I2V: Invention to Venture Entrepreneur Workshop. Networking 101: How to Sell Yourself (And Your Ideas). Lunch with a Venture Capitalist. Meet and Greet: NREL National Renewable Energy Lab. Networking Made Easy: Biobeers. Internship Prep Course. Download pdf or...

I2V INVENTION TO VENTURE ENTREPRENEUR WORKSHOP

AIS hosted an all day entrepreneurship workshop called Invention to Venture. These workshops, held around the country, are designed to introduce entrepreneurship skills into higher education. The workshop is designed for universities/ colleges to foster business skills in technically trained employees and students. Opening the workshop was the Executive Director of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA- www.nciia.org), Phil Weilerstein. The day progressed in forty-five minute sessions that encompassed a variety of topics about entrepreneurship. Richard Duke, CEO of GlobeImmune, spoke about his career path from a graduate student to faculty member, and how he incorporated a start-up company into his traditional career path. A panel of experts from CU’s tech transfer office and several local businesses owners spoke about taking inventions from an academic lab to a start-up company. After a catered lunch, Patent attorney, John Wahl, gave an overview of intellectual property protection, ranging from trademarks to patents. A presentation on pitching ideas to potential investors was succinctly laid out by Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA and CU Professor. Later in the day, a panel of experts on venture capitalism, SBIR grants, and bootstrapping gave personalized advice to audience members about how to secure funding for their business. The workshop closed with an hour set aside to utilize the knowledge imparted on participants in a cheese and wine networking session, generously sponsored by Forest City.

NETWORKING 101: HOW TO SELL YOURSELF (AND YOUR IDEAS)

“Every person you meet from now on has the potential to give you money.” explained Arlen Meyers in his I2V presentation entitled “How to sell your ideas: the perfect business pitch”. In his thirty minute session, Dr. Meyers succinctly imparted the secrets of how to sell yourself and your ideas at networking events. The three “P’s” of a pitch: preparation, practice, and presentation skills. The purpose of pitching an idea is to gain the interest (and the ear) of a potential investor. This can be accomplished by introducing oneself, and explaining one’s services or ideas in thirty seconds. He likened articulating the portions of a business pitch to writing the various sections of a journal article. The quick introduction being comparable to the title of a journal article, meant to capture the attention of potentially interested parties. If the person expresses interest and asks question about the pitch, one may expand and proceed with the longer “elevator pitch” (the abstract of the paper). This pitch should be no longer than the time it takes an elevator to move a few floors. It needs to accomplish three key goals: hook the listener, give the value of the proposal, and close with an offer of more information via a website or contact information. Dr Meyers stressed the importance of networking with many people at an event. He suggests politely moving on to the next person if your conversation drifts from business topics to personal weekend talk. The goal of networking should be, according to Dr. Meyers, to bring in one new contact per day or 365 per year! (Check out the AIS calendar on our website to for a listing of local networking events)

MEMBERS ONLY: LUNCH WITH A VENTURE CAPITALIST

In February, active members of AIS were invited to an intimate lunch with Karen Cassidy, a successful venture capitalist. The company of which she is now co-owner, Partisan, is a venture capitalist company of a different color. Many venture capitalists screen inventors and work with those who have a tested marketable idea or product. Instead of starting with an idea, Partisan analyzes the medical field and determines its needs. When they find a problem in medicine that has not been satisfied by the current products on the market, they gather a team (CEO, CSO, CFO) and create a marketable product that fills the void. Karen remains involved with all of the companies she starts by being active on the board. She considers herself a part of each team. Over lunch we also heard the inspirational story of her career. She was raised in an era when a woman's career options were limited to teachers, secretaries, and housewives. Karen’s cleverness and drive helped her break into the business world. Her story of success despite the odds and culture was incredible. Amazingly, she was also able to balance work and family. She has twin daughters, one of whom is graduating from UC Denver this spring with an MD degree. Our meeting included junior and senior graduate students, and post docs. We talked about business etiquette, the importance of an advanced degree (PhD, MD, or MBA), women in business and science, and the challenges of technology transfer. We also discussed a project on which Partisan has been focused. Temperature, Cassidy explained, seems to be key in a speedy and full recovery after a stroke. Cassidy and her partner have been working with an academic scientist who studies the temperature effects on oxygen deprivation in the brain. Together, Partisan and the stroke laboratory have devised a non-invasive device that quickly lowers body temperature. Their hope is that this device will be applicable to many different types of neurological and cardiac injuries.

AIS MEET AND GREET: NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY

In a continuing effort to expose the UCDHSC community to careers outside the academic sector, AIS brought in former students Jeff Linger and Christine English. Both are currently doing a government post-doc at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. As students, both Jeff and Christine previously worked in Dr. Jessica Tyler’s lab. However, their new careers have them researching two very distinct projects at NREL. Jeff is currently working in the field of biomass conversion where he is trying to increase ethanol yield for fuel production. He emphasized that this particular sector of research is extremely important to the government at this time, and funding has increased substantially. Conversely, Christine is working in the field of hydrogen fuels, an area that still has many obstacles to overcome and thus, has a smaller budget. She is trying to develop a better model in which green algae can produce hydrogen. NREL post-doc positions last three years. During the informal lunch, attendees were able to openly pose questions to our former students. A frequent question posed at our meetings, “Can I get a job?”, was meet with an enthusiastic “Yes”. By visiting NREL’s homepage, www.nrel.gov, anyone can view the current postings for internships, post-docs, and full-time research positions. Nevertheless, Jeff and Christine encouraged job seekers to actively network to improve their chances. Jeff energetically worked at obtaining connections for getting into NREL for nine months before starting. Christine mentioned that interviews were hard to come by, but were much easier to obtain by having a contact that can vouch for you. Some positions at NREL need to be filled as soon as they are posted, so check the listing often. As with any industrial job, there are ups and downs to leaving academic science. Both Jeff and Christine seem to truly enjoy working at NREL, but definitely notice differences from being a student. For instance, at NREL, depending on where your source funding is coming from, you may or may not be able to frequently publish. The department of energy (DOE) provides most of NREL’s money, but some is privately funded. Industry funded research would obviously not want to be published until all rights are reserved to the findings. On a positive note, they both enjoy the availability of the most modern and sophisticated equipment to accomplish their research goals, something NREL does not lack. If you are interested in learning more about NREL, feel free to get in touch with AIS through our webpage (www.uchsc.edu/ais), where we can put you in direct contact with Jeff or Christine  

NETWORKING MADE EASY: BIOBEERS

Intimidated by the thought of venturing out of the lab and into the unknown of the business community? The newest Colorado bioscience community networking opportunity “BioBeers” eases the transition by holding events at local bars and pubs! These events are informal, and are a great way to begin your networking endeavors! Last month, BioBeers was held at Forest Room Five, with attendance ranging from students and post-docs to business folks up to the CEO level. The next BioBeers is on March 31st at the Milwaukee Street Tavern. For more information: http://biobeers.blogspot.com 

INTERNSHIP PREP COURSE

 In November, AIS hosted an internship prep course held by Tom Miller, president of Emerging Medical Technologies, Inc. Tom specializes in recruiting personnel for biomedical companies and focused the 2 hour seminar on preparing resumes and approaching the companies for which you want to work. For many students, creating a resume from a CV can be a difficult task. Instead of listing all your scholastic and career activities, Tom stressed that the resume is intended to grab the attention of the hiring manager by presenting a shortened version of your CV which highlights your accomplishments. A strong resume should contain the following sections: Contact Information, Objective, Education, Career History, Extra- Curricular Activities, Publications & Presentations, and Instrument Skills (if applicable to your training). The objective, Tom said, is a key component of the resume that will set you apart from the crowd. A strong objective will tell the hiring manager that you are not just looking for any job, but that you want to work for them. Additionally, he recommends that you don’t list your publications individually, but instead provide the number of publications you have and indicate that titles will be supplied upon request. For more information on resume writing, visit www.robinryan.com. The most important part of your job search is deciding where you want to work. Tom discussed the pros and cons of working for large and small companies. His suggestion was to start your career in a large multinational corporation because of the invaluable training and resources available; he did, however, mention that the hands-on experiences at a small company is another effective way to learn. Once you’ve identified the company you wish to work for, you should do your research and be knowledgeable about their products or services, as well as business matters, before contacting them. To approach the company, send your cover letter and resume to the department head (which you should learn during your research) complete with a stated time you intend to follow up with them. It is very important to uphold your commitment to follow up. In order to be successful, Tom recommends that you remain persistent until you get the right person on the phone. Tom’s final advice was on negotiating your employment. As opposed to being hired as an intern, you might request the company hire you as an independent contractor. Although you will have to pay self-employment taxes, you will be able to write off items such as health insurance and transportation. When asked about salary, he said you should be leery of accepting less than $3,000 per month for your hard work!