Graham Evans is from England and was involved in the steam industry. He came to the Puget Sound area in 1996. Graham is involved with the Federal Way Coallition Against Trafficking (FWCAT), which is an initiative to increase general community awareness of human trafficking, advocate for justice, and provide training opportunities for schools, parent groups, youth groups, and clubs.
Graham is very passionate about this topic. We used this topic to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Business Model Canvas (BMC). The BMC breaks down the concept of a business into 9 categories. The purpose is to help a group of people brainstorm about what a business needs. This is a very effective tool. Within less than an hour, we were able to flush out a lot of useful information. In fact, Graham sent our ideas on to the folks at FWCAT
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Amy Sallin Guest Speaker
Amy Sallin is the UW Business Plan Competition (BPC) Program
Manager. She presented information about the BPC. The BPC is held each
year at the Seattle UW campus. It is now in it's 18th year. The
purpose of the BPC is to foster student start-up projects, identify
projects with real potential and provide students the opportunity to
present these ideas to participants from the business community and
potential investors. At least one member of the team must be a student
in a Washington State college.
The benefits of the BPC, in addition to the possibility of winning real money, are gaining visibility within the business community, building a network of contacts, getting feedback from other entrepreneurs, and receive skilled coaching and mentoring. There are several rounds in the BPC, including screening, coaching, investment, sweet 16 and final round. About a third of the entries move on to the second round.
The benefits of the BPC, in addition to the possibility of winning real money, are gaining visibility within the business community, building a network of contacts, getting feedback from other entrepreneurs, and receive skilled coaching and mentoring. There are several rounds in the BPC, including screening, coaching, investment, sweet 16 and final round. About a third of the entries move on to the second round.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Erik Hanberg Guest Speaker
Well, I thought I had written this a couple weeks ago. Turns out it was just all in my mind...
So, Erik Hanberg, interesting fellow. There are a number of ways one could categorize Erik. A few different labels one could use. Erik has managed to take a number of interests and convert these into multiple revenue streams. I suspect, he would call himself first and foremost an author. He was a pioneer in the self publishing industry, and now has more than a handful of published works available online. I was intrigued by the various trial and error marketing techniques he employed over the years, such as giving one book in a series away for free in the hopes of seeing crossover purchases of the other books in the series.
Erik didn't stop hear. He took the knowledge he gained from publishing his own works, and made a business out of sharing that knowledge with others. Further, he combined this concept with his wife's expertise to offer a more full-service product. I like how they took their strengths and what they enjoyed doing and found a way to make a living doing it.
Erik at one point launched his own theater company, but was unable to sustain it. He also was involved with the site Exit133, and co-founded Suite 133, a place for people to come work together. Currently, in addition to authoring and his business with his wife, he also serves on the parks commission. Erik seems a very down to earth person. Not flashy, not a "business" guy. But someone I could see myself emulating. Just doing things he would already be doing anyway.
So, Erik Hanberg, interesting fellow. There are a number of ways one could categorize Erik. A few different labels one could use. Erik has managed to take a number of interests and convert these into multiple revenue streams. I suspect, he would call himself first and foremost an author. He was a pioneer in the self publishing industry, and now has more than a handful of published works available online. I was intrigued by the various trial and error marketing techniques he employed over the years, such as giving one book in a series away for free in the hopes of seeing crossover purchases of the other books in the series.
Erik didn't stop hear. He took the knowledge he gained from publishing his own works, and made a business out of sharing that knowledge with others. Further, he combined this concept with his wife's expertise to offer a more full-service product. I like how they took their strengths and what they enjoyed doing and found a way to make a living doing it.
Erik at one point launched his own theater company, but was unable to sustain it. He also was involved with the site Exit133, and co-founded Suite 133, a place for people to come work together. Currently, in addition to authoring and his business with his wife, he also serves on the parks commission. Erik seems a very down to earth person. Not flashy, not a "business" guy. But someone I could see myself emulating. Just doing things he would already be doing anyway.
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