A four day residential "boot camp" for entrepreneurs is being offered by the Entrepreneurship Center of Sonoma State University from June 17-20 on the Rohnert Park campus.
"This is planned as a total immersion experience with the finest instructors so business people can really think about what their business is all about," says E-Center director, Dr. Armand Gilinsky. "We want them to unplug their cell phones, leave their regular lives behind and become immersed in thinking about their future direction."
This intensive Entrepreneurship Excellence Course is specifically designed for those thinking about launching the "next greatest venture", as well as those who have their business up and running and want to move it to the next
level, Gilinksy says. By focusing on the life cycle of the entrepreneurial business, from evaluating their market opportunity, positioning their venture, writing an effective business plan, financing, and presentations to investors, the course will be filled with valuable real-life learning opportunities, says Gilinsky.
Course participants may choose to have their business plan evaluated and receive detailed feedback on their venture plan presentations. The course fee is $2,495 and includes all curriculum materials, housing, and meals for the four-day program. Attendees will be housed on the campus in Sauvignon Village. A few scholarships for the course remain.
Guest instructors include:
Lesley Berglund, Ambrosia Wine. MBA from Harvard Business School, President, Chief Executive, and Co-Founder of Vintage Directions Inc., and Ambrosia.
Ray Kinnunen, Professor of Management at Northeastern University School of Business Administration.
Ron Star, expert in security law, financing and mergers for Howard Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin, PC; teaching fellow at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
Karl Vesper, Professor of Business Administration at University of Washington and University of California, San Diego; author of New Venture Creation, a leading text in the entrepreneurship.
Joan Winn, Professor of Business Administration at the University of Denver and Daniels College of Business; former President of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Participants will also receive complementary invitations to the North Bay Lifetime Entrepreneurship Awards Dinner at Paradise Ridge Winery from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, June 20. This event will honor Don Green and Henry Trione as the first recipients of the NOBLE award, given to the person(s) who have demonstrated exemplary achievement in new business formation, job creation, economic development, and mentoring of other entrepreneurs to create sustainable ventures in the North Bay.
Guy Kawasaki, CEO of Garage.com and former Apple Fellow, will be delivering the keynote address. Cost of the dinner is $100.
For further information, contact the Entrepreneurship Center at ecenter@sonoma.edu or (707) 664-2387.
