The Arkansas Small Business Development Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will soon sponsor the first Advanced Invention to Venture (AI2V) workshop in Arkansas.
The ASBDC is offering the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance program to area small business and university communities from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 at UALR. It characterizes the program as a unique opportunity for Arkansas technology ventures.
"AI2V is a highly-acclaimed, four-day intensive workshop for intellectual property–based venture teams," ASBDC Director Mildred Holley said in a news release. "It provides instruction, exercises, venture pitching and coaching, complete with real-time feedback from coaches and investors."
The center is co-sponsoring the event with Arkansas Capital Corp. Group and Arkansas Science & Technology Authority.
Click here to register. Teams must register in advance and may represent startup companies, existing small businesses, corporate ventures and university teams preparing to participate in the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Competition. Call (501) 683-7700 for more information.
The in-class time will be followed by six to eight weeks of homework and exercises, monitored by an assigned coach. The end result is a 15-minute investor pitch and commercialization plan fundamentals to back it up. Qualifying teams will have a panel of investors, mentors and advisors assembled for an investor pitch.
"Startup teams often get caught up in hectic, day-to-day activities and don’t stop to analyze business opportunities or develop breakthrough strategies," Holley said. "Working alongside qualified venture development instructors and coaches, teams will be amazed at how their respective visions for their venture will align.
Craig Pair, president of Control Technologies Inc. of Fort Smith, attended AI2V last November in New Mexico and attested to its value.
"The topics that were discussed in the class pinpointed the skills that are required to bring a product or service to the attention of an investor," he said. "Whether that investor is going to contribute capital or their trust and allow you to perform work for them, the AI2V training demonstrates what is required to make the investment happen, reinforced by what is required to capitalize on that investment once it does happen."
Sharon C. Ballard, president and CEO of EnableVentures Inc. and former chief executive and founder of Reticular Systems Inc., will be the instructor.
"We can grow great entrepreneurial ventures here," said Ballard, an Alma entrepreneur who wants to see her home state develop its own high-tech, high-paying jobs.
She is a frequent lecturer on all aspects of high-technology entrepreneurship and has coached hundreds of potential entrepreneurs across the U.S. and in Europe. She has helped fellow entrepreneurs prepare SBIR/STTR proposals since 1993 and is a founding management fellow for Arizona State University’s Technopolis Program, which focuses on educating, coaching and networking early-stage entrepreneurs.
Sign up for Daily E-news
