TechPoint and StartUP Indiana will host its next regional Indiana Entrepreneur Bootcamp in Richmond, IN at Indiana University East - 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The program helps entrepreneurs find ways make their company a lean, mean business machine.

Attendees will learn how to make their businesses more effective from the best business drill sergeants in Indiana, as well as renowned business coach Bill Joos, formerly Vice President of Entrepreneur Development at Silicon Valley-based Garage Technology Ventures. Participants will also have the opportunity to network with experts, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists.

The Bootcamp curriculum teaches participants how to transform business startups into profitable companies and train profitable enterprises to become entrepreneurial machines. Bill Joos will tell it like it is as he puts participants through the paces of business positioning, refining the “elevator pitch,” and avoidance of common business planning mistakes.

The program begins at 8:00 a.m. with registration and a networking continental breakfast, followed by a welcome and introductions. Bill Joos will teach all three workshops and moderate a panel discussion with local entrepreneurs and community representatives. Workshops include:

• Perfecting Your Positioning and Brand,
• Perfecting Your Pitching and Presentation, and
• Ten Biggest Mistakes in Business Plans.

The sessions will be followed by breakout panels featuring area Angel investors and venture capitalists, and a wrap-up networking reception.

Rural Entrepreneurship Conference
December 12, 2007
Ball State University Alumni Center
Muncie, IN

This important one-day conference showcased new venture opportunities emerging in rural Indiana with highlights on how to research, plan and fund new businesses in one of the most innovative and growing sectors of our global economy.

This conference is part of the StartUp Indiana project, and brought to you by the Eastern Indiana Regional Workforce Board with support from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), and Ball State and Purdue Universities. StartUp Indiana is part of the Strategic Skills Initiative.

• CLICK HERE for conference information, survey, session downloads, photo gallery