It is an exciting time of year as all of the students finish up final exams and projects before heading off for break -- a break that will no doubt include time spent on job searches, start-up business plans and catching up on some reading. 

We have a lot of updates in this newsletter, but I would like to make special mention of our student resume book.  If you are looking to hire an MBA for either a full-time or internship position, please make sure to contact us for the resumes of our great students. (WeinertCenter@bus.wisc.edu)

We would also like to wish you and your family a happy and joyous holiday season.

~Dan

Becky, Dan & Janet Seasons Greetings!

Table of Contents

Center/Specialization News and Events
WAVE and Weinert Advisory Board Updates
Alumni Updates
Faculty/School News
Support

CENTER/SPECIALIZATION NEWS AND EVENTS

Weinert Center Recognized as a Model MBA Program

The Weinert Center has been selected as a United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Finalist in the category of Model MBA Program.  Professor Ramon J. Aldag will present the final presentation to a team of judges on January 9, 2009.  The USASBE is the leading voice in entrepreneurship research, teaching and application.  Their mission is to advance knowledge and business development through entrepreneurship education and research.  Learn more about the USASBE here http://www.usasbe.org

MERLIN

Madison Entrepreneur Resource, Learning and Innovation Network (MERLIN) was recently developed to provide a valuable relationship between new entrepreneurs and mentors.  Research proves that a start-up venture is far more likely to thrive when supported by multiple mentors with proven skills and experience.  To learn about the benefits of this program and to apply as either a mentor or mentee, please see http://www.merlinmentors.org/  "MERLIN Mentors is a new organization created to formalize the mentoring process and to increase the number of entrepreneurs in southern Wisconsin," says Terry Sivesind, director of MERLIN Mentors, co-founder of Wisconsin Investment Partners, Wisconsin's first angel investor network and WAVE Advisory Board member.  For complete article, please see http://www.news.wisc.edu/15832

Competitions

Early Stage Symposium

The Elevator Pitch Olympics was a highlight of the Early Stage Symposium held November 5-6.  Second-year entrepreneurship student Kavi Turnbull presented DriveAlternatives, and while not this year's winner, was mentioned in InBusiness Magazine and interviewed on TV for his intriguing offering. Two other alumni start-ups,  FINTEL, (Robert Suesse and Boris Nenide) as well as Sandbox International (Scott Daigger and Todd Wendrick) also participated.

Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC)

The Center's VCIC "dream team" has been selected for this year's competition in Colorado, February 2009.  The student team includes:  Tom Carmona, Erik Snyder, Kavi Turnbull, Miles Gerson (SMILES) and Marcel Petrutiu (first-year). 

Governor's Business Plan Contest

Entries are being accepted online for the 2009 competition.  They will be accepted through 5 p.m. January 31, 2009.  To apply and learn more about the contest, please see www.govsbizplancontest.com.   Contestants who advance will be given the opportunity to expand their plan or idea.  60 Judges will score the entries and provide feedback.  The competition is managed by the Wisconsin Technology Council. Historically, Weinert Center alumni and students have been frequent winners in the competition.

Entrepreneurship Association (EA)

This year’s keynote event during Global Entrepreneurship Week was the Entrepreneurship Association’s “An Evening with Mark McGuire.” The event attracted nearly 100 students for Mark’s inspiring entrepreneurial story. Mark urged the students to think about “how they will be remembered” and to chase their dreams accordingly. Mark was a co-founder of Nameprotect.com, Jellyfish.com, and recently raised over $5 million in seed capital for his next venture Alice.com. Check out the coverage from the Daily Cardinal: Business success story inspires students to enter job market.

Another speaker encouraging students to follow their passion was Broadcast Interactive Media’s CEO, Timur Yarnall. After graduate school at Stanford, Timur founded Clickability, raised venture capital during the dot.com boom and then successfully managed it through the dot.com bust. Since then Timur has founded Broadcast Interactive Media, a 40 employee firm in downtown Madison.

First-Year Students Mentoring Undergraduates

Current first-year students Erin Byrd and Doug Henry spent this semester acting as mentors for the new Entrepreneurial Residential Learning Community (ERLC) in Sellery Hall.  Erin and Doug acted as mentors, attended ERLC functions, and made connections with the undergraduate students that make up the learning community.  You can learn more about the learning community at http://www.housing.wisc.edu/erlc/

Marketing Entrepreneurship

We have added a link to podcasts at InBusiness with Jody & Joan at http://www.bus.wisc.edu/weinertcenter/newsletter/ where you can listen to board members, alumni, faculty/staff, friends of the Center, and our current students talk about their entrepreneurial experiences.  The complete list is extensive and can be found at  http://podcast.loyalears.com/wtdy.php?task=shows&show_id=51. 

Available Full-Time and/or Internship Students

Throughout the news you see many stories about difficult economic times and the challenges facing those looking for jobs.  Many talented students are looking for the right opportunity.  We want to let you look at our students' resumes, get a chance to know them, and take advantage of the talent that could help your firm via either a summer internship or full-time roll.  For an electronic copy of these resumes, please email WeinertCenter@bus.wisc.edu.  Please also pass this along if you know of anyone who is interested in hiring an MBA -- we'd appreciate it as would our students.  Thank you in advance.  

Speakers for Fall 2008

We would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the guest speakers who participated in our entrepreneurship classes this past fall.  They include:

Kyle Adams, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Pehr Anderson, Metavante George Arida, Venture Investors Mark Bennett, Total Training Solutions Laurie Benson, Inacom Joe Boucher, Neider & Boucher Bob Cramer, UW-Madison Scott Daigger, Sandbox International Alison Dodge/Lea Wolf, Happy Bambino Chris Dueringer, US Bank Tony Escarcega, Ratio Mike Falk, WARF Charlie Flad, UW Public Safety Mark Gehring, Sharendipity Craig Heim, WARF Heather Hilleren, GreenLeaf Markets Chris Hornung, Next Testing Barb Israel, Platypus Ted Kanavas, Wisconsin Legislature Jeremy Kraft, Atlans Improv Tyler Leeper, ProactiCare Greg Lynch, Michael Best & Friedrich Rock Mackie, TomoTherapy Deven McGlenn, Neoclone Pat McGraw, Amcore Neil Peters-Michaud, Cascade Asset Management John Neis, Venture Investors Bruce Neviaser, Continuum Investment L.P. Brent Newport, aKa Card Jeff Peterson, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP Paul Reckwerdt, TomoTherapy Bill Skeens, Prairie City Bakery Sarah Smith, Sarah’s HOPE Jewelry Chad Sorenson, Sologear Ward Tucker, Biosentenial Troy Vosseller, Sconnie Nation JJ Vosskamp, Cascade Asset Management Todd Wendrick, Sandbox International Henry Wilde, State of Wisconsin Department of Children and Families