Historically, colleges and universities have been the training
ground for "corporate suits," teaching students how to
work for big companies, not how to start their own small ones. But
pushed by the needs of a changing business environment, institutes
of higher education are becoming an increasingly valuable resource
for start-ups.
Outside their regular degree programs, colleges provide a wide
range of workshops and seminars on various aspects of
entrepreneurship, along with one-on-one mentoring programs. In
addition, schools of specific disciplines, such as business and
law, are offering what amounts to free and low-cost consulting and
professional services to start-ups and growing small
businesses.
Here's a sampling of the programs available through colleges
and universities nationwide:
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Program: Small Business Institute (SBI)
Universities/locations: Approximately 250 colleges and
universities nationwide (plus several international universities),
usually via business schools
Description: Teams of qualified senior-level or graduate
business students, under expert faculty supervision, provide
consulting to small-business owners and managers as part of their
educational training. The students conduct in-depth consulting and
field case projects to analyze and create solutions for specific
business problems. Services are provided on a no-charge or
nominal-fee basis.
Contact your nearest university's business school or visit
the SBI Directors Association at http://www.sbida.org You can also
contact Ronald Cook at the Rider University College of Business in
Lawrenceville, New Jersey, (609) 895-5522, fax:
(609) 896-5304, cookr@rider.edu
Program: Kenan-Flagler Center for Entrepreneurship and
Technology Venturing
University/location: Kenan-Flagler Business School,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Description: The center provides a wide range of services
to start-up, small and midsized businesses through formal classes,
counseling programs, competitions, internships and other
projects.
Contact Jeff Reid, executive director, (919) 962-2031,
eship@unc.edu, http://www.bschool.unc.edu
Program: Irvine Center for Applied Competitive
Technologies
University/location: Irvine Valley College, Irvine,
California
Description: This resource helps start-up and expanding
small businesses find the capital they need and develop business
plans. The center also provides technical and business assistance
as well as other types of training.
Contact Larry DeShazer, director, (949) 451-5203, fax:
(949) 451-5648, http://www.irvinecact.com
Program: Small Business Opportunity Clinic (SBOC)
University/location: Northwestern University School of
Law, Evanston, Illinois
Description: SBOC provides legal assistance to
entrepreneurs, start-up companies and nonprofit organizations
located primarily in the Chicago metropolitan area. Services are
provided on a confidential basis by upper-level law students under
the direction of an experienced attorney. The clinic's rates
for the service are significantly lower than what you would pay an
attorney working in private practice.
Contact Thomas Morsch, director, (312) 503-0321, tmorsch@nwu.edu, http://www.law.nwu.edu/small-business
Program: Entrepreneurial Development Center
University/location: Drexel University, Philadelphia
Description: works with both the student and local
entrepreneurial communities to promote networking, offer
information and expertise, provide seed capital, and establish
partnerships between start-up businesses and the university plus
various outside resources.
Contact Bill Deane, (215) 895-1733, deanewb@drexel.edu
Program: Linking Investors to Georgia High Technology
(LIGHT)
Universities/locations: Georgia Center for Advanced
Telecommunications Technology (GCATT) and Georgia Institute of
Technology, both in Atlanta
Description: The program holds monthly meetings during
which entrepreneurs polish their business plans and presentation
skills, investors identify and evaluate promising opportunities,
and corporate developers identify candidates for joint ventures or
acquisitions. Events are free and open to the public.
Contact Steven Spell, associate director of communications,
GCATT, (404) 894-1698, fax: (404) 894-1445, http://www.gcatt.gatech.edu/light
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