specific suggestions here, but I’m sure my readers can recommend others.
- She should start with E-Myth Revisted (Michael Gerber) to wrap her brain around the concept of exactly what kind of business she wants to start, and what the differences are between business types.
- Purple Cow (Seth Godin) - What about her business idea makes it unique and special. Why would people buy from her? How will she convince her potential customers of the uniqueness of her idea or proposed service?
- How to win friends and influence people (Dale Carnegie) - this book, written over 60 years ago - still applies today. She must live this concept to succeed in business. Does she already? or is there still work to do?
- Think and grow rich(Napolean Hill) - does she already adopt the positive mental attitude she will need to succeed? Building a business is very hard work, and you must be willing to commit to it inside your head before you even start working on it. She need self confidence that borders on egomania or the world will beat her down.
- Rich Dad Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki) - does she understand the difference between a “good” and “bad” investment?
- Executive EQ(Robert Cooper/Ayman Sawaf) and Now Discover your Strengths (Marcus Buckingham/Donald Clifton)- she should take a personality profile check and fully understand her strengths and weaknesses as a person. No two people are the same, and there is no “magic formula” for being a good entrepreneur - but if you understand where your weaknesses are you can hire to compensate, and if you know where your strengths are you can create a business role for yourself that takes advantage of those strengths.
- She should examine her own motivations for starting a business and do a reality check with real business owners about whether they are realistic. Think you’re going to do it so you can “set your own hours”? Think again - most small business owners work more hours than their employees during the startup phase. There are many other myths about entrepreneurship that she should examine and debunk before proceeding on.
- She should be prepared to fail. Boundaries need to be set for how much to invest, what the final endplan might look like if the business does not succeed, and how she will protect her personal assets as much as possible. The reality is that most successful entrepreneurs have a few failed business ventures under their belt before they hit one out of the ballpark. If you fail - fail in a recoverable way.
Finally though - she should not be dissuaded by nay-sayers. Whether it’s friends and relatives or the bank - if entrepreneurship is in her blood, she’ll never be satisfied until she tries it to see if it’s really for her. Success will depend on preparation, having the right business advisors around you, having a great idea, hiring the right people to implement it for you, and supporting those people with the proper investment in marketing and sales.
* Full disclosure - if you purchase books through these links Amazon pays me some miniscule commission on them. Don’t feel obligated - it’s just easier for me to organize them all in one place this way.
Rochester Works and NYS DOL hold entrepreneur workshop
October 5, 2009
A Free Workshop for Entrepreneurs: How to Turn an Interest into a Business
Wednesday, October 21 2009
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Sponsored by
RochesterWorks!
255 North Goodman Street
Rochester, NY 14607
So you want to start a business?
RochesterWorks is pleased to partner with the New York State Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at SUNY Brockport for this exciting interactive discussion. Learn about how you can turn your interest or hobby into a business and become your own boss.
Topics to be discussed will include:
- Is there a need?
- Who will buy it?
- Why Should they Buy it from You?
- Obtaining a DBA
- Your Responsibilities as an Employer
- Licensing and Regulations
- Business Plan Basics
- How to Pay for it All
Location: The RochesterWorks! Career Center is located at 255 North Goodman Street, at the corner of College Avenue, across from Village Gate. Parking is free. Space is Limited.
For more information or to RSVP contact:
Ann Marie Walker
Career Services Advisor-Workshop Specialist
RochesterWorks, Inc.
585-258-3541
awalker@rochesterworks.org
How does your city rank in terms of twitter influence
September 30, 2009
A twitter statistics company www.localtweeps.com has started publishing information about some of the demographics of twitter members, derived from their volunteering this information (basically enter your handle and your zip code). You can then be notified when someone new starts an account in your area, and you can gather some overall demographics about your town and other towns.
One of the demographics you can collect is the number of registered local people, and a total of the number of followers they have. If you place # of followers/# of local “tweeps” you should get an “influencer” score that shows, per capita in the city, how many followers are following people from that region per capita on average.
I was curious, because many Rochester tweeps seem to be very influential. They have large subscriber bases and their dissemination of information is widely re-tweeted. So I calculated influencer scores for the top 100 cities in www.localtweeps.com Here is the resulting table:
| Original rank | City | #followers | #localtweeps | Influencer ratio | Influencer rank |
| 37. | Las Vegas, NV | 512,522 | 186 | 2,755 | 1 |
| 100. | Saint Petersburg, FL | 98,092 | 79 | 1,242 | 2 |
| 44. | Scottsdale, AZ | 185,404 | 167 | 1,110 | 3 |
| 2. | Chicago, IL | 750,707 | 796 | 943 | 4 |
| 45. | Honolulu, HI | 148,305 | 159 | 933 | 5 |
| 90. | Corpus Christi, TX | 82,051 | 89 | 922 | 6 |
| 59. | Rochester, NY | 113,433 | 130 | 873 | 7 |
| 93. | Colorado Springs, CO | 66,495 | 87 | 764 | 8 |
| 58. | Albuquerque, NM | 100,603 | 132 | 762 | 9 |
| 79. | Plano, TX | 72,432 | 99 | 732 | 10 |
| 49. | Miami, FL | 105,939 | 146 | 726 | 11 |
| 88. | Buffalo, NY | 66,674 | 92 | 725 | 12 |
| 6. | San Francisco, CA | 433,314 | 599 | 723 | 13 |
| 20. | Saint Louis, MO | 217,515 | 305 | 713 | 14 |
| 9. | Los Angeles, CA | 326,606 | 474 | 689 | 15 |
| 99. | Fort Worth, TX | 56,004 | 82 | 683 | 16 |
| 48. | Salt Lake City, UT | 97,469 | 148 | 659 | 17 |
| 13. | San Diego, CA | 235,165 | 362 | 650 | 18 |
| 64. | Boulder, CO | 74,776 | 116 | 645 | 19 |
| 18. | Washington, DC | 201,320 | 318 | 633 | 20 |
| 5. | New York, NY | 380,610 | 641 | 594 | 21 |
| 60. | Memphis, TN | 76,579 | 129 | 594 | 22 |
| 29. | Tampa, FL | 127,664 | 216 | 591 | 23 |
| 17. | Denver, CO | 198,455 | 336 | 591 | 24 |
| 10. | Atlanta, GA | 265,044 | 449 | 590 | 25 |
| 11. | Charlotte, NC | 239,932 | 410 | 585 | 26 |
| 41. | San Jose, CA | 100,347 | 173 | 580 | 27 |
| 35. | Richmond, VA | 107,663 | 188 | 573 | 28 |
| 77. | Fort Collins, CO | 57,329 | 101 | 568 | 29 |
| 83. | Lexington, KY | 52,502 | 94 | 559 | 30 |
| 72. | Wilmington, NC | 55,504 | 104 | 534 | 31 |
| 73. | Columbia, SC | 53,929 | 102 | 529 | 32 |
| 68. | Tempe, AZ | 55,061 | 106 | 519 | 33 |
| 27. | Orlando, FL | 128,959 | 252 | 512 | 34 |
| 4. | Portland, OR | 345,027 | 675 | 511 | 35 |
| 81. | Charleston, SC | 49,448 | 97 | 510 | 36 |
| 1. | Austin, TX | 483,098 | 948 | 510 | 37 |
| 63. | Arlington, VA | 58,336 | 116 | 503 | 38 |
| 42. | Des Moines, IA | 84,781 | 169 | 502 | 39 |
| 54. | Tulsa, OK | 69,209 | 139 | 498 | 40 |
| 75. | West Palm Beach, FL | 50,519 | 102 | 495 | 41 |
| 34. | Nashville, TN | 93,841 | 191 | 491 | 42 |
| 22. | Dallas, TX | 138,968 | 284 | 489 | 43 |
| 26. | Indianapolis, IN | 123,615 | 261 | 474 | 44 |
| 14. | Phoenix, AZ | 162,050 | 349 | 464 | 45 |
| 16. | Brooklyn, NY | 155,397 | 336 | 462 | 46 |
| 15. | San Antonio, TX | 157,384 | 342 | 460 | 47 |
| 12. | Houston, TX | 170,370 | 371 | 459 | 48 |
| 71. | Fort Wayne, IN | 48,141 | 105 | 458 | 49 |
| 31. | Baltimore, MD | 91,558 | 200 | 458 | 50 |
| 91. | Mesa, AZ | 40,364 | 89 | 454 | 51 |
| 84. | Little Rock, AR | 41,818 | 94 | 445 | 52 |
| 36. | Boston, MA | 82,192 | 186 | 442 | 53 |
| 19. | Milwaukee, WI | 135,206 | 306 | 442 | 54 |
| 7. | Seattle, WA | 248,745 | 592 | 420 | 55 |
| 74. | Portland, ME | 42,245 | 102 | 414 | 56 |
| 51. | Boise, ID | 57,967 | 140 | 414 | 57 |
| 82. | Oakland, CA | 38,358 | 95 | 404 | 58 |
| 21. | St Paul, MN | 118,148 | 295 | 401 | 59 |
| 3. | Minneapolis, MN | 285,075 | 714 | 399 | 60 |
| 43. | Grand Rapids, MI | 66,618 | 167 | 399 | 61 |
| 78. | Greensboro, NC | 39,923 | 101 | 395 | 62 |
| 30. | Cincinnati, OH | 78,170 | 209 | 374 | 63 |
| 57. | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 50,375 | 136 | 370 | 64 |
| 33. | Kansas City, MO | 70,847 | 192 | 369 | 65 |
| 96. | Alexandria, VA | 30,917 | 84 | 368 | 66 |
| 92. | Bellevue, WA | 31,798 | 88 | 361 | 67 |
| 39. | Cleveland, OH | 62,316 | 175 | 356 | 68 |
| 23. | Philadelphia, PA | 100,977 | 284 | 356 | 69 |
| 65. | New Orleans, LA | 38,009 | 107 | 355 | 70 |
| 32. | Pittsburgh, PA | 68,453 | 194 | 353 | 71 |
| 8. | Columbus, OH | 169,236 | 480 | 353 | 72 |
| 67. | Dayton, OH | 36,615 | 106 | 345 | 73 |
| 38. | Birmingham, AL | 60,422 | 176 | 343 | 74 |
| 87. | Sacramento, CA | 31,907 | 93 | 343 | 75 |
| 98. | Cambridge, MA | 28,727 | 84 | 342 | 76 |
| 56. | Jacksonville, FL | 46,119 | 137 | 337 | 77 |
| 69. | Virginia Beach, VA | 34,847 | 106 | 329 | 78 |
| 28. | Tucson, AZ | 70,160 | 225 | 312 | 79 |
| 86. | Tacoma, WA | 29,201 | 94 | 311 | 80 |
| 47. | Madison, WI | 43,843 | 148 | 296 | 81 |
| 62. | Ann Arbor, MI | 35,192 | 119 | 296 | 82 |
| 66. | Tallahassee, FL | 30,915 | 107 | 289 | 83 |
| 24. | Oklahoma City, OK | 77,458 | 269 | 288 | 84 |
| 46. | Omaha, NE | 44,676 | 156 | 286 | 85 |
| 94. | Fargo, ND | 24,190 | 85 | 285 | 86 |
| 25. | Raleigh, NC | 75,641 | 267 | 283 | 87 |
| 85. | Springfield, MO | 26,604 | 94 | 283 | 88 |
| 53. | Louisville, KY | 38,463 | 139 | 277 | 89 |
| 40. | Wichita, KS | 47,695 | 174 | 274 | 90 |
| 50. | Shawnee Mission, KS | 38,495 | 143 | 269 | 91 |
| 55. | Knoxville, TN | 36,936 | 138 | 268 | 92 |
| 97. | Burlington, VT | 21,134 | 84 | 252 | 93 |
| 89. | Charlottesville, VA | 22,031 | 89 | 248 | 94 |
| 76. | Cedar Rapids, IA | 24,841 | 101 | 246 | 95 |
| 80. | Eugene, OR | 23,287 | 98 | 238 | 96 |
| 95. | Lincoln, NE | 19,809 | 85 | 233 | 97 |
| 52. | Spokane, WA | 32,559 | 140 | 233 | 98 |
| 61. | Columbia, MO | 27,543 | 120 | 230 | 99 |
| 70. | Fayetteville, AR | 23,868 | 105 | 227 | 100 |
Note that this is a snapshot in time, and these numbers may change at any time. In any case at the bottom of our chart we have residents of FayettVille Arkansas. For each “tweep” in FayetteVille AR, only 227 people follow them on average. On the other hand, The number one influencer city is Las Vegas, NV. For each tweep in LV, 1,242 people follow them! Rochester ranks a respectable 7th (they were 6th yesterday). I think that this “influencer city” score is more important than the number of people who tweet - more how many people FOLLOW folks from that region. I look forward to LocalTweeps making this stat part of their demographics table they deliver. Feel free to follow me at http://twitter.com/leedrake
Do you have a Plan “B”?
September 29, 2009
In follow-up to the TEN Lunch & Learn meeting held at the Infotonics Technology Center regarding “Plan B” technologies, we are reaching out to help you vet your good ideas. The Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) program realized this region holds many good ideas not presently being pursued that are well suited for regional job creation and economic advantage. Therefore, through WIRED, ITC is providing a rare opportunity for individuals who have a Plan “B” idea to assist them in the process of vetting those ideas and receiving training around the entrepreneurial process.vuon@earthlink.net to set up an initial interview meeting. You will have the opportunity to discuss your Plan “B” idea/technology to a technologist, receive training around the entrepreneurial process and the resources available to help you through that process, and, who knows, maybe become the next upstate New York Plan “A” enterprise!
Sometimes referred to as an orphan idea, invention, or technology, it is the great idea that an innovator just doesn’t have the time to pursue. However, we are providing the opportunity to vet Plan “B” concepts with a technical expert in residence (TEIR) at the Infotonics Technology Center who will provide technical analysis and investigate potential market opportunities. Furthermore, for the technologies/ideas that show promise, additional WIRED training resources are available for assistance in forming a new company, market analysis, business plan writing, grant proposal writing, etc.
If you are one of those Plan “B” innovators, or know of someone who is, please contact Michael Potter at (585)415-7272 or email
