Texas Evening Entrepreneurs

Last weekend, Hall Martin, the executive director of the Central Texas Angel Network, presented to TEE about fund raising in Texas. He had some very insightful commentary about the topic. Here are the slides from his presentation.

Those who attended can feel free to comment, but I think the biggest takeaway was a better understanding of the way angel syndicates function and the value they bring to an early-stage organization. CTAN’s pool of 50+ investors bring myriad opportunities for an entrepreneur to tap in to knowledge and experience they might not otherwise have access to.
Thanks again to all of you who were able to make it out. I’m sure Hall will be seeing a few TEE-written business plans come across his desk in the future.

First off, I’d like to welcome you all to another (or your first) year of TEMBA. As mentioned at the Austin Intensive, Neena Needel and I have taken over the responsibilities of Cynthia Lee and Ruben Miranda as vice-president and president. We’ve got several ideas on how to make TEE continue to live up to expectations providing excellent resources to entrepreneurs in the TEMBA program. We sincerely hope we will be able to do as good a job as Ruben and Cynthia did over the past year.

I’m sure you’re all mired in course work but we’ve got our first speaker event lined up and it looks to be an excellent one:

Speaker Event

Who: Hall T. Martin - Executive Director, Central Texas Angel Network
When: Saturday November 3, 2007 - 9:00am – 11:00am
Where: On Campus – UTC - Room TBD (signs will be posted)
RSVP: email Brian Romanko or Neena Needel

Hall T. Martin, the executive director of the Central Texas Angel Network has offered to give TEE an overview of angel funding and the angel environment in Central Texas. Prior to CTAN, Hall worked at National Instruments for twenty years in various positions including Product Strategy in which he developed the Lead User process. He also holds an MBA from UT Austin. For those of you that attended the venture capital presentation by professor Kevin Williams, this should be a good counterpoint.

Angel funding is a great opportunity for early-stage startups to explore. Not all startups come from Silicon Valley. Make time to network and know your local options.

Please RSVP by Thursday November 1. If you are not yet a TEE member, we still invite you to attend and see what we are all about. We hope to see all of you there!

For those of you with nothing to do this summer, here is an excellent set of recommended readings from Professor Kevin Williams, who just finished up a successful Venture Capital Workshop for our organization. His course, Innovations in Business Marketing, touches upon many of the issues that these books raise. Enjoy.

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Hello TEMBA students!

Professor Kevin Williams, who teaches the Innovations in Business Marketing course in TEMBA, has generously offered to conduct a 4-hour workshop on the Venture Capital process. We are happy to announce that the Texas Evening Entrepreneurs will be sponsoring Professor Williams’ workshop on Saturday, August 4th, from 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM (GSB Room 3.138). The event will be open to all current TEMBA students. Breakfast and coffee will be provided.

You can find complete information on the VC workshop here.

Hello everyone, we are back after a 2-month hiatus, and boy do we have some updates for you. Here is our latest installment of the TEE Bulletin, replete with recommendations, upcoming event info, and big organizational news. And away we go…

Book Recommendations

Some reading material for your mid-August break:

The Innovator’s Dillemma, by Clayton Christensen
Byron Webster ‘07: “Do you know what a disruptive technology actually is? Do you know how to compete with a disruptive technology? Christensen uses examples from the disk drive industry to show how rapidly evolving technology can destroy the markets it has emerged from.”
Ruben Miranda ‘08: “I’m about halfway through this book. It’s dry in some places, and a bit dated with the material (disk drives, minimills, etc), but the lessons learned are timeless. Christensen has also authored a few Harvard cases, so chances are you’ll see some of his work before you graduate.”

The 21 Irrefutable Rules of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell
Guennael Delorme ‘07: “In my mind, Maxwell is the best leadership speaker on the circuit today.  This is what I believe to be his best book (have read a couple).  Not for entrepreuneurship per se, but very important to us as we develop our own companies (or grow in someone else’s).  I like to regularly check back on these rules.”

Recap of Guest Speaker Session

On Memorial Day Weekend we gathered to listen to Divakar Jandhyala and Ranjit Nayak (’07’s) talk extensively about their experiences with their new startup, eVapt. This was a unique opportunity for Divakar and Ranjit to discuss the startup process from the student’s perspective. As entrepreneurs they spend the bulk of their time pitching, but not much time reflecting on what works and what doesn’t. For starters, passion counts: hiring people that aren’t motivated by a large paycheck is critical to building team chemistry. Also helpful: using the curriculum, classmates, and professors to look at the business from all perspectives. And finally, don’t underestimate the power of a mentor! Divakar and Ranjit looked to Daniel Nelson (TEMBA ‘06 and a founder of Phurnace Software) for guidance and moral support. It just goes to show…you’re not really alone in it.

Many thanks to Divakar and Ranjit for taking the time out to share their experiences, and I am certain we will hear of more success from them soon.

Venture Capital Workshop

Our next scheduled event is a big one: Professor Kevin Williams (who teaches Innovations in Business Marketing in the TEMBA program) has volunteered to lead a 4-hour workshop on Venture Capital.

Date: Saturday, August 4th, 2007
Time: 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Place: McCombs GSB, Room TBD

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of taking his Innovations class yet, Kevin Williams is a former Venture Partner with ARCH Venture Partners (1999-2005), where he was involved in seed and early-stage technology investing. Suffice to say he’s got plenty of real-world experience to share on VC funding from the investor’s point of view.

The agenda of the workshop:

• Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Overview — demystifying the process
• Term Sheets — what to look for, and what to avoid
• Angel Investors — how to get them, how to deal with them

This event is open to all TEMBA students and TEE alumni. Coffee and breakfast will be provided, as usual. There are no prerequisites needed, nor is there any prep-work involved. The only requirement is an RSVP, so if you are interested in attending, please contact Shannon Sutton so we can reserve a spot for you.

Social Event

Right on the heels of the Venture Capital Workshop will be our next event — a social function. Similar to our previous social gathering back in January, we will be hosting a happy hour at a venue TBD. We’ve set a preliminary date of Tuesday, August 14, a normal school day if not for the summer break (that’s a built-in excuse right there!). So please come out and enjoy the company of your fellow TEE members just before we jump into the Austin Intensive. These sorts of opportunities don’t come around often, as we all know, so worth taking advantage of it while you can. Details on time and location will be forthcoming, as will an evite.

Passing the Baton

As many of you know, I am stepping down as TEE President effective in August. I wanted to announce that we’ve secured new leadership for TEE through the 2007-08 school year. I am happy to report that Brian Romanko ‘09 will be succeeding me as TEE President as of 8/14. Furthermore, Needa Needel ‘09 will be assuming Vice President duties from Cynthia Lee ‘08. Congratulations to both Brian and Neena! I feel that this organization has so much potential to grow, and I’m confident Brian and Neena can take it to the next level.

Of course, August is still 2 months away, so your current leadership still has work to do! Please join us for the VC Workshop, and keep an eye out for more details on the social event.

Hello everyone,

Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 26, our first TEE meeting of the summer semester. The meeting will be a guest speaker session to be held Saturday morning (time TBA). Our speaker will actually be two speakers: Divakar Jandhyala and Ranjit Nayak, both TEMBA ‘07.

For some background, recall that Divakar and Ranjit founded eVapt, a company that provides solutions for web services. For the past year they built up their business, crafted a core strategy, and fine-tuned their investment presentation. A few months ago they won the McGinnis Venture Competition, a business plan competition under the Moot Corp umbrella. As a result of the placement, eVapt qualified to participate in Global Moot Corp, which just wrapped up last weekend. Clearly, they have a lot of fresh perspective on what it takes to pitch a business plan.

If you have aspirations of entering Moot Corp, starting a business in your own time, understanding the art of the pitch, or introducing yourself to two well-connected gentlemen, please be sure to stop by and hear what Divakar and Ranjit have to say. As usual, breakfast and coffee will be provided. An evite will be released soon as well.

Hope to see you there!

This is a reminder to RSVP for the April 14th Business Plan Case Study if you haven’t already. The deadline is rapidly approaching, so send your request in to Shannon Sutton as soon as possible.

The event is open to all TEMBA students in the ‘07, ‘08, and ‘09 classes. TEE will be providing free breakfast tacos and coffee.

To reiterate, the core requirement for this case study is that you need to understand master budgeting. For anyone who hasn’t yet taken Managerial Accounting (such as the ‘09 class) or is maybe just plain rusty, Dr. May has also some excellent prepwork to get you get up to speed. We’ll be distributing all materials next week, however if you’d like a head start on the prepwork please contact Shannon to receive those sections.

For everyone, please review and run through the material once it is distributed, and do come prepared!

Attention all TEMBA students!

Professor Bob May, who teaches the Managerial Accounting course in TEMBA, has graciously volunteered his time to conduct a 4-hour case study on how to write a business plan. We are happy to announce that the Texas Evening Entrepreneurs will be sponsoring Professor May’s case study on Saturday, April 14, 2007 from 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM (Location TBD). Breakfast and coffee will be provided.

More information is available here.

Hi everyone, we’re back from the break to present our first TEE bulletin for the Spring semester.

Hello there and happy holidays. Here’s our second installment of the TEE Bulletin, a low-volume list dedicated to informing interested folks about monthly organization updates, entrepreneurial-focused events, and recommendations on a variety of subjects - all contained in a single digest.

Book Recommendations

Some reading material for your December break…

Rules for Revolutionaries, by Guy Kawasaki
Byron Webster ‘07: “A predecessor to Art of the Start.  Want to make a difference?  You need to start a revolution,  and, as guy points out, even revolutionaries need to realize that there are  rules to operate.  This insightful book sets up many of the thoughts that  are later discussed in Art of the Start.  Highly recommend starting with  this book.”

Read to lead? by Alan Price
Guennael Delorme ‘07: “The best introduction to what leadership can bring to a corporation.  Very easy read, you’ll get through it in a couple of hours.  Some do argue that this book has too much story around the leadership thing (think “The Goal” by Goldratt”, but I beg to disagree:  without the story, the comprehension level would be high, but the retention one almost nil.”

Hackers and Painters – Big Ideas from the Computer Age, by Paul Graham
Eric Mills ‘07: “This book is specifically for those interested in learning how to gain a competitive advantage through a software business.  Must read for all programmers considering a startup.  Paul Graham also explains the basic laws of economics which show why working for yourself is the most efficient means to wealth.”

Recap of Idea Panel

The Idea Panel was an unequivocal success! Our three presentations were very well received, and brought forth a variety of insightful recommendations on how to market, develop, and operate the potential venture. The topics varied from web aggregation tools (Brian Romanko) to web-based accounting software (Ruben Miranda) to niche retail in the fitness industry (Peter Keller).

Kudos to the presenters for sharing those all-important details to the lucky attendees. Sure there’s a risk in sharing your ideas with others, but as Paul Graham notes, ideas by themselves are essentially worthless. The devil is always in the execution! And what better audience to respect your topic and give you FREE advice than a group of your own MBA classmates.

We are definitely expecting to host another one of these in the Spring. Stay tuned for the schedule.

Social Event Schedule Change

Due to International Trip and holiday schedules, we are moving the TEE Social Event to Thursday, January 11 @ 6:30 pm (exact time TBD). We will have more details on the event in the new year. In the meantime, enjoy the Christmas parties and the well-deserved break.

TEE Shirts Are IN

At last, TEE Polo Shirts have arrived! Shirts can be picked up either at the Social Event or the first day of class (January 16). Please contact Ruben Miranda if you know you cannot make either.