TVBN Proudly Presents The Second Annual Boot Camp for Entrepreneurs!
High
tech startups are typically founded by entrepreneurs with expertise in a
specific area, such as technology, manufacturing, finance, or marketing.
Consequently, a first-time entrepreneur usually has a biased and obscured view
towards the business world during the embryonic stage, which is followed by a
panic stage in which the entrepreneur is faced with a daunting challenge of
pulling everything together under an unrealistic schedule and scarce
resources.
There
are various ways to cope with chaotic situations, for example, by partnering
with seasoned veteran entrepreneurs, or by consulting industry experts and
advisors. The most effective approach, even if you have a strong founding team
and an impressive advisory board, is to arm yourself with the fundamental
knowledge of starting and subsequently growing a new business.
A
sober reality is that only 1 in 10 startups will succeed statistically.
Knowing the rules of the startup game does not guarantee success. However, you
can dramatically increase your odds by avoiding common mistakes, which are the
leading causes accounted for majority of the failures. Learning from others¡¦
experience is arguably the second best thing for an entrepreneur, second only
to your own experience.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Theme:
Essential Steps towards a Successful Startup
Speakers:
Moderated by Hong-Tai Chou, Ph.D.
When:
August 14 and 15, 2004 (Saturday and Sunday, over night)
Where:
Sanborn Park, Saratoga, California
Organizers:
Hosted by TVBN, co-hosted by CINA and Hua Yuan
Language:
the presentation and discussion will be conducted in Mandarin
Contact:
Angela Chou, Camp Director (Email: ajjchou@yahoo.com)
Application:
Application is free, $150
non-refundable fee per attendee (inclusive of meals and lodging)
Click
here for application form.
Please send your application to tvbn_bootcamp@yahoo.com or fax it to 650-917-6184.
You must be a member of TVBN, CINA or Hua Yuan to apply. As space is very limited, acceptance is subject to a review and selection process. If you are not yet a member of TVBN but would like join us, please visit http://www.tech-vbn.org. There is no membership fee to join.
Prerequisites:
Attendance of Entrepreneur Seminar Series (following 3 workshops)
hosted by CINA eSIG, co-sponsored
by TVBN. Visit CINA website http://www.CINA.org
for detail.
q
5/15/2004 ¡§Startup
and Founder Issues¡¨
q
6/19/2004 ¡§Seed
and Series A Financings¡¨
q
7/28/2004 ¡§Planning
and Surviving the Early Days of a Startup¡¨
Event Sponsors:
q
Taipei
Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco / Science Division
q
China
International Development Consulting, Inc. in Beijing
¡@
¡@
Moderator Profile:
Dr.
Hong-Tai Chou is founder and CEO of Incubenet Corp. Dr. Chou is also involved
with many startups and nonprofit
organizations as their board director or advisor. Due to his unique expertise
in entrepreneurship, investment, and technologies, Dr. Chou is frequently invited
in Silicon Valley and Asia as a speaker on various subjects, including
emerging technologies, incubation, venture investment, and the related issues
in Asia (notably China).
Dr.
Chou has a successful track record of building high-tech startups. He founded
Omniscience as its President and CEO. Its board members included Silicon
Valley celebrities such as Lawrence J. Ellison (Founder and CEO of Oracle),
Jeffrey Henley (Chairman of Oracle) and Leonard Y. Liu (former COO of Cadence,
former Chairman and CEO of Acer). Omniscience was later acquired by Oracle,
and the product is now better known as Oracle Lite. Prior to Omniscience, Dr.
Chou co-founded Versant Object Technology (Nasdaq: VSNT).
Dr.
Chou received his Ph.D. in Computer Sciences from University of Wisconsin -
Madison. He also received an MS in Electrical Engineering and an MS in
Computer Sciences, both from UW-Madison. Prior to his graduate study, Dr. Chou
received a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan
University.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Contents of Courses:
q
Incorporation
(IN):
issues and steps for setting up a business entity
q
Articles of
Incorporations and SS-4 Application
q
Corporate
Structure, Board of Directors, and Advisory Board
q
First Board
Meeting or Organizational Resolutions (e.g. on bank accounts, principle
office, ¡K)
q
Bylaws and
Corporate Filings (e.g. Statement by Domestic Stock Corporation)
q
S Corporation
Election (form 3560)
q
Authorization
and Issuance of Stocks, Stock Option Plan
q
Business
Planning (BP):
anatomy and construction of a business plan
q
Executive
Summary (a creditable and convincing story)
q
Target
Markets, Competitors, Marketing Strategies, and Customers Acquisition
q
Packaging of
Technologies/Products/Services, and Business Model
q
Financials:
Revenue Model, Incomes and Expenses Projection, Budgeting, Return to Investors
q
Schedules and
Milestones; Exit Strategies
q
Capital
Structure (CS):
funding sources and term sheets for potential investors
q
Possible
Funding Sources and Tradeoffs
q
Capitalization
Table and Company Valuation
q
Preferred
Stocks, Warrants, and Related Rights for Investors
q
Pricing and
Valuation of Stocks (Preferred and Common), and Stock Option Pool
q
Drafting and
Presentation of a Term Sheet
q
Crisis
Management (CM):
interactive discussion on how to handle crises as daily routines
q
Organizational
Crisis Scenarios (Investors, BOD, Management Team, Founders, Employees, etc.)
q
Technology
& IP Crisis Scenarios (R&D, QA, Product Releases, IP theft &
infringements, etc.)
q
Financial
Crisis Scenarios (Cash Flow, Account Receivables, Account Payables, etc.)
q
Sales &
Marketing Crisis Scenarios (Customers, Competitors, Partners, Suppliers, etc.)
q
Disaster
Response and Backup Planning (IP, R&D, Facilities, Customer Support, etc.)
Accompanied Activities:
q
Business
Networking (BN):
Getting to know fellow entrepreneurs.
q
Business
Entertainment (BE):
Getting a feel of how to conduct a successful business process (esp. in Asia)
with the help of a secret weapon ¡V business entertainment.
q
Business
Connection (BC):
Meeting with invited Venture Capitalists and other guests.