This Week: March 17 ? March 23, 2013 | Venture Caf?

Friends,

Get inspired at Venture Caf? this week. Find out how to address big problems such as the need for clean energy, better education, and fresh water?in developing countries, and in our own. Speak with visiting experts and learn how to access advice, grants, and other resources that will help translate your ideas into tangible solutions. Connect with:

• NextDrop, a tech-enabled social enterprise in India
• LearnLaunchX, New England?s first learning and education startups accelerator
• Boston Cleanweb Hackathon, the city?s biggest cleanweb event
• Mass. Tech Transfer Center, organizer of the Mass. Clean Energy Center Catalyst Program Awards
• The EntreTech Forum, monthly discussions on entrepreneurship and technology commercialization
• TiE, organizer of the TiE Challenge startup accelerator program
• Mass. Small Business Development Center, offering services and training for small businesses
• MassChallenge, the world?s largest startup competition
• Burns & Levinson, legal expertise in funding and IP protection
• George Mabry, experienced mentor and angel investor
• MassVentures, an early-stage venture capital fund

At the Venture Caf?, we believe that innovation and entrepreneurship are means to an end, not ends in themselves. The end is to improve the human condition.

Hope to see you at the Caf? on Thursday!

Thursday, March 21, 2013 | Venture Caf? in Session | 3:00 ? 8:00 P.M.

3:00 ? 5:00 P.M. | Mass. Tech. Transfer Center / Mass. Clean Energy Center ? Info Table

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center in partnership with the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center, ?invites you to apply for MassCEC Catalyst Program Awards. The Program?s primary intent is to stimulate the commercialization of clean energy technologies developed in the Commonwealth. The program awards grants of $40,000 each to help entrepreneurs demonstrate the feasibility of technologies in specific industry applications. More information on the awards is available here. Visit their info table to find out more.

3:00 ? 5:00 P.M. | Mass. Small Business Development Center ? Office Hours

Mark Allio will be back at the Caf? for office hours. Mark is Regional Director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network?s Boston Regional Office & Minority Business Center at UMass Boston. The MSBDC provides free one-on-one business advisory services, entrepreneurial training workshops, and special assistance in gaining access to capital. MSBDC Advisors are all former entrepreneurs. Mark co-founded two business ventures: TracRac, a Fall River-based manufacturer of automotive accessories, and Virtuous.com, an e-ticketing service provider serving the arts and entertainment industry. If you would like a consultation with Mark, please fill out this request form before Thursday. To learn more about MSBDC?s services, check out this flier.

3:30 ? 5:00 P.M. | MassVentures ? Office Hours

Discuss your pitch with Jennifer Jordan, Vice President of MassVentures, an early-stage venture capital fund dedicated to investing in Massachusetts high growth technology companies. MassVentures focuses on Series A Investments in software, data, analytics, crowdsourcing, and the intersection of healthcare and IT. ?Reserve a 15 minute segment by signing up at the bar. ?Come prepared with a high level pitch deck that covers: (1) the problem you are addressing, (2) the size of the market, (3) the team, (4) the product offering, and (5) the exit strategy.

4:00 ? 6:00 P.M. | LearnLaunchX ? Office Hours

Chat with LearnLaunchX, New England?s first accelerator program for new learning and education technology companies. Participant companies will receive seed funding, workspace, and intensive mentoring and collaboration from experienced professionals in the learning and education space. The first Boston class of LearnLaunchX begins on June 10th. Applications are being accepted until March 25th.

4:00 ? 6:00 P.M. | Funding and Protecting Your Idea and Business ? Office Hours

Burns & Levinson?s attorneys Gil Breiman and Bruce Jobse are holding office hours at Venture Caf? this week. Gil can assist you with devising and preparing funding strategies for your business. Learn about traditional options such as venture capital and angel investment, as well as alternatives such as grants, crowdfunding, and accelerator programs and platforms. ?Gil can introduce you to the firm?s Innovation Program, a special legal services offering available to a select group of startup and emerging businesses. Speak with Bruce about the ramifications of the ?first to file? changes to the U.S. patent process that came about on March 16, 2013 as a result of the America Invents Act.

4:00 ? 6:00 P.M. | George Mabry ? Office Hours

Ask consultant, mentor, and angel investor George Mabry for feedback on your business concept. ?He is active in Harvard, MIT, and Greater Boston?s entrepreneurship communities and holds degrees in computer science and business. ??George co-founded a biotech market research company that was acquired by a global biopharmaceutical service provider in 2008. ?To speak with him, please sign up at the Caf? bar for a 20-minute appointment. ?Come prepared with concise, high-level materials to explain your idea, including the market, the team, and how you are addressing the opportunity or problem.

5:00 ? 6:30 P.M. | TiE ? Office Hours

TiE Challenge is a startup accelerator program that turns great ideas into companies. TiE Challenge offers first-time entrepreneurs a 2-for-1 opportunity: help from top Boston entrepreneurs and access to capital. Twenty companies are selected to participate in the program run by TiE Charter members and sponsors. Benefits include: dedicated advisors, office space, attendance at all TiE events and the opportunity to present to TiE Angels for potential investment. Come by their info table to learn more.

5:00 ? 6:00 P.M. | How to Find the Right Funder for Your Startup

Do you have questions about how to find a funder for your startup? In the labyrinthic funding map there may be a funder that is perfect for your startup. Who should you talk to first and why? Jennifer Jordan of MassVentures will be discussing the funding landscape for startups: how to navigate and how to find the right funder for you.

5:00 ? 8:00 P.M. | Boston Cleanweb Hackathon ? Info Table

Boston?s biggest cleanweb event, the Boston Cleanweb Hackathon, is coming back this year from April 5th to the 7th. ?Learn how you can help solve some of the world?s most pressing energy and water problems using a creative combination of clean tech and high tech.

5:00 ? 8:00 P.M. | MassChallenge ? Office Hours

MassChallenge, the world?s largest startup accelerator, connects entrepreneurs with the resources they need to launch successful businesses. Mass Challenge invites startups in any industry to apply for 125 spots in the 2013 program. Benefits include world-class mentorship and training, joining a community of fellow entrepreneurs, $10 million in in-kind support and $1 million in grants with no equity taken. Applications are open from February 13 to April 3. Chat with a MassChallenge representative if you interested in being a participant, sponsor, mentor, or judge?or if you have questions, comments, or suggestions about the competition.

6:00 ? 8:00 P.M. | EntreTech Panel ? Crowdfunding: Where It Stands Now

Join The EntreTech Forum?s panel discussion to learn about the power of alternative financing for entrepreneurs. Ask any entrepreneur about raising seed capital and you?ll hear a wide range of adventure stories. The lucky ones are able to secure an initial investor and get started, but most spend months pitching their ideas to investors who seem receptive but are hesitant to gamble on an uncertain exit. ?Enter crowdfunding, a powerful means to directly tap into groups of new and veteran investors. ?No longer a techie fad, crowdfunding has helped raise more than $10 million for some companies: how can it it can be used as a mature source for financing ventures?

6:30 ? 7:30 P.M. | NextDrop Roundtable: How to do a startup in India

Meet Anu Sridharan, a Forbes 30-under-30 social entrepreneur, and learn how she launched a technology-enabled social-impact enterprise in India. She is one of the founders of NextDrop, a startup that originated in an engineering class at UC Berkeley and won the Knight News Challenge. In conditions of scarcity, fresh water is only available intermittently?even in places with the pipes to deliver it. In India, NextDrop is deploying a system that notifies residents when water will become available. ?Join Anu in this interactive session to discuss how aspiring social entrepreneurs can identify a problem to solve, assess product-market fit, and overcome the many obstacles that might be encountered in a developing country.

Source: http://www.vencaf.org/2013/03/6339/

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