MIT Enterprise Forum DFW
Welcome to the website of MIT Enterprise Forum Dallas Fort Worth chapter.
Become a Member of MIT Enterprise Forum, DFW Chapter
You can be a Volunteer without paying dues. But you will immediately begin receiving discounts when you register for events such as the NetWorking Social below, once you become a dues paying Member. Why not join now?
July Event: Networking Social and New Year Kick-Off
July 22, 2010, 6:00 PM-7:30 PM
The Quarter Bar, 3301 McKinney Ave, Dallas, TX 75204
Registration $20; $15 for MIT Alums, Students, dues paying Members of MITEF, and their guests. Registration includes “heavy” hors d’oeuvres, vegetarian options available. Drink specials: $2 well drinks and $2 domestic beer.
Map Free valet parking across the street until 8pm. Street parking may be available. Good alternatives: DART and Trolley.
Please join the MIT Enterprise Forum officers, volunteers, and supporters in kicking-off the new fiscal year. This year’s networking social is at The Quarter Bar in Uptown Dallas. The Quarter is a cozy local hangout with a wonderful French Quarter ambience. Join us in our reserved upstairs room or on the roof-top deck overlooking McKinney Avenue. This will be the perfect opportunity to meet fellow entrepreneurs, network with local businesses, and get involved with MITEF!
For more information, please contact vcprograms at mitforum dot com.
June Event: Breakfast with Louis Goldish
08 June 2010, 8:00 AM-9:30 AM
Marriot Courtyard Cafe, 15160 Quorum Drive, Addison, Texas 75001 USA
Registration No fee to register, pay for what you order
Join us for breakfast, networking and Q&A with Louis Goldish.
From his online Bio:
Louis Goldish – Senior Venture Advisor
Lou Goldish is primarily responsible for intake of new ventures at VMS. He was a founder and Managing Director of the consulting firm Data and Strategies Group and spent 35 years as a management consultant to corporations offering industrial, commercial, and technology based products and services. Prior to joining VMS he was Relationship Manager for a leading supplier of management software for very large databases and data-based enterprise systems. Goldish received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Case Institute of Technology and M.S. degrees in both Mechanical Engineering and Management from MIT.
From the MIT webpage about VMS:
The MIT Venture Mentoring Service (VMS)
VMS supports innovation and entrepreneurial activity throughout the MIT community by matching prospective entrepreneurs with skilled volunteer mentors. We use a team mentoring approach with groups of 3 to 4 mentors sitting with a fledgling entrepreneur(s) in sessions that provide practical, day-to-day professional advice and coaching. VMS mentors are selected for their experience in areas relevant to the needs of new entrepreneurs and for their enthusiasm for the program. Mentors are required to subscribe, in writing, to a Statement of Principles that govern their behavior, outline their responsibilities, guard against conflicts of interest, and control financial involvement with the entrepreneurs and their ventures. Relationships between mentors and entrepreneurs are formed based on the needs of the entrepreneur and the interests of available mentors.
VMS assistance is given across a broad range of business activity, including product development, marketing, intellectual property law, finance, human resources, and founders issues. VMS services are offered without charge to MIT students, alumni, faculty and staff in the Boston area.
VMS complements and works cooperatively with the many MIT centers and programs promoting entrepreneurship and providing many resources to encourage formation of businesses and to move technological knowledge from the laboratory to the marketplace.
Space is limited, so please register right away.
May Event: Open Source for Entrepreneurs
27 May 2010, 6:30 PM-9:00 PM
12404 Park Central Drive, Suite 400, Dallas, TX 75251
Parking: Enter through automatic gates on NE corner, east side of bldg
Hosted by:
Registration Includes dinner. $25 General Admission; $20 Forum Member; $18 MIT Club Member.
Slides from Steven Thrasher (PDF)
Slides from Nick Lawrence (PDF)
Slides from Paul Stedman (PDF)
Everything you need to know about open source technology to save money, build intellectual property and speed up time to market WITHOUT making mistakes which can get your company and product in trouble.
Steven Thrasher will help us explore the sometimes bewildering world of Open Source licenses. Some of the things we will hear about include.
- Introduction to the open source landscape
- Landmines waiting to explode: open source meets due diligence
- Managing OS across state lines—Are Reps and Warranties good here, there, or anywhere?
- Open source the “right” way (selecting the best libraries, tracking the origin of code, the OS Text file)
- Working with your attorney to manage OS Compliance
Steven is an intellectual property attorney who helps businesses, particularly start-ups and early-stage companies, identify and map intellectual assets, craft licenses, and deal with litigation related to intellectual property. Steven received M.B.A. & J.D. degrees from Baylor, and degrees in Electrical Engineering & Finance from Auburn. He completed additional studies in international law at Oxford University, England, & the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara.
Nick Lawrence has been using open source software almost exclusively for business and technical work for nearly twenty years. He will discuss:
- Why should you be interested in open source?
- Do you have to be a geek?
- What software is available for the office?
- How do you get started using open source?
- Where do you get help?
Nick is a computer scientist and entrepreneur. He has founded seven companies, holds many patents, and has conducted nearly a score of Federal R&D projects. He took his undergraduate degree at MIT in EE/CS and his PhD at UT Austin in Computer Engineering.
In our section on Open Source Cloud Computing, Paul Stedman will examine some key questions.
- What is cloud computing?
- What are its benefits and risks?
- Why use an open source solution?
- What open source cloud computing systems are available?
Paul is a recognized leader in the Software Professional Services industry with over 25 years of Strategy, Sales, Leadership, Operations and Service Delivery experience. He holds an MBA from MIT’s prestigious Sloan School of Management with select studies at the Harvard Business School. He oversees cloud computing strategy at Solutions to Order which he co-founded.
March Event: SBIR Workshop.
March 27, 2010, 9:30am-3:30pm
SOM 1.508, UT Dallas
$25. Lunch included.
During its multi decade lifetime, the Federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has poured tens of billions of dollars into small high tech firms. Have you received your fair share? Would you like to learn how?
Last October, we offered our first SBIR Workshop. The event was quickly over-subscribed. Now it’s back, with room for more participants. This time, we’ll cover both kinds of Agencies, ones such as DoD that issue contracts, and ones such as NIH that mainly issue grants.
Many SBIR conferences discuss the SBIR program itself, and why you should be interested. Our SBIR Workshop teaches you what it takes to win grants and contracts, how to navigate the Federal “red tape,” how to conduct your project, and how to leverage a Phase I win into Phase II follow-on work, Phase III “sole source” procurements, and beyond.
If you have a high tech idea that could turn into a business, and you’d like to get as much as $100,000 or more of essentially “no strings attached” money to try out your idea, then this SBIR Workshop is for you. If your idea pans out, you could get another $750,000 to turn it into a product. And you end up owning outright the product, its intellectual property, and the company. Not a bad deal, huh?
Even with more room this time, we expect the SBIR Workshop to fill up quickly.
HOSTED BY:
Below is the information about our February event.
MIT EF DFW February event: Bootstrapping 2010
Feb 25, 5.30pmDo you remember our bootstrapping event from last year? A year later the spirit for bootstrapping is even stronger in DFW. Our February program will provide entrepreneurs the advice, tips and tools that are needed to be successful without depending on traditional investors. Come here these speakers: Alexander Muse, Gabriella Draney, Mike D. Merrill, Ryan Roberts, Nick Lawrence and network with other DFW entrepreneurs.
See program details here.
About Us
The Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of MIT Enterprise Forum is focused on supporting technology entrepreneurs in the DFW metroplex. The group is open to anyone who is interested in technology entrepreneurship. You don’t have to be a MIT alumni to be involved.
- Our next event is on March 27, 2010: SBIR and Grants.
- Please join our mailing list to stay in touch.
