AI2V slates Little Rock Workshops



Do you have a technology with commercialization potential? Are you ready to realize that potential? Then AI2V is for you!
Workshops for the Arkansas Invention to Venture (AI2V) 2008 are slated in Little Rock, beginning September 29 to October 2, 2008. The hands-on workshops provide a new-venture accelerator for a start-up company preparing to move into the marketplace.
AI2V is a program to help businesses develop a solid plan and to articulate that plan. Arkansas AI2V is offered through the National Collegiate Inventors and Inventors Alliance in collaboration with the Arkansas Small Business Development Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas Capital Corporation Group and Arkansas Science & Technology Authority. The workshops have been presented since 2003 in locations such as San Diego, Chicago and Gainesville. You can register for this yearâ€TMs workshops at www.invention2venture.org/advancedi2v/. Workshop costs are:

  • Arkansas Start-up companies-$500 per team
  • Practitioners and Observers-$1,000
  • Existing Small Businesses- $2,000
  • Corporate Ventures-$5,000
  • Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup Competitors-$300 per team

Participants will benefit from:

  • Intense Instruction: This hands-on four day workshop explains critical requirements to take new ventures to market and provides the guidance to build analysis-rich plans that have high chances of success with potential investors.
  • Invest or Panel Dry Run: A panel of investors and successful entrepreneurs will provide feedback on pitches during the final hours of the workshop.
  • Follow-up Coaching: Participants spend eight weeks closing the gaps in their plans after the workshop. Coaches assist during weekly meetings.

The end result for the participants of the workshop is a 15-minute investor pitch and commercialization plan fundamentals to back it up. Qualifying teams will have their dream panel of investors, customers, mentors and advisors assembled for a 1 ½ to 2 hour pitch session.

This year's instructor is Sharon C. Ballard, president and CEO of Enable Ventures, Inc., and former chief executive and founder of Reticular Systems, Inc., which develops innovative software products. Under her leadership, Reticular won more than thirty Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program awards. The Department of Defense (DoD), SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs fund a billion dollars each year in early-stage R&D projects at small technology companies, projects that serve a DoD need and have commercial applications. Ballard has coached entrepreneurs in Europe and across the U.S.

For more information contact the Ark. Small Business Development Center at 501-683-7700.