Frontier Housing in Eastern Kentucky

maura.carew@duke.edu wrote:

Hey guys, 

I used to work for a non-profit housing organization in Eastern Kentucky 
(www.frontierhousing.org).  While I was there we started thinking about ways to 
change the manufactured housing industry (our major competitor).  That thought 
process developed to the point where Frontier Housing is now ready to spin off 
a new entity that will essentially work with the manufactured housing industry. 
I, unfortunately, already accepted an internship and cannot take the summer 
internship with them so I wanted to see if you know of anyone who would be 
interested in a full time paid summer internship with a social venture/startup. I will work with Frontier for the month of May. 

Here is a brief description: 

Frontier Housing, a non-profit housing organization with more than 35 years of 
experience in Eastern Kentucky, has been talking to Clayton Homes (owned by 
Berkshire Hathaway) for a couple of years about rolling out a new business to 
sell the "Frontier" designed Manufactured Homes to other non-profits across the 
country. Frontier has the contract in draft and are in negotiations with 
Clayton. Their idea in this economy is to incubate the business within Frontier 
for 2-3 years before it rolls out as its own entity. 

Frontier has already experimented with selling to other non profits and has now 
sold 5 homes to 3 others. The product offering would be homes and TA/training 
to non profits on how to install, order and finance this non profit brand of 
homes. 

Frontier is very close to obtaining funding from the Mary Reynolds Babcock 
Foundation ( they already have verbal commitment) for the first year to put 
together a small team of contract employees (maybe even a virtual 
collaboration) to start building the business (develop the whole business, 
marketing, systems, etc.). 

Frontier already has a virtual CFO in place from Beyond the Bottom Line. Diane 
Korte will probably join the team and she is from The Balance Group. Doug Smith 
(wrote Make Success Measurable, etc and McKenzie alum) is staying on as our 
coach and consultant. He is interested to be a board member when the entity 
spins off. To work with Doug is a huge opportunity for a business school 
intern. 

The paid internship will be in Morehead, Kentucky. 

Please let me know if you have anyone in mind.

Thanks! 

Maura 

Clemson-affiliated NEXTStart program

We are excited to announce NEXTStart  , a summer entrepreneurial immersion program to help young entrepreneurs launch new companies!  

NEXTStart will provide initial funding for early-stage entrepreneurs: up to $5,000 per team member and $10,000 per company.  A team of successful area entrepreneurs, professional service providers, and investors are collaborating to provide mentoring and direct assistance to the NEXTStart entrepreneurs.    Selection into the program will be based on originality and business potential of the idea.  A team of program investors will make the selection.  The chosen companies will be housed in the NEXT Innovation Center in downtown Greenville with other NEXT companies.    

Please encourage any entrepreneurs or would-be entrepreneurs that you know to check out the program and apply for admission: http://www.nextstart.org/    The deadline is March 30, 2009.

NEXTStart is a collaborative effort sponsored by Clemson University’s Renaissance Center and the Spiro Institute, the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, SC Launch! and the NEXT organization of regional technology entrepreneurs in Greenville, SC.  These organizations will participate with programs, mentoring and other entrepreneurial development activities during the 8-week summer program.  

Please don’t hesitate to contact me for additional information.  Thank you for spreading the word! 
 
Kim Dawson

Highland Capital Partners summer MBA internships program

I received the following email.

-Howie

Just as we have done for the past 2 years, Highland Capital Partners, a leading venture capital firm focused on seed through later stage growth companies, is looking to connect entrepreneurial MBA and graduate engineering school students with summer internships at Highland-backed startup companies.

 

To date there are a handful of companies that have posted open summer internship positions. We’ve packaged these into the below email that can be forwarded by you to potentially interested students. The email has embedded online links for connecting students directly to the specific job descriptions. If they’d like to submit their background information and resume, they can do so by clicking on the “Submit Your Info” box associated with each listing.

 

Currently, there are just a few listings on the site.  But, it’s a start and we expect another 1-2 positions to be added in the coming days.Additional summer internship positions will be posted as we progress into early spring. When that happens, I’ll plan to forward an updated email similar to this one that you are welcome to distribute to interested students as well.

 

If you would please acknowledge receipt of this email and also let me know if you decide to make interested students aware of these opportunities.  I appreciate your attention on this matter.

 

Thank you,
Alison Howard

********************

 

Highland Capital Partners, a leading venture capital firm focused on seed through later stage growth companies, is pleased to make MBA and graduate engineering school students aware of the following summer internship opportunities at Highland-backed companies:

 

• Going - Online social resource
  Software Developer Intern: Boston, Massachusetts
  
• Gotuit - Digital media platform company delivering metadata-driven video products
  Salesperson Internship: Woburn, Massachusetts
  
• Gotuit - Digital media platform company delivering metadata-driven video products
  Summer Associate, Corporate Strategy: Woburn, Massachusetts
  
• PerkStreet Financial - Innovative financial services
  Marketing Intern: Boston, Massachusetts
  
• Vertica Systems - Database engine technology
  Summer Interns: Billerica, Massachusetts

Further details on each opportunity can be viewed by clicking on the corresponding link.  If you’d like to express interest in the opportunity, complete and submit the Submit Info form associated with each position.  All information will be directed to the appropriate hiring manager at the company and they will handle any follow-up.  Please note that all summer MBA internships fall under Highland’s Career Networkinitiative (www.hcp.com/career-network) and this website will be updated with new positions - internships and permanent opportunities -as they are posted.

Summer at Highland - looks fantastic

http://www.hcp.com/summer/

I met with Michael Gaiss from Highland Capital Partners, a successful VC up in Boston.  They have quite a neat program for both potential interns, and for startups that are seeking a great summer "mentorship" or "incubator" experience.

Below is the info about Summer@Highland which is the experience for entrepreneurs.  It's pretty competitive to get in.

-Howie

Summer@Highland 2009

Are you a student entrepreneur with a business startup that you’d like to rapidly accelerate this summer? If so, the Summer@Highland 2009 program may be just what you need.

 

In its third year, Summer@Highland is an innovative program designed to provide selected student/university-affiliated entrepreneurs with the environment and resources for advancing their startup initiative/company to the next level. Participating entrepreneurs/teams will receive a financial stipend and complimentary work space in either our Lexington, Massachusetts or Menlo Park, California office. The teams will have access to Highland investment professionals along with further resources for injecting real-world advice, insight and perspectives into the entrepreneurial and company-building process.

 

We are accepting applications for consideration in this year’s program through April 9, 2009. If you’re involved with a high-potential startup, we encourage you to consider applying.

 

What we’re looking for in 2009

 

We are especially interested in having you spend the summer with us if:

• You have a leadership team with vision, passion, and drive

• Your initiative is built around a breakthrough idea that is scalable and monetizable

• You’re pursuing a large addressable market opportunity with a product/service that has the potential to be highly-disruptive in its area

• Your business initiative is already showing momentum and (ideally) some demonstrable market traction (i.e., you’re well beyond concept)

• You’re operating in a sector that we focus on – information and communication technology, digital media, life sciences, advanced materials & semiconductors, cleantech

• You can direct us to some advisors who see your business’s potential as you do

 

Particulars of Summer@Highland 2009

 

1. The program is open to current undergraduate or graduate students, post graduate docs, as well as recent grads (December 2008 or later). At least one participating member of the team must meet this criterion.

2. Teams can comprise 1 to 4 persons.

3. A single person team will receive a $7,500 stipend for the summer, if selected.

4. A multi-person team will receive a $15,000 stipend, if selected.

5. Participating teams are required to work full time for a minimum 10 weeks on their initiative. Start and end dates are flexible and are to span the period of mid-May through September 2009.

6. Participating teams will need to reside in one of Highland’s offices (Lexington, MA or Menlo Park, CA) while participating in the program.

7. Each participating team will have a Highland sponsor who will be the team’s gateway to advice and counsel from Highland’s investors and industry network.

8. Participating teams in the core Summer@Highland 2009 program are under no obligation to Highland after the summer. Further terms and conditions may apply for initiatives that qualify for and are interested in pursuing seed financing and/or additional involvement by the Highland team.

 

How to apply

 

1. Please complete the brief online application (available atwww.hcp.com/summer)

2. Attach to your application (1) resumes/bios for each team member, and (2) up to two referrals/letters of recommendation (recommended). The latter may be from faculty & administration, board or advisory group members, or others affiliated with close knowledge of your initiative and/or team members.

3. You may also consider optionally attaching (1) executive summary of your initiative/company, and/or (2) a link to a 1-2 minute overview / elevator pitch video via YouTube, Vimeo, etc.

4. The deadline to submit all materials associated with an application is end of day Thursday, April 9, 2009. 

5. The application deadline for consideration in the 2009 program is Thursday, April 9, 2009.

6. Selected projects will be notified via email no later than May 1, 2009.

 

Please direct any questions regarding the program tosummer@hcp.com and we will do our best to address them.

U Ventures in NYC and Sweden

We received the following email

"I am contacting you regarding the internship that U Ventures is offering. It is a yearly internship for entrepreneurial students at the world's top universities, where the interns get the opportunity to set up a company from scratch and get funding for it. This year - despite the economic turmoil - we are making it bigger and better than ever, recruiting from some 15-20 countries. I would like to know how I can reach out to members of your club, as I am sure we will be able to find good candidates within it I would appreciate if you could get back to me so that we can discuss this further. Please distribute it as you see fit.

Many thanks.

Best regards,

Johan Bergström

U Ventures

Jakobsbergsgatan 22
103 86 Stockholm
Sweden

Cell: +46-70 23 17 747
Mail: johan.bergstrom@uventures.se
www.uventures.se"

---More info below.  Apologies for the funny formatting and grammatical errors.  Copying over from the PDF file proved unreliable.

-Howie

U VENTURES BUSINESS

START‐UP INTERNSHIP

UVENTURES.SE

Venture development internship

U Ventures is giving you a unique opportunity to get high‐level leadership experience in

combina:on with venture development work in the summer of 2009. As one of five Managing

Directors, you will be leading the work of an intern group, managing 20 under‐graduate top

students from over 10 different countries, during July‐August 2009, in a venture start‐up project.

Your task is to make this diverse group of talented students work as a team and produce a

business plan for a new venture, depar:ng from a pre‐defined business idea iden:fied by U

Ventures. However, it is up to you and the team to work out the structure of the company and

turn it into a solid concept with high business poten:al. U Ventures will provide seed capital if

the business plan meets our requirements. All along the internship, you will be supported by the

management team of U Ventures, to which you also will report on a regular basis. You will as

well be part of the group that sets the outline of the internship, giving you the possibility to

shape the schedule and scope of the internship. In short, this is a chance to form, manage and

execute a venture development project, leading a mul:cultural team of 20 interns, guided by

your visions and goals.

You will work from our offices either in New York City, USA or Stockholm, Sweden, star:ng July

1, 2009 with a dura:on of 4‐8 weeks. Your tasks will range from market analysis to building

business plans. Financial compensa:on will be provided.

Qualifications

You are an entrepreneurial achiever and doer. You have already proven yourself as a leader and

are looking forward to gaining further leadership experiences on your way to the top. You are

well organized, have the ability to think on your feet and adapt to changing situa:ons. You also

have a strong interest in entrepreneurial ac:vi:es and have demonstrated crea:ve

entrepreneurial skills in previous engagements.

Apply now

Send in your resume and a short cover leTer describing one or two of your entrepreneurial

experiences to careers@uventures.se before March 6, 2009. Please also indicate where you

would prefer to work. Early applica:ons are encouraged as recrui:ng is done on an on‐going

basis. Successful candidates will be called for interviews and also asked to solve a real business

case.

About U Ventures

The main focus of U Ventures is on Venture Start‐up & Development. Our por[olio consists of

companies in a wide range of industries. We are represented on five con:nents through

associated companies, joint ventures or fully owned companies. We are constantly searching for

new business ideas and for the right people to make them happen.

Apply for Shotput Ventures for the summer

Duke alumnus, David Cummings, contacted me about Shotput Ventures, which hopes to launch startups during the summer.  Below is more information.

David has two successful comanies, Hannon Hill, and Pardot.  

-Howie

Shotput Ventures, a technology startup accelerator fund, will launch a three-month program this summer to give entrepreneurs a shot at converting passion into profit.

The group, which includes MFG.com’s Mitch Free, will invest up to $250,000 in eight to 10 potential companies. The deals will be small -- $5,000 per team and $5,000 per founder -- and focused on what the eight partners know well: capital-light, Web companies.

The concept is to help people with ideas, who might not have access to a small amount of money needed to get the idea off the ground, Shotput partner and architect David Cummings said.

“You have an idea and you can put 110 percent into it for three months, build something [and] prove it,” he said. “After three months you’ll have something tangible, you’ll have some beta customers.”

Cummings likens the selection process to applying to grad school.

“We are really trying to understand the person, what they want to do, why they want to do it,” he said. “The talent, and the ambition is much more important than already having something done.”

During the summer, the entrepreneurs will get mentoring from Shotput partners and access to veteran entrepreneurs, bankers and investors at weekly dinners. For the final exam, the class must pitch to the money men -- VCs and angels.

Cummings expects about a third of the class to walk away with institutional money and another third to bootstrap their way forward.

Investing in companies is riskier business, investing in mere ideas can be financial suicide. Shotput hopes to burn some of the risk by betting only on those sectors its partners are familiar with -- social networking applications, business-to-business marketplaces, e-commerce and marketing automation.

“If we don’t understand the idea or the space,” Cummings said, “we’re not going to [invest in it.]”

Making the right deals defines the success of any venture fund, said Mike Blake, managing director at valuation firm Adams Capital and co-founder of StartupLounge.

“It’s really tough to overcome a mediocre deal,” he said

For its effort and money, Shotput will get 5 percent to 10 percent in common stock in its portfolio companies.

“If we get five-times our money back,” Cummings said, “we’ll have done extremely well.”

Shotput Ventures addresses an unmet need for seed stage capital, said Greg Foster, partner at Atlanta-based Noro-Moseley Partners. Foster, however, suggested it might be difficult for Shotput to make a significant return given the relatively small stakes.

“It’s also more difficult for common shareholders to achiever a higher return multiple on their investment,” he said. “The [portfolio] company would have to be really successful to the degree that common shareholders receive a significant benefit.”

Regardless, Atlanta’s tech investors will be watching the Shotput model. By helping transform ideas into companies, Shotput creates future investment opportunities for the guys higher up the food-chain.

That, in the end, could be the legacy of the Shotput boys.