Upcoming Events

The Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network-Chicago is Co-Hosting the 2011 the

2011 Great Lakes Entrepreneurial Bash, a featured event of the Kauffman Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurship Week.

 

We hope that you can join us in a celebration by and for company leaders where four amazing founders will share how they started and grew companies to $100 million+ success.

 

         Date: Thursday, November 17, 2011

Location:             UIC Forum

725 W Roosevelt Rd.
(MC 126)
Chicago‚ IL 60608
Phone (312) 413-9875
Fax (312) 996-2196
uicforum@uic.edu

Time:    4:30pm Registration

     5:00-7:00pm Panel & Reception

 

Registration:                    www.entrepbash.com

                              $55 ($15 off with discount code sent to you in email)

 

Speakers:            Mike Domek, Founder, TicketsNow

                            Ron Galowich, Founder, Initiate Systems & First Health Group Corp.

                            Jim Gray, Founder, optionsXpress

                            Dane Miller, Founder, Biomet

Moderator:        Robert Jordan, Author, How They Did It: Billion Dollar Insights from the Heart of America

 

Hope to see you there!

 

Kate Sackman

President, Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network - Chicago

 

 

The Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network-Chicago and the The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth Invite You to a Speakers Panel Tuesday, November 8th 6:00 - 8:00 pm Harper Center at University of Chicago 5807 South Woodlawn Avenue (room C-09) Hyde Park 6:00 - 6:30pm Cocktails, appetizers, and networking with the speakers and other attendees 6:30 - 7:45 pm Speaker presentations and Q & A 7:45 - 8:00 pm Short cocktail reception following presentation R e g i s t r a t i o n To help us plan, please register in advance for this event. General registration $25 / Students $10 / Walk-ins welcome [If you have trouble connecting to the registration page, try Internet Explorer) O u r D y n a m i c S p e a k e r s: Jessica Kim, Founder and CEO of BabbaCo www.babbaco.com BabbaCo makes products for kids ages 3-6. Their main product is the BabbaBox, a monthly subscription box full of theme-based activities. The company just received its first outside investment: $1.2 million led by Lightbank, in collaboration with SV Angel of Silicon Valley. BabbaCo has recently received a lot of buzz in the press, including on the Today Show, and The Rachel Ray Show, in People magazine, and Jessica being named one of the top 50 Mompreneurs for 2011 by babble.com. Jennifer Conner, Mustard Girl www.mustardgirl.com Jennifer founded Mustard Girl in 2007 and already her mustards are found in over 750 grocery stores in the Midwest and parts of the Southeast U.S., including Whole Foods, PeaPod, Byerly's and is also distributed to restaurants by US Foodservice. Jennifer and her Mustard Girl products have recently been featured widely in the press including on NPR-Dick Gordon's The Story, NBC-Milwaukee, ABC-Minneapolis, NBC-Madison, and AOL SPOTLIGHT. Rob Schultz, Illinois Ventures www.illinoisventures.com Rob Schultz is a Senior Director of IllinoisVENTURES and a Partner of the Illinois Emerging Technologies Fund. Rob's previous experiences include serving as Founder and former CEO of DigitalWork, Inc., a small business services company, which he built and led through an IPO. In 2000, Rob was a Year 2000 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. He was named as one of the "100 most important executives, decision-makers, financiers and idea people in the Chicago Internet community" and is a frequent guest lecturer at Chicago Booth.

 

P l e a s e   j o i n    u s   i n  C h i c a g o   f o r
a   F a l l   n e t w o r k i n g   m i x e r
 

Tuesday     Sept. 20th     6:00 - 8:00 pm
 
Fulton's on the River
315 N. LaSalle Street
 
Register now > 
 

Due to the success of or May networking event 
we are returning to Fulton's next week!  We hope you can join us!
 
Tuesday, September 20th (note date change)
6:00 - 8:00 pm
 
Fulton's on the River
315 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL  60654
 
 
Register Now > 
 

Upcoming DEN Chicago Speaker's Panel
October 2011
 
"Stories from the Trenches"
 
Date and details TBA at the 9/20
networking event at Fulton's
 

DEN Chicago Networking Events (tentative dates)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 5:30 - 7:30 P.M.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 5:30 - 7:30 P.M.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 5:30 - 7:30 P.M.

***

DEN Chicago Venture Speaker Series (tentative dates)

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 6:00 - 8:00 P.M.

"Stories from the Trenches: What we have learned from our entrepreneurial experiences"

A speakers panel featuring three mid-career entrepreneurs

***

Another venture speaker series will be held in April 2012

____________________________________________________

     Spring Networking Mixer
 
   Tues, 5/10     5:30-7:30 pm

   The Bar at Fulton's on the River

  Please join us to mix and mingle with fellow entrepreneurs and those who love talking new ideas.  Learn about exciting upcoming DEN events!
 
   Date:               Tuesday, May 10th

Time:               5:30pm - 7:30pm
 
                         Place:              The Bar at Fulton's on the River
                                 315 N. LaSalle Street
                           Chicago, IL  6065

             Cash bar

Questions?      Kate Sackman D'82 at 847.858.5525

______________________________________________________

 

PAST EVENTS

Venture Speaker Series Continued

The Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network
&
Chicago Booth Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship

Proudly present

2010 DEN Leadership Conference

Event Update

• A company which provides data sheets online which are required by the federal government to enable companies to easily comply with federal regulations
• A private label manufacturer of dental products, which provides highest quality products at retail prices below the competition, but enables the retailer to make higher absolute gross margins
• An energy company that does light and HVAC retrofits for commercial buildings, providing a two year payback, plus energy savings
• A internet-based music company, which provides integrated resources for unsigned musicians to get reviews of their music, plus then distribute their music, book concerts, and provide licensing opportunities

• No matter how good the product, it does not sell itself.  A company must have an excellent and active sales force.
• He believes in companies that sell something that involves recurring purchases, such as toothbrushes, and transactional companies such as credit card clearing, rather than selling goods or services that customers only buy once or twice.
• A product needs to have a point of difference versus the alternatives: e.g. cheaper and better.
• A company needs a good sales plan, good accounting, and good expense control.
• If an investor offers you (the entrepreneur) more money, take it, even if it dilutes your position.  It is likely you will need that extra money to achieve your plan.
• Always keep your product at the cutting edge.  Those whose products constantly innovate will retain customers.  Those who don’t won’t.  See The Innovators Dilemma (Clayton Christenson, 1997).
• Embrace youth.  Bring young people into the company to keep it energized and to provide continuity.
• Take risk.  Nothing lasting happens without it.
• 
  

• Invest in convertible debt, rather than equity.  It puts you in a better negotiating position if the company gets into difficulties.
• Always keep enough cash in reserve to be able to advance a few cycles of payroll for the company.  Every start-up gets to the point when they are growing that an investor will have to cover a couple of payroll cycles.
• Avoid medical products that require FDA approval.  The time to market launch is too long and too expensive.
• He really likes businesses enabled by the internet: ease of distribution, easy to grow.
• Low capital expense structure/ low fixed costs are preferable.
• Intellectual property/ patents are expensive to protect and not necessarily that valuable as a result.

2009 Autumn Update

DEN Chicago had its first Networking Event of its inaugural year on October 29, 2009 at the Hyatt Chicago.  Amid thousands of other convention attendees congregating at the Hyatt Big Bar, approximately 25 people in the extended Dartmouth family came together to get to know one another and exchange ideas.  Many entrepreneurs with medical-related ventures were in attendance, as well as real estate, finance, conservation, and internet marketing. Everyone exchanged business cards initiating several new potential business relationships.

DEN Chicago has also put forward a new executive committee, which is still growing, and is being led by the following new officers:  President, Kate Sackman (Dartmouth '82), Vice Presidents, Alex Stojanovic (DMS '04) and Sean Harte (Tuck '91), Secretary, Kathy Bridges (Parent '10).  More people have expressed interest and are being  added to this group.

DEN Chicago is a local chapter of the larger Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network (DEN), focused on cultivating entrepreneurship through and within the greater Chicago community of Dartmouth, Thayer, Tuck and the Medical School Alumni.

DEN Chicago is launching a series of networking events and workshops to foster idea sharing, mentorship, and to bring together aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs, funders and service providers.

See more about DEN Chicago here.

Connect with other members of the DEN Chicago community by:

• Using our member directory
• Attending DEN Chicago's various networking and presentation forums
• Using our LinkedIn group
• Joining a Track -- see information below or on the Tracks page
  

Remember to read DEN Chicago's Rules of the Road before reaching out to other members.