Participants, partners and sponsors can follow the progress and activities of the upcoming 2010 Monterey Bay Regional Business Plan Competition on Twitter.
The Twitter account can be found at: http://twitter.com/MTCBizPlanComp. Details on the competition can be found at the incubator’s web site at: www.marinatechnologycluster.org.
Marina, Calif. – The Marina Technology Cluster (MTC) (www.marinatechnologycluster.org) today announced that over the winter and spring of 2010 it will produce the first annual Monterey Bay Regional Business Plan Competition with business, education and government partners from the entire tri-county region to showcase the business potential of the area; support regional start-ups; attract business and investors to the region; encourage business students to become entrepreneurs; and promote tech transfer, innovation and commercialization.
“Forward-thinking angel and venture capitalist investors from Sand Hill Road are beginning to look in our direction for opportunities outside the Silicon Valley box,” said MTC Director Susan Barich. “The young companies are here, and we’re looking to bring them out of the valleys and hills and showcase them.”
During the May 7 event to be held at the Irvine Auditorium at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, finalists will present to panels of angel investors and venture capitalists from groups like the Band of Angels, Central Coast Investors Roundtable and Wavepoint Venture Capital. Leading up to that event, the winter and spring will be filled with deadlines for applications, workshops for completion of business plans and presentations, and events that showcase existing, successful start ups from Scotts Valley to Watsonville to Hollister to Cannery Row.
Prizes range from cash from NextSpace Coworking + Innovation in Santa Cruz, Goodwill Industries, the County of Monterey Redevelopment Agency and the cities of Watsonville and Marina, to services, including legal assistance from Entreprelaw in Santa Cruz, space at the MTC, and business consulting from Barich Business Services of Santa Cruz and Khan-Bernier of Marina. Support is also provided by Wells Fargo Bank through a grant to the incubator.
Partners involved in the planning and implementation of the competition since May, 2009, include Cal State University at Monterey Bay (CSUMB) Business School professor Brad Barbeau; Dean of the Fisher International MBA Program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies Ernest Scalberg; Monterey County Weekly Publisher Erik Cushman; angel investors Dr. Rock Clapper of the Band of Angels, Chuck Boggs from the Central Coast Investors Roundtable, and Damon Danielson of Pebble Beach Partners; and MTC staff.
Other regional partners include the School of Engineering at the University of California at Santa Cruz, CSUMB Continuing Education, the City of Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, the County of Monterey Redevelopment Agency, the City of Seaside, the City of Hollister, Experience Communications of Carmel, The Economic Development Corporation of San Benito County, the City of Watsonville Redevelopment Agency, Golden Capital Network, the Central Coast Small Business Development Center at Cabrillo College, and the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.
A one-page application for the competition is due on Friday, February 26 by 5:00 p.m. and is available at www.MarinaTechnologyCluster.org, along with instructions, entry forms and a participation agreement.
We’re beginning 2 new rounds of New-Entrepreneur Training (NET) workshops to assist income-qualified entrepreneurs with business start-up and development at the MTC this fall, with application deadlines of September 2 for NET 1 and September 30 for NET 2.
The workshops, which are funded by a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the City of Marina, will be held every Wednesday for six weeks from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the incubator near the Marina Airport. Participants will learn the fundamentals of starting and running a business, including introduction to business planning, knowing the market, and understanding cash flow and financials.
The program is open to income-qualified individuals residing in towns with populations of 50,000 or fewer, such as Seaside, Marina, Sand City, Aptos and Hollister, and in unincorporated areas of Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties.
To learn more, for qualification information or to download an application, go to the incubator’s web site at www.MarinaTechnologyCluster.org or call Adam at 831-582-9718.
Reserve a space by calling Adam Davis at the Marina Technology Cluster at 831-582-9718. See our website for directions — http://www.MarinaTechnologyCluster.org
Creative workers and small businesses must often collaborate with principals and other parties in engagement with clients. Yet multi-party collaboration can muddy the waters as to the authorship, inventorship claims, and ownership of intellectual property generated in the course of a complex project. A weakness in an ability to define and assert IP rights can be especially painful when seeking investment.
This seminar will review the basic structures of intellectual property and discuss practices for establishing and documenting legally valid claims over these intangible assets. The requirements for patentability, copyright protection and trademark registration will be presented.
Patrick Reilly is an intellectual property attorney who had a career in technology marketing and as a sales engineer before going to Law School in his forties. Patrick’s business experience guides him in designing individual patent and IP strategies that support his clients’ fund raising and marketing efforts. He is the founder of the Intellectual Property Society (www.ipsociety.net), an association that enriches the public discourse regarding intellectual property rights (IP rights).Patrick believes that IP rights are indispensable to encourage the financial investment necessary to develop technology and reward artistic accomplishment. Patrick is a member of the Federal Patent Bar and the California State Bar.
Just a note on your intellectual property. Pat Reilly and Reesa Abrams are developing a new workshop called, “IP Strategy in a Time of Collaboration.” So, how do we work together without risking the family jewels? What they didn’t teach you in the IT curriculum. Look for it to come your way in July.
Susan
There was an article on freelancing in the Personal section of the Wall Street Journal last week. It cited several web sites for freelancers. Also, an article on Jim Lehrer’s News Hour a month or more ago was about the Freelancer’s Union, where freelancers can sign up and qualify for health benefits. For the union, got to FreelancersUnion.org for information. The sites from the Wall Street Journal article are: Elance.com, Odesk.com, Sologig.com, VirtualAssistants.com, and Guru.com.
I did receive a couple of comments on our idea to have a workshop series for freelancers. Paul asked about organizations and agencies that work with start ups and small businesses.
Paul: For agencies or organizations that work with start-ups and small businesses, the SBDC at Cabrillo is one, and the Marina Technology Cluster, which I direct, is another. Teresa Thomae is the director of the SBDC at Cabrillo. There is also an SBDC in San Jose and one at Hartnell College. SBDCs are “Small Business Development Centers.” They’re funded by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Community Colleges. They’re usually located at a Community College, but not always. SBDCs usually assist existing businesses to take their business to a higher level, either by helping them with business planning or helping them to secure a small business loan. But development of a web site might be another way to accomplish measurable results for a company. You can call Teresa at 831-479-5040 to find out more.
At our incubator, we work with all start-ups. They are usually not well funded, but some can afford freelance help. And it’s less expensive than an employee full hire. What I normally do is recommend that an entrepreneur and a service provider get together and do a small, proscribed project pro bono, to see if the two work well together. If they do and they want to continue, then we ask them to create their own fee arrangement outside of the purview of the incubator. The arrangement could be a contract for pay or it could be stock. Our phone number at the MTC is 831-582-9718.
Of course, there are a lot of start ups at Next Space in downtown Santa Cruz. I’d call Jeremy Nuener to find out how to become a member, and then you’ll be able to hang out in the cafe space and interact with all kinds of people who might need your help — except they may all be web developers themselves. But you never know when someone will need extra help. Hope this helps! Susan
We’re putting together a series of workshops to help you survive as a freelancer.
Maybe you are a freelance programmer or designer. You know a LOT about what you do. But do you know how to invoice in a fashion that gets you paid before your rent is due? Do you know the best way to market yourself? How ’bout contracts? Owning your own work? Coming up with a reasonable rate? Taxes?
As I put this program together, let me know what kinds of things would be helpful for you to learn, and we’ll use your inputs as we design it.
Susan
Hey, all!
My dear friend and MTC advisor Camille Smith is presenting a workshop tomorrow at the incubator — same time: 1:00 — to 4:00, same place — the MTC at 3180 Imjin Road in Marina. Camille, an entrepreneur whose business is helping the rest of us manage our people and the issues around those people that can make or break our companies, is president and CEO of Work in Progress (read WIP – as in “me into shape, I think!”) Will be a fun and interesting time. Check out the details at http://www.MarinaTechnologyCluster.org.
Susan
Cash flow. It’s the life blood of your new geeky business.
Monday, April 20, Alan Barich will present an interactive workshop on cash-flow management at the MTC in Marina. These are fun and REALLY valuable workshops. Here’s the blurb from our website, www.MarinaTechnologyCluster.org:
Former Vice President of IMO Industries and former General Manager of the Enterprise Engine Company, Alan Barich held total profit & loss responsibility for $75 million and $25 million a year companies. “Cash is the life blood of every business,” says Alan. He’ll provide you with important cash-flow insights to help you manage your start-up business.
Donations are $20 for non-members and $10 for members, students and clients.
Susan