NCET

Breaking news!

Roger Wittenberg, former founder of Trex Company and now an innovator and re-developer in Incline Village, is preparing his keynote speech for Saturday morning. SNC has six solid panels covering everything from business plans to “The Entrepreneur Within,” and a pair of live, interactive computer-generated 3D characters will host the day.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE – AS OF 10/30/08

LAKE TAHOE – SNC ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT

An Activity of Global Entrepreneurship Week
Nov. 21 - 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Nov. 22 – 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences – TCES 139/141

FRIDAY –

2 p.m. OPENING REMARKS – RICK NORMINGTON
Introduction to Entrepreneurship

2:30 p.m. ROUND TABLE PANEL PRESENTATION –“Student Entrepreneurs”
Speakers
Dean Rick Normington – SNC Department of Entrepreneurship
Gary Valiere – UNR College of Business
With students from UNR & SNC Governors Cup

3:45 p.m. SPEEDNETWORKING THE GLOBE – facilitated by Emily Somerville NCET

4:15 p.m. MOVIE – “IDEO – The Art of Innovation”

4:45 p.m. WRAP-UP

SATURDAY –

9:30 a.m. OPENING REMARKS – DIGITAL DAN AND VIRTUAL LIBBY
Live Animation presentation by CHOPS & Assoc.
Live Animation - Virtual hosts and panel moderators

9:40 a.m. KEYNOTE ADDRESS - TBA

10:30 a.m. ROUND TABLE PANEL PRESENTATION –
Fostering More Entrepreneurship at Lake Tahoe
Speakers
Steve Teshara – North Tahoe Chamber of Commerce
Cheri Sprenger – Exec. Director of North Tahoe Business Assn.

11:30 a.m. LUNCH BREAK

1 p.m. SPEEDNETWORKING – facilitated by Emily with Digital Dan

1:30 p.m.  ROUND TABLE PANEL PRESENTATION – “Help Where You Need It”
Speakers
Gary Valiere – representing SCORE and NSBDC
Emily Somerville – representing NCET
Debra Prout – representing Nevada Micro Ent.

2:30 p.m. ROUND TABLE PANEL PRESENTATION – “Getting Money for your Business”
Speakers
David Leonard – SBA Reno Office
Joseph Lamb – US Bank – Incline Village
Mike Hess – Sierra Angels

3:30 p.m.  BREAK

3:45 P.M.  ROUND TABLE PANEL PRESENTATION –
“You gotta sell it” – Marketing, Sales & PR for the Entrepreneur
Speakers –
Alyson Dutch – Brown + Dutch PR, LA – Author of “PR Handbook for Entrepreneurs”
Alice Heiman, - Owner of Alice Heiman, LLC – Sales & Marketing Consultant

4:50 p.m. ROUND TABLE PANEL PRESENTATION –
Entrepreneurial Women Inventing ways to make it “work”
Speakers
Kymberlee Simantel – E-Women’s Network
Camilla Downs – Corner Your Market Reno
Brenda Lewis – Brenda Lewis Copywriting
Cheri Hill – Sage International

5:30 p.m. WRAP UP

for more information - www.tahoegew.com or
call Gary Jesch gary@tahoegew.com 775-831-7451

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Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Chairman of the Board Eren Ozmen announced that SNC has signed an agreement to acquire SpaceDev, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SPDV), a space technology company. Under the agreement, SNC seeks to acquire the outstanding equity of SpaceDev for the gross purchase price of $38 million, which after certain deductions is expected to result in a net price of between $0.68 and $0.72 per share to holders of SpaceDev common stock. The expected price represents a premium of between 42 and 50 percent over the average closing price of SpaceDev’s common stock over the 30 trading days preceding this announcement. The acquisition has been approved by SpaceDev’s Board of Directors and will be presented to SpaceDev stockholders for a vote in December. Read full story:

Technorati Tags: Sierra Nevada Corporation, Eren Ozmen, SpaceDev Inc., Fatih Ozmen, Mark N. Sirangelo, Securities and Exchange Commission, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology

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Forum date, time, and location

Washoe Tribal Community Forum on Small Business Development

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Stewart Community Building

10 am to 2 pm

465 Clear Creek Avenue

Carson City, Nevada

775-265-8671

Contact for more information

Forum purpose

To give Tribal members the tools and support they need to succeed as entrepreneurs and business owners

The Forum will focus on a key component to the Washoe Tribe’s economic and business development strategy - the active support for Tribal members in starting and building their own businesses.  The Tribe’s Economic and Business Development Working Group has been strengthening its relationship with SBA, EDA, and other supporting agencies, and will be working to connect Tribal members with the resources available through these agencies to build their businesses and take advantage of the many opportunities and programs for Tribal member-owned and -operated businesses.

Who should participate and how much does it cost

Community Forum is free for all Tribal members (including Elders and youth) from the Stewart, Carson, Dresslerville, and Woodfords Communities and the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, as well as Tribal members who live off-reservation, interested in starting or growing their own businesses and learning about the free resources and opportunities available to them. A free lunch will be provided to all Tribal members attending

Members of the SBA team who will be making presentations on strategies and resources for small business success, participating in Q&A, and conducting free one-on-one consultations include:

David Leonard, Senior Area Manager for Northern & Central Nevada, U.S. Small Business Administration – Reno

Mary Conway-Jepsen, Pacific American Indian Development American Indian Procurement Technical Assistance Center (AIPTAC), with emphasis on 8(A) and HUBZone – El Segundo

Deborah Prout, President and CEO, Nevada Microenterprise Initiative – Reno

Kathy Agee, Deputy Director, Procurement Outreach, Nevada Commission on Economic Development – Carson City

Kathy Halbardier, Business & Economic Development Specialist, Nevada Small Business Development Center – Gardnerville

Herb Shedd, USDA Rural Development – Carson City

Mark Williams, Farm Loan Program Specialist, Farm Service Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture – Reno

Tribal members will learn more about selected Washoe Tribal enterprises which are currently or which anticipate employing Tribal members or which may assist Tribal members in growing their own businesses.

Technorati Tags: Washoe Tribal Community Forum on Small Business Development, Washoe Tribe, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, David Leonard, U.S. Small Business Administration, Mary Conway-Jepsen, Pacific American Indian Development American Indian Procurement Technical Assistance Center, Deborah Prout, Nevada Microenterprise Initiative, Kathy Agee, Nevada Commission on Economic Development, Kathy Halbardier, Nevada Small Business Development Center, Herb Shedd, USDA Rural Development, Mark Williams, Farm Service Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology

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By Dave Archer, CEO of NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology

Businesses in the Greater Reno-Tahoe area face challenging times.

The good news is that a wide range of help and resources are available – mostly for free or at very low cost – to local businesses.

This help comes from the “Alphabet Soup” agencies, each of which stands ready to help small businesses and aspiring small business owners. These include the SBA, NSBDC, SCORE, NMI, USDA, NCET and more! (See what I mean about Alphabet Soup?)

In future monthly articles, I’ll discuss in detail each of these organizations and the services they provide. To get us started, here is a list of the organizations, their website addresses and a brief description of their services:

EDAWN – Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (www.EDAWN.org)

EDAWN provides assistance to local companies that want to expand, and offers advice and guidance on business incentives and assistance programs that may be available to help your business grow and prosper.

MAP – Management Assistance Partnership (www.mapnv.com)

MAP helps you streamline operations, apply the most up-to-date and sophisticated technology, provide managerial assistance and train your workforce.

NCED – Nevada Commission on Economic Development (www.Expand2Nevada.com)

NCED provides the help that you need to grow your business and market your products and services to national and international audiences.

NCET – Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (www.NCET.org)

NCET’s programs encourage Nevadans to start businesses, and connect you to the resources you need to succeed.

NMI – Nevada Microenterprise Initiative (www.4microbiz.org)

NMI provides business tools to assist you in overcoming barriers you may face in starting or expanding your business. NMI offers business training, business loans and great networking opportunities.

NSBDC – Nevada Small Business Development Center (www.NSBDC.org)

NSBDC provide an abundance of free and low cost information, assistance, counseling and training for Nevada Businesses.

SBA – US Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov)

The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses, and provides SBA-backed loans, government contracting opportunities, disaster assistance and training programs to help your business succeed.

SCORE – Service Corp of Retired Executives (www.score-reno.org/sr/)

SCORE is a nationwide organization of active and retired businessmen and women, with over 30 local volunteer counselors who provide free business counseling, free orientation workshops, and low cost seminars in Sparks, Reno, Lake Tahoe, Carson City, and Carson Valley.

USDA – US Department of Agriculture (www.usda.gov)

Along with many other programs, the USDA provides grants and loan guarantees to agricultural producers, businesses and cooperatives located in rural communities to purchase renewable energy systems and make other energy efficiency improvements, to increase the economic viability of biomass projects, and to finance energy technology.

Well, these descriptions of the Alphabet Soup agencies have given us a lot to digest for now. See you next month!

Dave Archer is the CEO of NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, a statewide nonprofit organization that encourages people to start their own businesses and connects them with the resources they need to succeed. For more information, visit www.ncet.org.

Angel investors have become more cautious in light of the recent economic uncertainty, trying to reduce their risk exposure by including more angels in each deal, according to the Angel Market Analysis for the first and second quarters of 2008 released by the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire.

According to the analysis, “Angel Investors Steady But More Cautious in First Half of 2008,” total investments in the first and second quarters of 2008 were $12.4 billion, an increase of 4.2 percent over the same period last year. A total of 23,100 entrepreneurial ventures received angel funding in the first half of 2008, a slight decrease of 3.8 percent from the same period last year, and the number of active investors was 143,000 individuals, an increase of 2.1 percent over the same period in 2007. Read full story:

Technorati Tags: Angel investors, Angel Market Analysis, Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire, Whittemore School of Business and Economics, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology

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