The VentureForth Quarterly @ UCSD

Future of VentureForth

2007-05-20T02:30:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

This school year is coming to an end, and a majority of the members will be graduating this coming June. I just wanted to say that it has been a pleasure to be around great people who have dedicated their time and efforts on promoting entrepreneurship at UCSD and the San Diego community. Everything would not be possible without the help of each and every member. We had great times planning workshops and conferences, attending events, and most importantly creating long-lasting relationships. As we go our separate ways, my hopes are that we continue to have that entrepreneurial spirit wherever life leads.

Now, it is time for the passing of the torch to the next generation of VF members. It is a great time to be in VF for the new members with new management and projects. My hope for you is that each and every one of you have that passion for entrepreneurship and see how the role of entrepreneurship is used as a solution to solve world problems, big or small. Each and everyone of you have the ability to tackle issues that are close to your heart and I hope you can use the training from VF to take the steps in creating a solution.

An example would be my passion for global health. I have a heart for the global impact of healthcare realizing that there are drugs currently on the market that can cure millions of lives, but cannot be available to them due to cost and regulatory issues. Also, many prevalent diseases that affect the developing world are not studied and very few treatments available to the people in need. This lead me to my business plan to create a company for global health. I came across a professor's work in nematode disease, which affects 2 billion people in the world. With this medical innovation, I hope to create a new business model for sustainability targeting two markets.

You may hear many other stories such as Shayan with ErisTech, and I would like to hear more of these stories in VF as time goes on. I wish the best for the new group and I will try my best to continue to support you guys in any way possible.

James Lu
Former Vice President, VentureForth

Power of Passion through Innovation

2007-05-07T00:03:00.000-07:00

Shell House provides cheap, radio-equipped housing for homeless

Posted May 6th 2007 7:28AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Hey, we can't all live in the pimped out mansions or nicely appointed lodges, but an NYU graduate student is making it her personal mission to do something substantial about it. The living portable project has yielded a cardboard-based Shell House contraption that requires just $35 worth of material, a bit of time, and a hearty dose of generosity. The DIY project allows interested citizens to build collapsible houses for homeless individuals, and moreover, gives them an opportunity to experience ubiquitous computing by way of an integrated radio network. Moreover, you can couple this with a homegrown solar heater, and you've got yourself a date with nature.

Nature: Making it in the biotech business

2007-04-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

Nature: Making it in the biotech business

This article from Nature goes in-depth on how we were inspired to do a panel on "From the Lab to the Boardroom" in how to become successful in the biotech industry. It goes into stressing the importance of leadership skills and networking ability, which VentureForth provides as part of the training program. Here is also the abstract of the panel, which can also be found on our website:

Having a strong background in research is no longer enough for getting ahead in the biotech business. While employers are looking for more than just pure biotech background, as the future leaders in biotechnology, we need to learn how to incorporate our knowledge in science into leadership and management abilities. This panel will focus on the many different paths of how to move from the lab bench to the boardroom. The panelists will share their experiences whether it be through networking or having a mentor that setup their successful career in biotech as well as provide insight into the specific trends and opportunities emerging in the industry today.

Moderator: Sheldon Schuster PhD. President and Professor, Keck Graduate Institute

John Dobak, M.D. Founder of JAKK Group

Alain Baron, M.D Senior Vice President, San Diego, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Connie Matsui, MBA EVP-Knowledge and Innovation Networks, Biogen Idec, Inc.

Judith W. Zyskind Founder and CSO of Elitra Pharmaceuticals, Inc, & Professor, SDSU

These are a great group of people to know who were once in your position and will be at the conference (Saturday, May 5th, 2007) to share their experiences and help you to stay ahead of the game and be able to do great things.

Also, realize our conference is probably one of the very few events that is FREE!!!!! If you go to BIOCOM, San Diego Venture Group, CONNECT, MIT Forum, etc., THEY ALL COST MONEY!!! We are providing a free event that is for the San Diego community whether you are student, faculty and staff, and industry professional. It's not too late to register. Just go to http://www.ventureforth.org/conferences/biotech/registration.html .

YoungMoney: College Major- Entrepreneur

2007-04-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

Newest College Major: Entrepreneur

Here are some interesting thoughts from a recent study about young entrepreneurs.

Once taught only in the school of hard knocks, entrepreneurship is becoming a mainstream college subject, and even a major in its own right, as fundamental to business education as accounting. That’s one of the conclusions of the first phase of the Intuit Future of Small Business Report, which looks at American Entrepreneurship over the next 10 years.

· More than 1,600 colleges and universities now offer programs in entrepreneurship, with demand outstripping the supply of qualified instructors.

· At the college level, the emphasis will widen, focusing not just on high-growth businesses backed by venture capital, but on small business ownership of all kinds.

· Employers are viewing entrepreneurship as a fundamental skill, as key to business success as an understanding of accounting and marketing. *

Researchers are discovering what colleges have known for years. Interest in student entrepreneurship has grown tremendously and that’s going to radically change how the next generation views their career goals.

*Entrepreneurship involves multiple facets of business and can be applied in a company setting as an intrapreneur. Defined by Wikipedia, Intrapreneurship is the practice of entrepreneurial skills and approaches by or within a company or at home.

List of company name etymologies

2007-04-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

Starting a company requires a lot of things whether it be having the great idea, sound management, and great workforce, but one thing thing that represents all of this is the name of the company. I found this on Wikipedia List of company name etymologies. As an entrepreneur, deciding on the name of your startup does make a difference.

From Technology Ventures:From Idea to Enterprise (book for ENG 203 Applied Innovation), it states in it's Twenty Principles for Creating Successful Technology Ventures: Principle 10 "The name, logo, and intellectual property of a new venture can provide a proprietary advantage leading to a temporary monopoly in the marketplace."

I hope you can read about the history behind the name of successful companies and be able to create a name that will give you that edge to be successful.

BIOTECH in the NEWS

2007-04-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, but I will try to keep you up-to-date on current topics and issues in the news.

Genentech, Gilead Struggle to Hire as Biotech Booms

Interesting article about the growing opportunity in biotech for scientist due to a shortage of qualified people.

"The biotech business, which generated $51 billion in U.S. sales in 2005, is one of the fastest-growing U.S. industries, creating 40,000 jobs from 2001 to 2004, according to Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio. Genentech says the lack of qualified applicants means the company is ``scrambling'' to grow. A drop over the past decade in the percentage of U.S. college graduates pursuing science is making the task harder."

If your interested in biotech, Genentech (Stock Symbol: DNA) is the ultimate company to work for, but don't overlook Gilead Sciences in Foster City, CA. Other companies on the rise are Genzyme (Stock Symbol: GENZ) and Celgene (Stock Symbol: CELG) in New Jersey. Illumina (Stock Symbol: ILMN- don't be fooled by the past couple of months, great opportunity to buy), named by Forbes as the Top Fastest Growing Tech Company in 2007, also is a great local company to work for, and guess what, the co-founder and COO will be at the 4th Annual Biotech Entrepreneurial Conference on Saturday, May 5, 2007, at Cal-IT2. We also have the Dean of SDSU's MBA program and former bioentrepreneur with an inspirational behind it. We also have a great group of panelists from a wide range of successful entrepreneurs, executives, VC's, lawyers, and many others to network with. Take this opportunity and use it as a catalyst for your future career in biotech.

Check it out at: http://www.ventureforth.org/conferences/biotech/

EntrepreneurshipWeekUSA

2007-02-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

From February 24 to March 3, 2007, EntrepreneurshipWeek USA will be a collection of thousands of activities, ranging from high school competitions to academic gatherings and local town halls to a national policy summit. More than 700 organizations throughout the country have answered the call, planning activities in all fifty states.

The underlying message of EntrepreneurshipWeek USA is one that resonates with people of all ages, of all ethnic backgrounds and from all walks of life. It is a celebration and an acknowledgement of what has made America great from the start. Its impact will be significant for not only those involved, but for the future generations of entrepreneurs as well as the economies to which they contribute.

List of trailblazers in entrepreneurship. It includes the founder of Kinko's, Build-a-Bear, Cold Stone's, Netgear, Linksys, and many others.

VentureForth is celebrating this week with:

The Power of Business for the Social Good

Tired of purely profit-driven corporations? Come and find out how companies
stay successful while directly addressing social issues!

Meet social entrepreneurs at VentureForth's Social Entrepreneur Panel and
learn about the growing movement of using business and innovative solutions
to solve pressing social problems.

Thursday, March 1st
5:30–8PM at Pepper Canyon Hall #122

Free dinner will be provided.

Please Register at: http://www.ventureforth.org/

Social Entrepreneur Defined by Asoka Foundation

2007-02-20T01:30:00.000-08:00

What is a Social Entrepreneur?

Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.

Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to take new leaps.

Social entrepreneurs often seem to be possessed by their ideas, committing their lives to changing the direction of their field. They are both visionaries and ultimate realists, concerned with the practical implementation of their vision above all else.

Each social entrepreneur presents ideas that are user-friendly, understandable, ethical, and engage widespread support in order to maximize the number of local people that will stand up, seize their idea, and implement with it. In other words, every leading social entrepreneur is a mass recruiter of local changemakers—a role model proving that citizens who channel their passion into action can do almost anything.

Over the past two decades, the citizen sector has discovered what the business sector learned long ago: There is nothing as powerful as a new idea in the hands of a first-class entrepreneur.

Why "Social" Entrepreneur?

Just as entrepreneurs change the face of business, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss and improving systems, inventing new approaches, and creating solutions to change society for the better. While a business entrepreneur might create entirely new industries, a social entrepreneur comes up with new solutions to social problems and then implements them on a large scale.

Historical Examples of Leading Social Entrepreneurs:

Susan B. Anthony (U.S.): Fought for Women's Rights in the United States, including the right to control property and helped spearhead adoption of the 19th amendment.
Vinoba Bhave (India): Founder and leader of the Land Gift Movement, he caused the redistribution of more than 7,000,000 acres of land to aid India's untouchables and landless.
Mary Montessori (Italy): Developed the Montessori approach to early childhood education.
Florence Nightingale (U.K.): Founder of modern nursing, she established the first school for nurses and fought to improve hospital conditions.
Margaret Sanger (U.S.): Founder of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she led the movement for family planning efforts around the world.
John Muir (U.S.): Naturalist and conservationist, he established the National Park System and helped found The Sierra Club.
Jean Monnet (France): Responsible for the reconstruction of the French economy following World War II, including the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The ECSC and the European Common Market were direct precursors of the European Union.

Social Innovation

2007-02-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

$1 million prize awarded for water purifier

FAIRFAX, Va. - A professor who developed an inexpensive, easy-to-make system for filtering arsenic from well water has won a $1 million engineering prize — and he plans to use most of the money to distribute the filters to needy communities around the world.

Innovation is a source for solutions and not only for profit.

Yahoo!, Coke in the News

2007-02-04T15:14:00.000-08:00

How Yahoo! Aims To Reboot- Time
Side note: I like how they revamped Yahoo! Sports (looks like ESPN now)

Ex-secretary found guilty of stealing Coke secrets- CNN

Michael Dell's E-mail to Employees

2007-02-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

Found this on Paul Kedrosky's website and I just wanted to share about the story of Dell, which was once the tech powerhouse that dominated the PC industry, and how it is on the verge to try and come back with vengeance with Michael Dell, a great entrepreneur, back on top. Read this BusinesWeek article as well. Here is what he had to say:

We held a meeting this morning with our Vice Presidents and Directors. I'd like to share the highlights of this meeting with all of you.

I told our team that I remember the great times and many successes with Kevin Rollins, but now it's time for a change.

I remember what it's like to start a company. We're moving fast. There is no luxury of time. The competitors are fierce. The difference is this time we have many new assets and some hidden ones that can be brought out.

We have great people . . . but we also have a new enemy: bureaucracy, which costs us money and slows us down. We created it, we subjected our people to it and we have to fix it!

I am asking each of you to look across your organizations and eliminate redundancies, think about what is best for Dell, and provide the clarity and focus of leadership that we need.

Last year, we worked really hard and there were many sacrifices. Thanks!

We had great efforts, but not great results. This is disappointing and it is unacceptable.

We have a tough couple of quarters ahead. We didn't get here overnight and we won't fix things overnight either.

OPEX (operating expense) grew too fast. We need to grow into what we have, hold cost and eliminate marginal activities. We must focus and wring out savings.

Long-term, we will be the technology leader known for strong operating performance, a great experience for our customers and a great place to work!

We will have clear priorities and a focused strategy.

We will grow Small and Medium Business and expand Services.

We will continue to build the enterprise Server/Storage business. In Services, we will build, partner and buy.

Product Group will shorten design cycles, increase speed and innovation/design that create real differentiated value for our customers.

We're going to introduce new brands and products with a focus on Consumer and Small Business. We will ensure quality, stability and predictability for our larger customers.

We will complete our dual processor supplier strategy.

We'll restore loyalty and continue CE (consumer experience) improvement. . . . We will bring excitement and pride back to our brand.

In emerging markets, we'll take new approaches and introduce new products.

When I started in 1984, it was just me. But now we are blessed to have an awesome team, many great assets and $11 billion or so. It won't be easy, we'll have to make some tough decisions and we won't be shy about those. Our focus will be on building Dell into the company we all know it can be for our customers, our people and our shareholders.

We will be bold in our thinking and swift in our action.

I ask you to commit with me to the future of Dell. Show confidence with your teams and our customers. We will fix this business and take it to new heights!

Forbes: 13 Fast Tech Newcomers

2007-02-02T01:25:00.000-08:00

Amgen (nasdaq: AMGN)

Cephalon (nasdaq: CEPH)

Dolby Laboratories (nyse: DLB)

DRS Technologies (nyse: DRS)

Euronet Worldwide (nasdaq: EEFT)

Illumina (nasdaq: ILMN)

Monolithic Power Systems (nasdaq: MPWR)

MTC Technologies (nasdaq: MTCT)

NII Holdings (nasdaq: NIHD)

Online Resources (nasdaq: ORCC)

Salesforce.com (nyse: CRM)

Sonic Solutions (nasdaq: SNIC)

SRA International (nyse: SRX)

2007-01-21T14:21:00.000-08:00

FORTUNE: 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007

2007-01-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

100 Best Companies to Work For 2007

Guess who's #1? Google

Also, here is the list of the Top 25 Companies to work for in California. In San Diego, there is Booz Allen Hamilton, management consulting firm, Qualcomm, and Intuit that top the list.

Social Entrepreneurship and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

2007-01-14T01:20:00.000-08:00

An exclusive hour-long conversation about a new partnership in philanthropy with Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates.

At VentureForth, there will be upcoming events this quarter on the topic of social entrepreneurship. What is it? It is an innovative way to use the power of business for the benefit of society. Many affluent individuals such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank has been awarded a 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, etc. have started using their entrepreneurial spirit as an innovative way to solve social issues. Also, there are average people who have a passion in making a difference in other people's lives such as Kiva.org, San Diego Venture Partners, who fund social projects to social entrepreneurs, and etc. Here is a video of a rare round table with Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet on what they are doing. Also, here is a LA Times article about more of the details.

This is one of the company that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation fund: The Institute of One World Health- Non-profit Pharmaceutical Company. Here is a link to a video about how one person found her passion and made it into reality.

Here is another set of videos from The Skoll Foundation (Jeff Skoll, first employee at eBay) on Uncommon Heroes.

25 Titans in Waiting

2006-12-27T00:56:00.000-08:00

The List: Meet the young entrepreneurs who will rock the world in 2007 and beyond.

Neighborhood Watch: Jeremy Stoppleman and Russel Simmons

Virtual Profit: Sampo Karjalainen and Aapo Kyrölä

Drug Diva: Elizabeth Holmes

Sizzling Approach to Cleantech: Andrew Beebe

Powering Web’s China Communities: Dai Zhikang

JainRan Man: Scott Kveton

Freezing Cells for a Rainy Day: Olaf Stiller

A Better Bookmark: Joshua Schachter

Crimefighter: Jonathan Friend

On the Fly: Alex Campbell

I Was a Teenage CEO: Weina Scott

Same Brothers, New Story: Alexander Samwer, Oliver Samwer, Marc Samwer

Smile or Smirk: Peter Hartzbech

Freedom Rock: Jon Johansen

Reactive Entrepreneur: Michael Lefenfeld

Bussing emails in Rural India: Amir Alexander Hasson

Picture Perfect: Alex Welch

Texting Voices: Christina Domecq

Banking on Green: Wen Hsieh

Faster Drug Discovery: Anuradha Acharya

Cheap Talk: Ben Lilienthal

One day, maybe we'll see your name on this list.

Craigslist

2006-12-12T18:22:00.000-08:00

This article from MarketWatch stands out to me. Every company is looking to maximize profits, but Craig Newmark cares more about providing a service for the greater "social" good.

"Their noble stance gives entrepreneurs from San Francisco a great name. Despite the many unfortunate examples of greed, Internet entrepreneurs aren't all about getting rich quick and cashing out. At an entrepreneur's roots is a vision to provide a service that helps alleviate a pain point. The money thing always muddied the waters down the road.
The attitude at Craigslist is a nice reminder of how entrepreneurs' ideals can still remain intact, no matter how odd they may seem in a world that worships money."

Ethics in entrepreneurship is something to keep in mind as people focus too much on the money and not on the purpose of the product or service.

Entrepreneurs in the News:

2006-12-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

J Allard- VP of Design and Development, Microsoft- intrapreneur of the Xbox and Zune

Dean Kamen- engineer, social entrepreneur- CEO of DEKA, creator of the Segway and social technological advancements

Shaun Fanning- computer programmer, entrepreneur- known for Napster and now Rupture (World of Warcraft social network)

Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake- web design consultants and married- known for the popular photo sharing website- Flickr , then bought out by Yahoo! for $30 million

Niklas Zennstrom- founder of KaZaa and Skype and now working on a new project with TV

Inc.'s Enterpreneur of the Week- compilation of different entrepreneurs ranging from food to sports to shoes.

Enjoy.

RIP James Kim- CNET editor, TechTV :(

Video of the Conference

2006-12-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

VentureForth Entrepreneur Conference
Novemember 18, 2006
Opening Keynote
Irwin Jacobs, Co-founder, QUALCOMM Inc.
Length: 1:00:54 [video]

Engineering Panel
Panel Discussion: Engineering
(l-r) Sujit Dey, UCSD; Tim Rueth, co-founder, Rhevision; Anton Monk, founder, Entropic Communications; Jon Driscoll, CEO, Izen Mobile. [Moderator: Anne O'Donnell, Jacobs School]
Length: 1:02:45 [video]
Ingrid Vanderveldt

Afternoon Keynote
Ingrid Vanderveldt, President, iVEEA
Length: 45:44 [video]

Web 2.0 Panel
Panel Discussion: Web 2.0
(l-r) Ryan Sit, founder and CTO, Dropshots; Paul Muret, founder, Urchin (now Google Analytics); David Liu, founder, FAQQLY.com; Alex Bard, CEO, Goowy. [Moderator: Paul Kedrosky, von Liebig Center, UCSD]
Length: 55:49 [video]

In the News:

2006-12-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

Student group trains young entrepreneurs at UCSD
By ELIZABETH MALLOY, The Daily Transcript
Friday, November 24, 2006
Print E-Mail
There is a group of college students at the University of California, San Diego, who are not only willing to get up early on a Saturday morning and head to a campus lecture hall, but are willing to do so dressed in suits and ties.
They could be your boss some day. They'd like to be.

These students all have in an interest in entrepreneurship and are learning the ins and outs of starting their own businesses through a UCSD student organization called VentureForth. Entirely student-run and corporate- and grant-sponsored, VentureForth has 16 board members, but on a recent weekend the group held a conference that drew about 150 other students and an additional 150 people already in the work force to hear discussions on matters like financing, engineering and using the Internet and media.

"With all these ideas floating around, all these smart people, they decided they wanted to start an organization which is geared toward these kind of ideas and people," said Lisa-Anne Chung, president and chair of VentureForth. "The amazing thing about this organization is its totally run by undergraduates."

Each year, VentureForth holds two conferences, one on entrepreneurship and one on biotech. The group also holds various smaller workshops and networking meetings throughout the year. In the past, they hosted a business plan competition, but a previous president of VentureForth has since created another organization that hosts the competition and awards $50,000 to the winner. Earlier this month, VentureForth held its 4th annual Entrepreneur Conference, which included keynote addresses from Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) co-founder and Chairman Irwin Jacobs and iVEEA founder Ingrid Vanderveldt.

Jacobs, a former UCSD professor whose name now adorns the school's engineering college, recounted the history of Qualcomm and how the company has managed to stay on top in an ever-changing industry. He told the students and professionals that he tries to keep an entrepreneurial atmosphere at the company by encouraging employees to think of Qualcomm as "a startup, but at least a startup with good cash flow." Students then asked how Qualcomm deals with government restrictions inforeign countries, maintaining a consistent culture in such a large company and other detailed questions.

Jacobs joked before his speech that he'd feared he would be overdressed in his suit, but seeing the polished young people in the audience he fit right in.

VentureForth is now in its sixth year. Since Chung became president of VentureForth a year ago, the group has gone from having five board members to the current 16. A management science major, Chung said she wants to be the chief operating officer of a company someday. "I just love project management, I love organizing and I love the risk that entrepreneurs take," she said. All the board members went through a series of interviews and aptitude tests to join the organization. Chung said the long application process is in part to prove a potential member's dedication.

Chung said VentureForth has attracted a mix of students and professionals in part because the conferences are free, whereas similar corporate events could cost hundreds of dollars to attend. But she noted that the group is serious about its aims to get young people ready for the business world. "Every single person is part of the team, they're not just a member. We don't have anybody who just sits there and does nothing," Chung said. "Everybody's very involved and they've very dedicated to our organization."

Irwin Jacobs Delivers Keynote at VentureForth Entrepreneur Conference
San Diego, CA, November 21, 2006 -- Irwin Jacobs, co-founder and former CEO of QUALCOMM Inc., was back on the UCSD campus Saturday, Nov. 18, to address a conference organized by the student group of budding entrepreneurs. The fourth annual VentureForth Entrepreneur Conference was hosted and co-sponsored by the UCSD Division of Calit2. Other sponsors included QUALCOMM, iVEEA (whose founder Ingrid Vanderveldt, a motivational speaker, gave the second keynote), Associated Students of UCSD, Simply Two, and I'm There for You Baby, a media company that promotes entrepreneurship.

The packed audience included a large contingent of students, postdocs and faculty researchers from UCSD, but also entrepreneurs, inventors and venture capitalists from the San Diego community. Apart from the keynotes, the conference staged four panel discussions on hot-button topics in the technology arena: how finance a venture; media-related businesses; the next generation Internet, dubbed Web 2.0; and engineering. In that latter session, Jacobs School of Engineering professor Sujit Dey provided insights gleaned from his successful launch of a company, Ortiva Wireless, based on research that emerged from Calit2's adaptive wireless systems project.

The talks and panel discussions in the Calit2 auditorium are now available for on-demand viewing. For technical reasons, the panel discussions that did not take place in the auditorium are not available via webcast. To view the streaming videos, click on the image or video link below [Real player and broadband connection required].

VentureForth is an entrepreneurial student organization dedicated to educating its members, promoting and honing professional and business skills, heightening awareness of industry trends and technologies, and enhancing critical thinking.

This year's conference was organized and chaired by Lisa-Anne Chung, a fourth-year management science major at UCSD. The event's vice chair was James Lu, who also organized the Web 2.0 panel. Other panel organizers included Jeff Mounzer, a double major in electrical engineering and economics, who organized the Engineering panel; Marsha Malinow, a fourth-year in international studies, economics and linguistics; and the venture finance panel organizer Jimmy Mar, a double major in management science and psychology.

Steve Job's Speech in Stanford Ceremony

2006-11-30T13:57:00.000-08:00

Great speech by a great entrepreneur. (Thanks to Lisa)

Recap: VentureForth's 4th Annual Entrepreneur Conference

2006-11-19T21:43:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone who attended this event. It was a great time listening to great speakers on a variety of subjects and meeting new people who share the same interests. Dr. Irwin Jacobs was a great speaker on how his entrepreneurial spirit was the driving force of Qualcomm and helped create a wireless technology cluster here in San Diego. The finance panel was one of the best panels, mainly because, the panelists are good friends with one another. Unfortunately, the finance panel does not have video, because the tech guys could not get it to work. Ingrid Vanderveldt was also another great speaker by giving hope and taking a chance of your dreams. She is such a nice person and she gave a wonderful speech. I was the chair for the Web 2.0 panel, which I thought was a great success as well. Everything went smoothly and Paul Kedrosky is the expert and has done tons of panels on this subject. I was not able to attend the engineering or media, but I will be watching them on our conference website www.ventureforth.com/conferences/econf through Real Player. The VentureForth team did a great job putting everything together and making it a successful conference.

A couple important notes, if you a undergraduate student interested in VentureForth, you can contact me at james.lu@ventureforth.org or lisa.chung@ventureforth.org. Keep checking back to see what we are doing. Our next conference will be the Biotech Entrepreneur Conference in May 2007. Keep an eye out for that.

Where Can You Raise Money for Your Startup

2006-11-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

I found this article talking about different sources of funding to start your own business.

How funding works: So startups are abandoning venture capital. Why?

An insightful article on "startups on a shoestring" in the New York Times covers the rise of companies running on angel investors, loans, or even credit cards. It's a switch from the more famous method of raising piles of venture capital from a firm. But what does that mean? It means startup founders get to keep more of their money and power.

Startups raise money in rounds, often taking on multiple investors per round. Here's how the major types of funding work:

Venture capitalists

A VC firm raises funds from investors, then invests it in startups, usually at upwards of $1 million per company (and sometimes as high as $12 million or more).
A VC firm is buying a share of the company -- anywhere from a tenth to a third, depending on how much the firm decides the company is worth before the investment.
If the company needs more money a few months later, the firm may invest again, or a different firm might invest. Companies often raise funds from multiple firms in one round.
VCs want at least three times their money back, though they expect most deals to fall through
Many companies only take VC funding after they've used up the funding from their...

Angel investors

These are often the first investors in a company, most always used before venture capitalists.
Angels invest a few thousand dollars. As with VCs, several angels may invest in a startup at once, for a total round of anywhere up to about $1 million.
They have less of a business interest but more emotional involvement.
Angels can be friends and family of the investee, but some startups raise a preliminary friends-and-family round.
Or they may go even smaller and rely on...

Personal credit

When is it healthy to run up a 20%-interest-rate debt on plastic? When it's cheaper than running up a 200%-interest-rate debt on VCs.
Of course, you could also rely on your own cash reserves, as many startuppers do with their second companies -- Evan Williams, for example, who used his windfall from selling Blogger to Google to buy out the investors in his new company, Odeo.
Ironically, credit card funding is a far cry from other way to borrow from banks...

Hedge funds

The 90s bubble was partly blown up by VCs, but the big money came from hedge funds -- an adventurous form of private investment fund.
They're not as involved this time -- the money's too small, at least for now -- but they powered many a startup in the 90s, when more tech-savvy VC firms hadn't dominated the Silicon Valley funding industry.

"So why are startups avoiding VCs? Because they're finding that angels, friends and family, and personal credit are less demanding funding sources, with lower expected returns, giving founders the freedom to take it slow and stay in control. Of course, VC money is hard to resist after a year of bootstrapping and dining at McDonald's."

If you click on the insightful article, it goes to the NY Times talking about how Meebo, online all-in-one instant messenger, started their company.

BTW: If you are looking for funding, the 4th Annual Entrepreneur Conference will be the best way to network with VC, angels, and others. Again, it will be on Saturday, November 18. 2006, at Cal-IT2@UCSD with two great keynote speakers: Irwin Jacobs, co-founder of Qualcomm, and Ingrid Vandervedlt, host of CNBC's "American Made." We will have panels on web 2.0, engineering, media, financing your venture. Check out the website and REGISTER.

What Does the Election Mean for Entrepreneurs?

2006-11-08T10:42:00.000-08:00

"What are the public policy issues that matter most to small business owners and the entrepreneurial economy they are sustaining? If we look at the research on entrepreneurial development and the opinion polls of small business owners it all boils down to three things: regulation, taxes, and property rights."- Digg
Belmont University
Startup Journal- WSJ
BloggingStocks- Jim Cramer

Businessweek: Best Entrepreneurs Under 25

2006-11-02T01:06:00.000-08:00

Check out Businessweek's website about the Best Entrepreneurs Under 25. Also, In one the articles, Help for Young Entrepreneurs, it highlights how to start your journey as an entrepreneur. It states to join college entrepreneur programs (Rady School and von Liebig Center) , student clubs (VentureForth), business plan competition ($50k BPC), business incubators (CONNECT's Springboard), and networking groups (conferences, panel discussion, mixers). This article emphasizes the importance of these groups and VentureForth is the central hub that connects future entrepreneurs to these resources.

REMINDER: Go and register for the 4th Annual Entrepreneur Conference, which will be a great time to network with others that share a common interest in entrepreneurship.

What is Web 2.0?

2006-10-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

Note: JotSpot was recently acquired by Google.

Google is taking over the world.

Profile: Irwin Jacobs

2006-10-20T01:30:00.000-07:00

Getting Ready for the Annual Entrepreneurial Conference

2006-10-20T00:26:00.000-07:00

The much anticipated Annual Entrepreneurial Conference will be going on November 18, 2006, at Cal-IT2 with keynote speakers, Irwin Jacobs, co-founder of Qualcomm, and Ingrid Vanderveldt, founder of iVEEA and host of CNBC's "American Made." We will also have four panelists from different areas: how to finance your venture, engineering, media, and web 2.0. Admission is FREE. You can check out the conference website here and REGISTER. It is a great event to listen to influential people in San Diego and network with students and industry alike. Also, these events normally have admission fee, and so, take advantage of this opportunity. Free lunch will be provided and raffles will be handed out after each panel. As we countdown to our conference, we will be posting profiles of speakers to go in-depth into their story of how they became entrepreneurs. For now, we will keep you posted on more details of what is to come.

Social Entrepreneurism

2006-09-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

What is a social entrepreneur? Defined by the Skoll Foundation,"Motivated by altruism and a profound desire to promote the growth of equitable civil societies, social entrepreneurs pioneer innovative, effective, sustainable approaches to meet the needs of the marginalized, the disadvantaged and the disenfranchised." It is a subcategory to entrepreneurism and has recently become very popular.

In the news a few months ago, Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world, will be donating 85% of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation's grants have provided funds for underrepresented minority college scholarships, AIDS prevention, diseases that strike mainly in the Third World, and other causes. I came across this article in USA Today from 2005 about how "new money" from the technology boom has impacted social entrepreneurship. "The new entrepreneurs, impatient to resolve global problems more quickly, are applying the very business models that made them rich at eBay, Microsoft, Google and America Online to battle the most vexing issues, from poverty to childhood disease." The Skoll Foundation that was referred to earlier was founded by Jeff Skoll, the first employee and president of eBay. One example of social entrepreneurship has been from the One Laptop per Child non-profit association. Nicholas Negroponte founded the company through MIT Labs as a way to provide affordable laptops (i.e. $100) to Third World countries. It is a growing trend amongst entrepreneurs to give back to society and continue to make a difference.

As an organization, Ventureforth should be familiar with the whole spectrum of entpreneurship. Social entrepreneurism is an outlet to outreach to the community and support those who are in need. Locally, The San Diego Social Venture Partners is a group that is making an impact through social entrepreneurialism. There mission is "to develop philanthropy and volunteerism to effect positive social change in San Diego County." The people involved range from VCs to professors to attorneys who offer their services for the San Diego community. Future VF events may consist of community service projects as we continue to fulfill our mission in doing greater things.

In the News: Female Entrepreneur in Space

2006-09-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

Anousheh Ansari ,the first Iranian-American entrepreneur, is about to become the first female space tourist. She will be going on a Russian spaceship and you can go to her website for the countdown. She co-founded TTI, which was than bought out by Sonus Networks. Ansari was listed in Fortune magazine's "40 under 40" list in 2001 and honored by Working Woman magazine as the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence award.

Are you more inclined to be an entrepreneur now???

Deloitte & Touche Fast 50: San Diego

2006-08-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

This is a link from Deloitte & Touche, second largest accounting firm, about the fasting growing companies in 2005. I'm posting this so that you are aware of local companies that are making it big. A lot of the companies are biotech and the rest are technology related. It is a good reference that you could use for the future job searches and can help you network with people.

Founders of YouTube

2006-08-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a interview I came across from Paul Kedrosky's blog about YouTube and how it started. It's always interesting to listen about the myth of how entrepreneurs start their company out of their garage.

Interview with Guy Kawasaki

2006-08-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a recent interview with Guy Kawasaki, who was one of the founders of Macintosh and is now the founding Director at Garage Technology Ventures. He was also a past keynote speaker for the E-Conference. If you want to hear him speak, you can go to Stanford Technology Ventures Program, where they have recently added embedded video. You can hear other great entrepreneurial speakers also on their website. They also have podcasts that you can listen to, which is really nice. Enjoy.

50 People Who Matter NOW

2006-08-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

A Business 2.0 exclusive list: Meet the executives, entrepreneurs, and cutting-edge innovators who are setting today's business agenda.

Rank	Name	Company
1	You!	The consumer as creator
2	Sergey Brin and Larry Page	Co-founders, Google
3	Paul Jacobs	CEO, Qualcomm
4	Rupert Murdoch	CEO, News Corp.
5	Steve Jobs	CEO, Apple Computer
6	Susan Desmond-Hellmann	President of product development, Genentech
7	The Emerging Global Middle Class	China, India, Russia, Brazil, and elsewhere
8	Fujio Cho	Chairman, Toyota
9	The New Oil Despots	King Abdullah bin Abdul aziz al Saud (Saudi Arabia), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iran), Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), and Vladimir Putin (Russia)
10	Ray Ozzie	Chief technical officer, Microsoft
11	Marc Benioff	CEO, Salesforce.com
12	Robert Iger	CEO, Walt Disney Co.
13	Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake	Co-founders, Flickr
14	Brian McAndrews	CEO, aQuantive
15	Jack Ma	CEO, Alibaba.com
16	Barry Diller	CEO, InterActiveCorp
17	Ed Zander	CEO, Motorola
18	John Thompson	CEO, Symantec
19	Mark Hurd	CEO, Hewlett-Packard
20	Ben Bernanke	Chairman, Federal Reserve Board
21	Bill Gates	Benefactor, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
22	Reid Hoffman	Angel investor and CEO, LinkedIn
23	The New New Media	Kevin Rose (Digg) and Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia)
24	Patricia Woertz	CEO, Archer Daniels Midland
25	Kevin Martin	Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
26	Ed Whitacre	Chairman and CEO, AT&T
27	Jeremy Allaire	CEO, Brightcove
28	Chad Hurley and Steven Chen	Co-founders, YouTube
29	Danny Rimer	General partner, Index Ventures
30	Muhammad Yunus	Founder, Grameen Bank
31	Greg Isaacs	Director of developer relations, eBay
32	Alex Bogusky	Creative director, Crispin Porter & Bogusky
33	Vinod Khosla	Founder, Khosla Ventures
34	David Heinemeier Hansson	Partner, 37signals
35	Tim O'Reilly	Founder and CEO, O'Reilly Media
36	Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström	Co-founders, Skype
37	Patricia Russo	CEO, Lucent Technologies
38	Oprah Winfrey	Entertainment mogul
39	Electronic Frontier Foundation
40	Jeff Valdez	Founder, SiTV
41	Stephen Maurer and Andrej Sali	Adjunct associate professor, University of California at Berkeley, and professor, University of California at San Francisco
42	Jeff Bezos	CEO, Amazon.com
43	The Pre-Internet Dinosaurs	Larry Ellison (Oracle), Paul Otellini (Intel), and Michael Dell (Dell)
44	William McDonough	Architect, William McDonough & Partners
45	Richard Branson	Chairman, Virgin Group
46	Mike Morhaime	Co-founder and president, Blizzard Entertainment
47	Nick Denton	Publisher, Gawker Media
48	Naguib Sawiris	CEO, Orascom Telecom
49	David Allen	Author, Getting Things Done
50	Blake Krikorian	Co-founder and CEO, Sling Media

Article about Ventureforth

2006-07-13T00:23:00.000-07:00

Written by Si Luo

Do you ever feel that burning desire to start an enterprise of your own, be it a billion dollar private business or a non-profit organization of paramount social importance? How many times have you let that burning sensation and pumped-up ambition lay wasted in the back of your mind because you simply don’t know where to start? Rest assured, you are definitely not alone on this campus. And help is much closer than you think. A student founded organization called Ventureforth seeks to provide guidance to all daring entrepreneurial spirits on campus.

Five years ago, a small group of maverick undergraduates envisioned a new frontier for UCSD—a business oriented community that fosters growth in entrepreneurism. And five years later, their vision turned into an enduring legacy and a smashing success in reality—a student organization now known as VentureForth.

The founders of the organization set out to carve a brand new niche in UCSD. “We felt that there was a growing need for a business community in UCSD.” first-year president Jeffery Chao says, “despite the fact that UCSD is a predominantly research oriented institution.”

In the past few years, dozens of new technology companies are founded in San Diego as a direct result of the scientific discoveries happening within UCSD research faculties. Many of which are founded by graduate students and fellow professors. And many more are expected to come. However, the majority of graduate and undergraduate students alike are often dumbfounded when it comes to how to turn a vision into a thriving reality. To remedy this situation, VentureForth had held various workshops and boot camps on how to start a business, covering topics from business plan writing to initial investment acquisition process. Ventureforth also works closely with the Von Leibig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement, Rady School of Management and UCSD Enterprise Network to establish the necessary connections among students, faculties, and the business community, in order to provide an abundance of resources for future entrepreneurial leaders.

“VentureForth is the premiere UCSD business student organization that strives to create a community developing entrepreneurial leaders, in order to be a catalyst for achieving great things.” said the VentureForth president Lisa-Anne Chung.

The enduring success of the Annual Entrepreneurial Conference, which is held in November, and Biotech Conference, held in May, is a convincing testament of that mission. The E-conference usually features an amazing cast of panelists who are leaders coming from diverse fields, anywhere from technology to media, talking about their unique experiences in being an entrepreneur in their respective fields. And the Biotech conference features a small legion of CEOs from major biotechnology companies to discuss trends and opportunities in biotechnology. Each of these conferences accommodates an audience of over two hundred people, students and industry professionals alike. They provide excellent opportunities for students to network with industry professionals and successful leaders.

Students’ feedbacks to the events are positive, some are downright enthusiastic. “The E-Conference has really opened my eyes to the world of business. It gave me such an inspiring new mentality that I’ve never imagined having!” says Peng Cheng Zhang, a third year bioengineering student.

When asked on what advice he has for aspiring student entrepreneurs, Jeffery Chao, the founder of the club says, “I think everyone should use their student card to the max. Grab hold of the opportunities given by a university filled with wonderful people. Be bold and go out there to meet the successful people in your field of interest, you’ll reach your dream in no time.”

In the future, VentureForth hopes to continue its excellent traditions and further cultivates growth of entrepreneurism on campus. VentureForth also welcome like-minded students who are able to provide innovative and promising ideas to contribute. At last, like Shayan Alam, co-founder of VentureForth and now CEO and founder of a multi-million dollar defense company, says “VentureForth is about business in practice, not business in theory.”

The New Home of the VentureForth Quarterly @ UCSD

2005-05-31T15:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new home. Here you'll find our most recent articles as they are written. You'll also have a chance to comment on them before they go into the print version. Here is a quick description of our magazine:

Commercializable science and technology research at UCSD
- UCSD affiliates creating novel business ventures out of new inventions or research
- Preferably developed technology themselves, but just a loose guideline
- A good source might be the projects of the UCSD Von Liebig Center
- Format: Synopsis of research, an interview of professor/CEO, problems encountered during patent process, startup difficulties, getting funding, transitioning from academic to corporate
Personal improvement and developing leadership skills
- Synopsis from leadership books, seminars, and workshops
- Format: Lists, How-To’s, personal anecdotes or meaningful stories and experiences
- Other – see previous editions of the magazine for ideas
Alumni Spotlights
- Successful UCSD graduates, their companies and careers
- Format: Synopsis of career, interviews, company profiles, transitioning from UCSD to a successful career path
- What it took to achieve success from a background at UCSD
Local businesses that contribute to UCSD students
- Companies that will help a student either start a company, or teach them what they need to get it off the ground
- Format: Case study of company, describe how a UCSD undergrad can make the transition into it’s culture, get employed, crucial contact information and history

The VentureForth Quarterly @ UCSD

Future of VentureForth

Power of Passion through Innovation

Shell House provides cheap, radio-equipped housing for homeless

Nature: Making it in the biotech business

Nature: Making it in the biotech business

YoungMoney: College Major- Entrepreneur

Newest College Major: Entrepreneur

List of company name etymologies

BIOTECH in the NEWS

EntrepreneurshipWeekUSA

Social Entrepreneur Defined by Asoka Foundation

What is a Social Entrepreneur?

Why "Social" Entrepreneur?

Historical Examples of Leading Social Entrepreneurs:

Social Innovation

Yahoo!, Coke in the News

Michael Dell's E-mail to Employees

Forbes: 13 Fast Tech Newcomers

FORTUNE: 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007

Social Entrepreneurship and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

More Things to Read

25 Titans in Waiting

Craigslist

Entrepreneurs in the News:

Video of the Conference

In the News:

Steve Job's Speech in Stanford Ceremony

Recap: VentureForth's 4th Annual Entrepreneur Conference

Where Can You Raise Money for Your Startup

How funding works: So startups are abandoning venture capital. Why?

What Does the Election Mean for Entrepreneurs?

Businessweek: Best Entrepreneurs Under 25

What is Web 2.0?

Profile: Irwin Jacobs

Getting Ready for the Annual Entrepreneurial Conference

Social Entrepreneurism

In the News: Female Entrepreneur in Space

Deloitte & Touche Fast 50: San Diego

Founders of YouTube

Interview with Guy Kawasaki

50 People Who Matter NOW

Article about Ventureforth

The New Home of the VentureForth Quarterly @ UCSD