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Forum to help hot ideas hit market
The group will offer training, mentoring and presentation tips to aid entrepreneurs.
By MADHUSMITA BORA
Published March 7, 2007
TAMPA - If you have a stellar business idea, the Tampa Bay Technology Forum wants to help you jump-start it. Encouraged by the success of its annual "entrepreneur boot camps," the organization is launching the "emerging companies academy" - a program aimed at identifying and harvesting business talent. Selected participants will receive training, mentoring and tips on pitching their business ideas to investors, officials said. The price tag for participants? Free. "It's important to us that business leaders speak of Tampa Bay as one of the top five to 10 places to start a company," said Brent Britton, program chair, mentor and a lawyer with Squire Sanders & Dempsey. The bay area is a breeding ground for entrepreneurs, Britton and others say. But lack of expertise and money are often the roadblocks preventing ideas from taking off. "Early-stage investment capital is a concern for most people," said Michael Fountain, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of South Florida. That's what the academy aims to address. Spread over three months, the program will coach participants to set water-tight business plans, while granting them access to a network of professionals ranging from attorneys and financial analysts to business leaders. It will also arrange a mock jury of investors, who would grill the participants and prepare them for the real deal. "The final stage of the program will be when they present their ideas to real venture capitalists," Britton said. The curriculum will not clash with existing resources such as Tampa's incubator program at the University of South Florida or Star Technology Enterprise Center in Pinellas County, officials said. "The goal is to help get more startups financed so that it's easier to attract and retain talent in the area," said Ray Weadock, an academy mentor and co-founder, president and CEO of Persystent Technologies. A pilot program for the academy is under way to help iron out the wrinkles. The forum will begin accepting applications in the next couple of months. Madhusmita Bora can be reached at mbora@sptimes.com.
[Last modified March 6, 2007, 22:56:11]
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