Resource:How to hold an Invention to Venture workshop
Engineer. Entrepreneur. One step away.
Contents
"Fill the gap"
A junior student at the Cooper Union as well as a University Innovation fellow, Sharang quickly realized there was a gap between the engineering and entrepreneurship in his campus. His fellows were very passionate about building, designing, creating; everything about engineering, but few took the step to push into a product. With the knowledge learned from University Innovation Fellow program, he quickly responded an Invention-to-Venture (I2V) workshop would bridge the two Es.
Prep
Bearing the idea in mind, Sharang started the preparation from mid October. Collecting the essentials from NCIIA, he came out with his to-do list:
1. Event branding
What are the key components of the gap between engineering and entrepreneurship?
- Why entrepreneurship and who is an entrepreneur;
- How to assess an idea; how to make it product and sell it;
- How to expand and where to find the money;
- How to protect the product.
Speakers
With the theme to introduce the basic knowledge of entrepreneurship, Sharang started to seek for speakers with experience on these areas. Contacting alumni is obviously a good way. Sharang also made good use of location: New York City. Sharang reached out to Professor Rob Marano. Rob is the organizer of Entrepreneurship Society at the Cooper Union, as well as serial entrepreneur.
Soon, with help from Professor Marano, he got his speakers:
- John Pavley: Currently the Chief Technology Officer of the Huffington Post. Extensive experience with tech startups. A regular blogger of new movement of tech industry.
- Steven Silberstang: boring Cooper Union Alumnus. Currently owner of Foolhardy Investors, a NY based investment firm. A serial entrepreneur.
- Owen Davis: Managing Director of NYC Seed, a seed stage venture capital firm fund. 100 Top Internet Executives in New York.
- David Kalow: Founding partner of Kalow & Springout, LLP. Expert in Intellectual Property and licensing.
- Barry Negrin: Cooper Union Alumnus. Registered patent attorney, currently serving as counsel to Kane Kessler, P.C.
- Chaitanya Kanojia: Founder and CEO of Aereo, Inc, a groundbreaking online TV platform.
- Alyssa Davis: A sophomore at Cooper Union. Together with her sister and grandfather, she received $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation under the Ghana Sustainable Aid Project (GSAP).
Sponsors
Because of the close relationship with Professor Rob Marano as well as the novelty of I2V event, Sharang successfully gained sponsorship from local companies through Professor Rob’s connection. Sponsors include the Hackerati, GitHub Inc. and Zocdoc.com.
Date and location
Time: Saturday, December 1, 2012 (Before finals as well as students returned from Thanksgiving.)
Location: The New Academic Building of the Cooper Union, 41 Cooper Square New York City
Event marketing
The quickest and most efficient way is via internet. Sharang and his colleagues published the event at main information channels for Cooper Union students:
- Event webpage: http://i2v.cooper.edu/index.php
- School webpage: http://cooper.edu/events-and-exhibitions/events/invention-venture-workshop
- Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/531522680211240/
Team
Sharang looked for peers sharing the same entrepreneurial ideas. His partner, Eric Leong, has been instrumental throughout his entrepreneurial experience.
Agenda for the day
| Time | Event |
| 8:00-8:30 | Continental Breakfast, Registration, Pre-Networking in LL101. |
| 8:30-8:45 | Welcome & About NCIIA – Sharang Phadke |
| 8:45-9:45 | Is Technology Entrepreneurship for you – John Pavley, Steve Silberstang |
| 9:45 – 10:00 | Break |
| 10:00 – 10:45 | Idea Validation & Opportunity Assessment – Owen Davis |
| 10:45 – 11:30 | Marketing & Sales for Early Stage Companies – Rob Marano |
| 11:30 – 12:15 | The Perfect Business Plan – Chet Kanjolia |
| 12:15 – 1:30 | Networking Lunch in LL101 and 101 |
| 1:30 – 2:15 | Issues in Intellectual Property Licensing – Barry Negrin, David Kalow |
| 2:15 – 2:30 | Break |
| 2:30 – 3:15 | Engaging Stakeholders as a Social Entrepreneur – Alyssa Davis |
| 3:15 – 3:30 | Final Remarks |
Followup
It is the first time to house I2V at Cooper Union. Sharang believed the response from students were positive. It effectively connected the campus with entrepreneurship outside. About 50 students attended the workshop. Together with Hackerthon and the demo workshop at New York University, the awareness of entrepreneurship was greatly improved among Cooper Union students. In the future, Sharang thinks some other events that can be done include bringing investors and advisors to campus, as well as elevator pitch. The success of the event was also written by the first speaker John Pavley at Huffington Post.
A few things learned:
- Start early;
- Grasp every possible resource out there: faculty, sponsor, speaker, NCIIA… ;
- Every I2V should be different; find the niche in your school;
- Be creative on marketing and organizing;
- Choose the right speakers. Students can respond very differently to individual speakers. An interview or an informal conversation with potential speakers before the event would be a good way to check his/her personalities.
- A peer speaker with entrepreneurial experience (even better if from the same school) catches more attention.
- Choose a strong first speaker to set the tone for the whole event.
- Send out reminders to both students and speakers as the event approaches.
Related links:
I2V at Cooper Union: http://i2v.cooper.edu/
Article from Huffington Post: " In the end, we are all entrepreneurs" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-pavley/entrepreneur-career_b_2225842.html?utm_hp_ref=divorce&ir=Divorce&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews)
