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eIQ Sessions Business Plan Writing Are you struggling with writing your business plan or executive summary? If so, you're on the right track. It's supposed to be hard. Let us help you to make it effective as well. Learn how to use the business plan writing process tool for critically researching, evaluating, planning, and explaining your business. NWEN's Business Plan Writing Workshop provides an overview of many of the critical questions that every entrepreneur needs to consider in the early stages of the company's life. This popular session is led by Bryan Brewer of Business Plans Northwest. http://www.bizplansnw.com/ To put your name on the list to be notified of future Business Plan Writing sessions, please click here to sign up.
Reading Financial Statements Cash is king! We all know that, especially now, but do you know how to track the way cash flows through your business? Is cash the same as profit? Is net worth the same as cash? If you’re a bit fuzzy on how financial statements are derived and what they tell you about your company’s condition, join us for our foundational financial eIQ course: Reading Financial Statements. Jerry McGuire will be your guide as you uncover the mysteries hidden in these documents. He’s worked with early-stage companies just like yours for over 20 years, and his concise, logical presentation will have you seeing the true picture in no time.
Start-Up Checklist When it comes to the legal side of your start-up, you want to do it right—from day one. You don’t want to take short-cuts with noncompete agreements, for example, or be involved in anything remotely sketchy in terms of founders’ equity or tax issues. Keep it clean! Keep it honest! And remember that the little things you may pass off as inconsequential or “something I'll go back and take care of later” will surely cause massive problems (both in terms of time and money) just when you least expect it. Alan Smith, a partner at Fenwick & West, is one of the top corporate attorneys in Washington. He’s been named a “super lawyer” by Seattle Magazine five times and was recognized as one of the “40 under 40” by the Puget Sound Business Journal in 2004. http://www.fenwick.com/attorneys/4.2.1.asp?aid=725 QuickBooks for Entrepreneurs Are you managing the financial aspects of your business as efficiently and accurately as possible? QuickBooks is an indispensable tool for early-stage entrepreneurs, and learning how to take advantage of its many features will save you time, money, and countless of hours of frustration. Becoming proficient in QuickBooks is like peeling an onion: there are layers upon layer of detail and complexity. But worry not! NWEN’s QuickBooks session will introduce you to the basics of the program, help you get started working with this amazing tool, and leave plenty of time for your questions. Dan Cote, an interim CFO for small and medium-sized business, has been a college instructor in accounting and finance, and is a certified QuickBooks advisor. http://www.cfo2go.com/cfos/
Think Like An Investor If you’re considering seeking outside capital for your startup, you need to think like an investor when putting together your pitch. Get a sneak preview of what investors are looking for in a business, and do’s and don’ts for your presentation. The format is conversational, the examples are real, and the deliverable will be a checklist of topics to research and techniques to use as you develop your presentation. This session will be led by Rebecca Lovell, NWEN’s executive director, the former Program Director of the Alliance of Angels, and an instructor in the University of Washington MBA Program on venture capital investing. She’s coached over 500 entrepreneurs and done workshops for over 1000 participants around Washington state on this very topic. To register for the next Think Like an Investor Session on October 22, click here. Market Research Entrepreneurs need to know more about their prospective customers and markets, but perceptions or lack of knowledge sometimes gets in the way. “Market research is expensive isn’t it?” “How much can I do myself?” “How do I make sure the research gives me the answers I need?” Self-service survey tools like SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang have increased opportunities for businesses to do their own research inexpensively, but these tools don’t guarantee good results. This 2 hour course will provide an overview of market research for new products (including market sizing and pricing), with tips for improving your own surveys and advice on when and how to work with a research vendor. Mike Pritchard has worked in market research for over 15 years, helping large and small organizations with many different kinds of issues, and he has used and advised on self-service surveys since 2000.
Essentials for Entrepreneurs Workshops Legalities for Founders "Legal Essentials for Start-Ups" is an interactive workshop that highlights the key legal issues faced by every early-stage start-up. The Legal underpinnings of your company provide the foundation for future growth, for raising capital, for decision-making, and for your exit strategy. Mistakes made early on can cost companies thousands of dollars and hours of valuable time. The workshop agenda will focus on: • Choice of legal entities The half-day workshop will provide practical dos and don'ts, as well as ample opportunities for attendee Q&A. Participants will also receive a notebook of handouts that will assist them in navigating their legal choices.
Essentials of IP Protection Entrepreneurs share one universal trait, the ability to create unique products and services that can compete in the marketplace. Their intellectual property (IP) not only provides them with a competitive position, but also allows them to enjoy the fruits of their labor. As an entrepreneur, how do you recognize a piece of intellectual property? And what steps should you be taking to organize, manage and protect your IP assets? How can you use our IP to enhance your business development strategy? The Essentials of IP Protection workshop will focus on an organized approach to protecting and managing your intellectual property, including: patents, trademarks, trade names, domain names, copyrights, trade secrets, and intellectual property agreements.
Essentials of VC Financing Continuing in NWEN's series of Essentials for Entrepreneurs, the VC Financing workshop will provide you with insight on attracting venture capital as well as what's "market" in this economy. Understanding the vernacular of VC financing, from legal documents to negotiations, is critical for success. Join us as subject matter experts walk through real-world examples to help you embark on your funding adventure.
Essentials of Employee Growth - Scaling Human Capital People are your most important asset for every start up or rapid growth firm. Join the experts on HR issues - both attorneys on HR law at Davis Wright Tremaine and HR consultants and practitioners for this half day workshop on the practical elements of hiring your key people and best practices in HR for building a high growth company.
Essentials of Bootstrapping Nearly every start-up company goes through a period when cash is extremely tight and the demands of fueling the company’s growth are monumental. How many compelling ideas never make it to market because the entrepreneurs couldn’t keep their companies viable until they could receive substantial outside funding or become self-sustaining? Bootstrapping - the corporate version of “Europe on $10 a day” - is a critical and immensely useful skill that enables start-ups to stay alive until they can get traction. This workshop will provide you with the techniques you need to maximize early cash inflow and control cash outflow. In addition marketing, finance and legal experts, you will hear successful entrepreneurs talk about their real-life stories of bootstrapping their companies to success. Topics in this workshop will include: • Marketing and selling when resources are tight.
Essentials of Angel Financing The third in our series on how to finance your high growth company, this workshop will take you into a very unique world. There is no handbook on how to get one or more Angel investors to invest in your business but this is close. Constantly updated and presented by experts who do this every day for a living, Angel Financing is part of a tri-fecta of workshops that will leave you well prepared for navigating the financing seas when you are ready to set sail.
Essentials of Non-Equity Financing Financing is a difficult subject for all entrepreneurs. Too often entrepreneurs shoot immediately for equity financing from angel and venture capital investors. This workshop can help you understand the full range of non-equity financing options including: conventional bank lines and loans, venture debt, venture leasing, convertible debt, factoring, government program grants and loans, partner or vendor financing and more. *HOW ON-DEMAND REGISTRATION WORKS On-demand registration was designed to offer ultimate flexibility-- programming when you want it, as often as you want it. Each session will be offered on a pre-determined day of the week, and based on a critical mass of interest for any given session, we will book it (several weeks in advance), and ask you to re-confirm your availability. The date and frequency of each session will therefore be determined by the community. As always, once the date is determined, we will make registration available online. Seating is limited to encourage highly interactive sessions, so save yourself a spot as early as you can. |
2333 3rd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
Ph: (206) 902-4078 Email: info@nwen.org