January 2002 Newsletter
Andy Ouderkirk
be useful to the entrepreneur?
innovators & “intrapreneurs” shares a
mapping process for risk management and
successful marketing when introducing new
technologies or products.
patents. These patents cover several new products including the
bright screens now standard in hand-held computers, American
Express’ new clear credit card, and high efficiency solar lighting.
and managed 3M’s Multilayer Optical Film Technology group. The
goal of this group is to improve the success rate and manage the risk
of introducing new technologies into the marketplace.
disruptive technologies and products. This is being accomplished
through development in the following areas:
Opportunity assessment
oOpportunity development
oProduct mapping
oRisk management
oCreating market revolution in evolutionary steps
Fortune, “US News and World Report” and in a cover article in
SCIENCE magazine.
Safety Markets Sector. He has a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from
Northwestern University.
6:30 p.m. Informal Networking
7:00 p.m. Andy Ouderkirk
http://www.mn-entrepreneurs.organd click on “Map to Meetings.”
1. On-line: http://www.mn-entrepreneurs.org(click Registrations link)
2. Phone: 651-687-0272
3. E-mail: info@mn-entrepreneurs.org.
person for the pre-meeting seminar. MEI Members attend the
monthly meeting session at 7 PM at no charge.
About HR Compliance & Benefit Plans”
Innovations, as she outlines what you need to know when setting up
employee benefits, as well as what issues need to be addressed for
employment policies.
health insurance and manage their health care costs. They also
design/implement benefit plans including medical, dental, disability,
401K, cafeteria plans, etc. They also provide human resource support
in areas such as compliance with Federal/State regulations,
ergonomic analysis of workstations, job descriptions, employee
manuals and much more.
responsible for health cost management, negotiation and analysis of
all HMOs Honeywell offered nationwide, and benefits design. Prior to
that, Aija developed and was CEO of Family Health Plan in
Milwaukee.
I was recently invited to make a presentation
at the Green Chip 2001 conference in
Minneapolis. It was a venue for teaching
entrepreneurs in the environmental and
energy fields some ins and outs of raising capital. I made SolarAttic’s
presentation to the attendees to help facilitate this capital training for
others. However, I was also personally interested in obtaining some
critical feedback from a Venture Capitalist I knew would be present.
capital will find out fast that often it is not possible to put your finger
on the actual reason for “NO.” you are often left to wonder what you
are doing right. I did get some good Venture Capitalist feedback,
which I took to heart. That means I actually implemented some of
what was suggested to me. This is wisdom. Don’t ask for advice from
an expert if you don’t intend to listen to it. You are wasting their time
and yours.
Ventures, LLC speak. He has been on the front lines of raising money
for small companies for many years and personally founded the
Environmental Capital Network. Loch presented some interesting
information; it was one of the best capital raising presentations I have
heard.
also now on our web site. Simply click on “resources” to locate the full
sized version of the graph.
entrepreneurs do not find
out the exact reason for the
“NO” is that they are not
talking to the right entity
given the stage that their
company is in. So, I am
offering this graph as a
capital-raising tool that you
can put to use. Pass it along
as an aide to others. It
shows the stage the
company is in and confirms
my own personal
experience in raising
money. Take it to heart.
from our membership, the following committees are established.
Please review our committee information and join one of these
“informal committees.”Your input is very valuable to our board and
this is an easy way for you to participate in our growth. Further
information is available at the membership table. Or, click here.
Development
Finance
Marketing
Program
Education
Legal Advisory
Membership
Technology
The Minnesota Entrepreneurs, Inc.
About HR & Benefits” with Aija Ronis, founder and CEO of Health
Systems Innovations.
Entrepreneur” with Andy Ouderkirk, Corporate Scientist, 3M.Post
Meeting - Late Nite Networking at Patrick McGovern’s Pub &
Restaurant at 225 W. 7th Street in St. Paul.
7:30 a.m., Dover Restaurant, Double Tree Park Place Hotel in St.
Louis Park. Call Bill Lehnertz at 952-948-1105.
Sven Wehrwein, Financial
Consultant and Columnist for Twin Cities Business Monthly, sharing
entrepreneurial lessons he’s learned on his own, as well as those
shared by entrepreneurs he’s interviewed.
- Winning Investment
Presentations: “Send Me a Pitch I Can Hit Home With,” presented
by Joan Moser, CEO, Spoken Impact
- Jim Dolan, Chairman, President &
CEO, Dolan Media Company. Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the
Year (Upper Midwest Region) for 2001. Jim will share “lessons
learned the hard way.”
Business Academy located at Wabasha & Exchange Streets in
Downtown St. Paul. Meeting dates are as follows for 2002.
February 12, 2002
March 12, 2002
April 9, 2002
May 14, 2002
June 11, 2002
August 13, 2002
September 10, 2002
October 8, 2002
November 12, 2002
December 10, 2002
