Overview
Entrepreneurial Alumni Community
Alumni are an outstanding part of an active network of world-class entrepreneurs who connect students to the business world and make the Leeds School such a unique community. Discover how to join alumni in strengthening CU’s entrepreneurship community, online at CU Deming Alum. Get involved!
As part of the Leeds School of Business, the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship prepares graduates to embrace key global challenges by equipping them to think like entrepreneurs, act as social innovators and deliver as successful business leaders.
The Center advances the Leeds School’s leadership agenda through our collaborative initiatives across campus and in the business community in three key areas:
Innovation
- The mark of an entrepreneur is the innovation, the creativity, the game-changing nature of his or her work – whether it manifests inside an existing organization or in a newly created one. Our entrepreneurship students are challenged to turn accepted thinking on its head—in the classroom, in real-world industry projects, and by the business innovators who serve as student mentors and advisors.
Sustainability
- One of the leading areas for innovation and entrepreneurial opportunity is in the emerging field of sustainable business products and practices. We emphasize industry sectors such as cleantech, bioscience and organics that are well-represented in the region and serve national and international markets.
Access
- Boulder is consistently named one of the best places in the country to launch a startup. We connect students to industry leaders via the Deming Network – an active group of world-class entrepreneurs and innovators who are accessible and hands-on. CU-Boulder is also a top research university. Across campus, we help students access opportunities in technology transfer and the engineering, law, biofrontiers, and environmental science programs.
Innovation, sustainability, and a high degree of access to relevant businesses are all integral aspects of 21st century entrepreneurship education. The Center helps students apply their classroom learning to design creative solutions for cutting-edge businesses.
Cross Campus Entrepreneurship Education & Certificate
Students across the CU-Boulder campus want to learn how to apply their ideas to tackling big challenges in a business context. The Deming Center for Entrepreneurship offers an integrated program to help students take ideas through the process of enterprise creation while learning fundamental problem-solving skills they will use in any career.
The Cross Campus Entrepreneurship Certificate takes students through the entrepreneurial process. Participants study entrepreneurship in the classroom and meet and work with experienced entrepreneurs from the community. The certificate program is open to all undergraduate non-business upper division students (at least 60 credit hours). In addition to a set of courses tailored for a broad audience, there are specialty courses that address business challenges in engineering, journalism, music, and other disciplines.
The New Venture Challenge is a business plan competition open to all CU-Boulder students, faculty, and staff. Educational workshops help teams form and address the basics of business creation. Local entrepreneurs are available to mentor teams as they work through the process. The Challenge is cosponsored by the Deming Center, Silicon Flatirons, the Leeds School’s Center for Education on Social Responsibility, the College of Engineering and Applied Science, eSpace, and the School of Music.
Finally, the Deming Center is working with these partners as well as CU Boulder’s Environmental Center and the CU Museum of Natural History to develop an Innovation Lab. The Lab will serve all students who have an interest in entrepreneurship, a technology with commercial potential, or just an idea that they want to explore. It will provide mentorship from the business community and MBA students, educational opportunities, and an opportunity to network with other students and build business teams. Scheduled to open in fall 2012.
Contacts
Frank Moyes
Program Director
frank.moyes@colorado.edu
303.492.2062
Jacquelyn Dietrich
Program Coordinator
jacquelyn.dietrich@colorado.edu
303.492.8936
Entrepreneurship Courses for Non-business Students
Introduction to Entrepreneurship ESBM 3100 (3 credits)
- Fall 2011 - TR 9:30 to 10:45
- Introduces students to the multiple facets of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial process. Venture creation is a set of behaviors undertaken by individuals, and therefore, the course is designed to help students learn about the range of interests, aptitudes, abilities, and values that entrepreneurs bring to the starting of a new enterprise. It provides students with a framework for assessing new venture opportunities. Innovation is central to this process and students will be challenged to develop creative solutions to a societal problem or need.
Principles of Business for Entrepreneurs ESBM 3200 (3 credits)
- Fall 2011 - TR 12:30 to 1:45
- Provides students with a basic understanding of the business principles required to start and grow an entrepreneurial venture. It is intended for individuals who have not taken a marketing, accounting or finance course. Starting ventures in the uncertain environment faced by entrepreneurs presents considerable challenges. This course will focus on two aspects of business that are critical to the success of a new venture: marketing and financial management. While these subjects are universal and apply to any enterprise, in this course they will be taught in the context of small early stage ventures.
Writing a Venture Plan ESBM 4100 (3 credits)
- Fall 2011 - TR 2:00 to 3:15
- The venture plan describes the strategy necessary to create a new enterprise. It requires students to engage in a rigorous and thoughtful process that is essential to starting a venture. The course will address: defining the service/product and value proposition; analyzing the market and competition; creating a effective marketing plan, determining the operations and development requirements; recruiting the management team; establishing a sustainable competitive advantage; mitigating risk; projecting pro-forma financial statements; and funding the venture. Communicating the plan is an essential element of this course and students will learn organized and focused writing and how to make effective presentations.
Sustainable Entrepreneurship
Sustainability is a hallmark of the Boulder region. Students who come here know that they will be immersed in a culture of sustainable business opportunities, from cleantech to natural products, outdoor gear to technology innovations.
The Deming Center helps capitalize on this culture. Our CU Cleantech program helps students secure internships in solar, wind, smartgrid and other clean energy technology companies in the area. It also provides opportunities for students to work with local business leaders to commercialize cleantech research coming out of CU.
In the area of natural and organic products, the Center’s Organic Business Initiative provides access and engagement with leading companies. Students can participate in a customized tour of a major facility like White Wave or Celestial Seasonings, or help a startup get off the ground.
For other aspects of sustainability, such as green jobs, corporate sustainability and social entrepreneurship, the Center’s Sustainability Council of industry experts provides mentorship and student advising on a wide range of topics. The student Net Impact group and the Leeds School’s Center for Education on Social Responsibility also support student learning in this area.
The Deming Center also hosts or supports numerous educational events featuring speakers on different aspects of sustainability, from Productive Collisions to the Sustainable Opportunities Summit to the Leeds School’s Sustainable Speaker Series.
More questions? Feel free to contact Alison Peters for more information.
CU Cleantech (C2)
CU Cleantech is dedicated to building upon the University’s leadership in cleantech and renewable energy research and commercialization capabilities. The organization was founded in 2011 with the purpose of positioning the University as the main regional hub of innovation and commercialization within the rapidly expanding Cleantech ecosystem by creating a collaborative initiative that fosters entrepreneurship, industry involvement and student opportunities. C2 achieves these goals through three distinct but intertwined programs: the Incubation Program (MAP/POC), the Corporate Partnership Program, and the Student Internship Program.
To learn more, go to cucleantech.com
Organic Business Initiative
The Organic Business Initiative (OBI) began in 2007 to promote education and entrepreneurship in the increasingly important area of natural and organic products and services, a key industry sector in the Boulder community and a highly entrepreneurial one. Boulder is world-renowned for its leadership in the natural and organic industry. Natural products and services have a significant impact on the Boulder area economy, contributing approximately $2 billion annually.
The OBI Steering Committee, consisting of leaders from Boulder’s natural and organic industry, identified the importance of a two-way street that offers both the opportunity to build leadership in the natural products industry and the opportunity for entrepreneurial businesses to draw on student talent to achieve their on-the-ground goals. The Committee also envisioned the Initiative as helping to create a platform for all business to move in a more sustainable direction. Out of these directives came the Initiative’s mission and goals:
Mission
To foster entrepreneurial leaders, world-class scholarship and research in natural and organic business that result in sustainable business models and innovations that inspire transformation across all sectors.
Goals
- To provide the natural and organic industry a laboratory for fresh business models, product innovations and technological solutions -- and be a source of future talent and empowered entrepreneurs.
- To provide Leeds students a connected learning environment by building bridges with the natural and organic business community through case-based coursework, sustainability curriculum, mentorships and internships.
Value Proposition
We create value for businesses, students and the community through:
- Inspired and hard-working student interns who bring fresh ideas and talent.
- Support and expertise for entrepreneurs launching natural and organic businesses.
- Class projects and research that lead to solutions for tough business challenges.
- Development of business models and product concepts that add value to natural and organic ventures and help solve environmental and social challenges.
- Mentorships that allow natural and organic leaders to give back to their community and advance the next generation of innovators.
Successes to Date
- MBA students completed the groundbreaking Boulder Natural Business Community Audit. It captured for the first time the scope and scale of Boulder’s $2 billion natural business industry.
- Leeds students wrote business plans for Bhakti Chai and Reel Lawn, two sustainable product startup companies.
- Five students shared their talents and motivation as interns with Naturally Boulder, Pixie Mate and White Wave.
- Distinguished speakers from the industry shared expertise in classrooms and workshops, including leaders from White Wave, Celestial Seasonings, Rudi’s, Izze, Greenmont Capital, Aurora Organics Dairy and more.
- Five students mentored with industry experts and attended Expo West.
Bioscience
The Deming Center and the Leeds School are currently assessing opportunities to partner with the new Biofrontiers Institute, CU's biotech initiative.
Led by Nobel Laureate Dr. Tom Cech, and Dr. Leslie Leinwand, the Biofrontiers Institute will focus on key research priorities, as well as seeking to address the gap in education between 'the bench and the bedside.' Traditionally, the gap has been the business skills and expertise that help bring transformational scientific research and medical breakthroughs through the process of regulatory approval and commercialization.
As a tier one research institution, it is our mission to pursue explorative and transformational scientific breakthroughs. It is also our mission to apply those breakthroughs so that they ultimately benefit the human condition. The specific skill set which scientists possess is not as teachable as fundamentals in business, so the collaboration would primarily utilize the expertise and experience of faculty in the Business School, to teach business to students in the sciences. Through the growth of curriculum and collaboration between the programs, there is also an opportunity to expose traditional business students to the business of the scientific industries.
Professors from the Leeds School and the Biofrontiers Institute are currently developing a plan for implementation of curriculum and other aspects of the collaboration. The support of private donors will also be critical to build this collaborative effort.
Course: Biotechnology Entrepreneurship
Fall 2011
Instructor: J. William (Bill) Freytag, Ph.D.
jwfreytag@comcast.net
Biotechnology Entrepreneurship will provide a fundamental understanding of how to start, grow and exit a biotechnology company. The course will begin with an overview of the biotechnology industry, defined in its broadest sense, but the bulk of the course will focus primarily on the biopharmaceutical industry. The course work will step through the varied disciplines involved with starting (finding and evaluating science/technology, licensing the technology, writing a business plan, making a venture pitch, negotiating a term sheet), growing (hiring key employees, recruiting an executive team and board of directors, raising additional capital, developing a strategic plan, conducting drug development, navigating the regulatory maze, launching a drug) and exiting (preparing for and conducting an IPO, mergers and acquisitions, negotiating corporate partnerships) a biotechnology company. The course work will include lectures and discussions by industry experts.
Syllabus
Deming Network
The Deming Center engages a diverse group of business leaders with the next generation of entrepreneurs to the benefit of companies and students alike. Over 2000 businesses in the Boulder-Denver region's thriving entrepreneurial community take advantage of the opportunity to connect with graduate and undergraduate students through the Deming Network.
How To Engage
It's easy. Just take a moment to sign up to get regular news of student activities and entrepreneurial partnerships between CU and the business community; start with our newsbytes or our list of opportunities for involvement for a more detailed description of how businesses can connect with entrepreneurship students, or register your student opportunity online so that we can communicate it to entrepreneurship students at Leeds.
You'll make a difference. The next generation of entrepreneurs are bright, dedicated, and eager to interact with seasoned community members. They welcome your input and expertise, whether it be via business plan competition judging, mentoring, or being interviewed for a class.
You'll get work done. We have outstanding undergraduate students, and our MBA students come in with an average of five years experience in business. They are available for summer and year-long internships, as well as for project work, consulting, or business plan development.
You'll get cutting-edge information. The Deming Center is nationally ranked for the quality of its graduate and undergraduate entrepreneurship education. We maintain our high status with innovative courses and research, and dynamic business partnerships. Our current areas of specialization include clean technology, natural products, and biotechnology. In many cases, our students drive the effort to stay at the forefront of new ideas.
Subscribe
What Do You Get?
The Deming Network is an informal affiliation. You can sign up via our online survey for any of the following:
- Receive monthly Deming Newsbytes with news and events.
- Advertise for interns.
- Get student assistance on a company project.
- Sponsorship of events, student scholarships, or other activities.
Who's In the Network?
Deming Network members include:
- High-tech leaders in the storage, software and systems industries.
- Pioneers in clean energy.
- Entrepreneurs in biotech and nanotechnology.
- Leaders in natural/organic products.
- Venture capitalists, angels, and others in the investment community.
- Professional services firms and incubators
These leaders provide insights, mentoring, and a network of contacts that students will leverage for the rest of their lives. In return, they receive access to the brightest minds, research, and opportunities to engage in networking and educational events with their peers. We hope you'll join their ranks.
Participating in the Deming Network is free. But there are very real needs that you can help meet. Consider philanthropically investing in the Deming Center's programs, students, faculty and more.
Visit these resources for more information about entrepreneurial networks on the CU-Boulder campus and in the community.
Get Involved
We at the Deming Center are excited about the changes we're making in the world through entrepreneurship, and we welcome your participation. We usually engage members of the community at large through the Deming Network, a collective of businesspeople, students, faculty, staff, and volunteers dedicated to furthering entrepreneurial pursuites around Colorado and beyond. Below are some of the ways you can become involved in the Deming Network and the Leeds School of Business. You can learn more by signing up to receive information about the Deming Network, or contact Patty Graff with questions.
Mentoring
Description: MBA students are offered the opportunity to be matched with a mentor beginning in the spring of their first year. The mentor and mentee, depending on the student's needs, the mentor's availability, and any special circumstances, agree upon the goals and structure of the relationship. A typical engagement might include meetings every 2-4 weeks and email or phone contact in between. Undergraduate students have a mentoring program with a lower time commitment, typically twice a year for two years.?
- Timing: Fall and/or spring semesters, occasionally continuing through summer.
- Time commitment: 2-4 hours per month for three months or twice yearly for two years.
Internships
Description: MBA students between their first and second years seek summer internships, occasionally continuing part-time into the fall. Undergraduate entrepreneurship certificate students seek internships of at least 60 hours, typically part-time during their junior year. Interns generally expect to be paid.
- Timing: Full-time in the summer, part-time in fall and/or spring. Companies need to fill out an intern job description.
- Time commitment: Preparation and interview time, plus supervision time.
Judging
Description: The Deming Center hosts seven different business plan competitions during the year. Judges are needed for both screening and final in-person reviews.
- Timing: December, January, February, March, April
- Time commitment: 4-6 hours.
Speaking
Description: Both undergraduate and graduate classes seek speakers from particular industry sectors or with experiences relevant to the class theme. Speakers are often set up six months in advance to ensure fit with the timing of the class and syllabus. Speakers may also be needed to talk with student groups, or for Deming industry events such as breakfasts on specific topics like clean technology.
- Timing: September through April.
- Time commitment: 2-4 hours preparation, 1-2 hours in class.
Cases
Description: The Deming Center is developing a library of business cases from companies doing work in sustainability or developing new business models. Cases fall into the general categories of marketing, operations, or finance. An industry leader works with a professor and student intern who identify a key challenge faced by the company and create an analysis for students to come up with solutions. Cases will be used by Leeds students and disseminated to other schools for use as well.?
- Timing: Any time during the year; about 2-3 months overall to complete a case.
- Time commitment: Identify potential cases; work with professor and student to frame case and review writeup; perhaps 12-14 hours.
Hiring Students
Description: MBA and undergraduate students graduate each spring with a solid business education, a wide range of interests and skills, and, frequently, previous business experience. The Leeds School's Career Services Office can help potential employers get in touch with students who could be a good match for their needs.?
- Timing: March-May
- Time commitment: Meet with Career Services, develop job description, interview students.
Event Hosting
Description: Financial support for the Deming Center, its events, and its students allows a high degree of interactive learning as students gain access to business leaders and industry gatherings. Major donations for scholarships or operating funds are discussed directly with the Deming Center Executive Director. Event hosting includes (a) covering the cost of food for student lunches with industry speakers, Deming Center Networking Nights, or Board breakfasts; or (b) providing student stipends to attend events such as the Sustainable Opportunities Summit or to serve as interns to start-up firms or nonprofit organizations.
- Timing: 1-2 events per month throughout the year.
- Time commitment: none.
Deming Corporate Partner
Description: Corporate partners provide financial and in-kind support for particular areas of interest. Partnerships are tailored to company interests. Partners may host events, provide services, products, or food for events, host projects or student group activities, or other activities.
- Timing: Typically a three-year commitment
- Time commitment: Varies. May include meetings with students, event attendance, etc.
Financial Support
Description: Financial support for the Deming Center helps the Center provide fundamental services to students and the business community; start or seed new programs; and offer student fellowships, internships, and support for student groups.
- Timing: Varies.
- Time commitment: Minimal time required, although financial supporters often choose to engage directly with students in other ways.
Tools & Resources
Business planning resources are available at Deming Startup. We provide templates, examples, and information on business planning, financials, and powering up a new enterprise. Includes resources for business instructors.
The Deming Center Venture Fund supports emerging companies in Boulder and surrounding communities. The Fund is managed by Leeds MBA and Colorado Law School students. Student team members benefit from the guidance of an experienced advisory board that includes University faculty and local leaders in venture capital and angel investing.
Entrepreneurial Solutions is a unique consulting firm operated by a team of MBA students from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado, Boulder. ES serves the Colorado business community by applying their skills to a broad range of projects including business and strategic plan development, business performance improvement, market research, and competitive analysis.
The Colorado Small Business Development Center provides management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. There are multiple locations in Colorado including Boulder, Denver, Longmont, and Westminster.
The Women Higher Entrepreneurship Learning Program (HELP) is a resource center web site that offers virtual training and regional networking to facilitate and support entrepreneurship and micro enterprise development for women.
The Demings
Robert H. Deming earned his B.S. in 1956 while on a scholarship from the University of Colorado and was an instructor as he completed his M.S. in 1959. He received his Doctorate from Harvard Business School while on a Ford Foundation Fellowship in 1963.
Bob and Beverly were married during college and survived their first year living in a CU Vetsville married student housing trailer with no running water for $18 per month. As students, Bob worked at the Federal Center and the Colorado Daily and Bev was a telephone operator. Bob was employed as an executive with public companies but his strong entrepreneurial spirit led him to several successful leveraged buyouts, culminating in taking Toastmaster Inc. (manufacturer of portable kitchen appliances) public on the New York Stock Exchange and subsequently selling it.
This allowed them to endow the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship in 1998. Because of their devotion to CU, they also endowed professorships, scholarships and several dedicated rooms in the Koelbel Building.
Bob received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Colorado's School of Business, was a member of the Young Presidents Organization and served as International President of the Chief Executives Organization.
The keys to Bob and Bev's success include motivation, perseverance, and strong entrepreneurial spirit, which gave them the priceless gift of traveling the world together. Their partnership and teamwork exists after more than 55 years of marriage, four accomplished sons and eight active grandchildren.
Bob believes that "success is in the journey, not the destination." The Demings' goal via their endowment is to fuel the success of the University of Colorado at Boulder's dynamic entrepreneurship program and to provide the resources to propel the program to ever greater heights.
Certificates
Courses and experiential programs for students from across the CU-Boulder campus to study the theory and practice of entrepreneurship. Students meet and work with experienced entrepreneurs who guide them through the challenges of launching and running a new venture. In following individual areas of interest, students pursue the entrepreneurial process, develop relevant 21st-century skills, and build additional educational credentials to enhance career prospects.
Experience entrepreneurial culture through professional experiences
such as meeting entrepreneurs in the classroom,
internships, writing feasibility and business plans, and
developing other practical skills. For Leeds students only.
Blog
Posted: February 05, 2012
Larry Nelson of w3w3.com recently interviewed the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship’s executive director, Paul Jerde. In this interview you’ll learn if Paul thinks entrepreneurship can be taught, and what happens when the skills behind entrepreneurship are demystified. You’ll learn what … Continue reading →
Posted: February 02, 2012
Do you have an internship or project opportunity for a Cross Campus student? Our certificate students are currently seeking entrepreneurial internships or projects to complete their certificate requirements! Six Cross Campus Entrepreneurship students are working to complete the certificate requirements in … Continue reading →
Posted: January 20, 2012
The Leeds Social Impact Consultants (LSIC) was formed in 2010 to connect MBA students to local nonprofits. Teams of MBAs complete pro-bono consulting projects with organizations on a variety of business issues. LSIC’s most recent projects include: A team worked with … Continue reading →
Video
In September 2011, the Deming Center co-hosted the Meeting of the Minds 2011 conference, which convened more than 200 leaders from a dozen countries to explore a rich variety of smart design, planning, policy and technology innovations that enable cities/regions to respond to increasingly complex challenges.
Advisory Board
-
Steven Berens
- Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, Co-Founder
- Power Tagging Technologies
-
Tim Bour
- Executive Director
- Boulder Innovation Center
-
Jim Cloar
- Vice President and General Manager
- Medtronic, Inc.
-
Tim Connor
- VP, Business Strategy and CFO
- Boulder Wind Power
-
Drew Crouch
- Vice President and General Manager
- Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation
-
Frank Day
- Chairman
- Rock Bottom Restaurants, Inc.
-
Frances Draper
- Vice Chancellor for Strategic Relations
- University of Colorado Boulder
-
Matt Fargo
- Partner
- Kurtz Fargo LLP
-
Susan Graf
- President & CEO
- Boulder Chamber of Commerce
-
Carl Koval
- Professor and Interim Faculty Director
- RASEI
-
Richard LeBlanc
- CEO and Director
- SkyFuel, Inc
-
Kyle Lefkoff
- Founder and General Partner
- Boulder Ventures Limited
-
CJ Lett III
- Managing Director
- Living Naturally, LLC
-
Rob Masinter
- Executive Vice President
- OpTerra Energy Group
-
Mark Matthews
- Shareholder and Natural Resources Co-chair
- Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
-
Keith Mountain
- President and CEO
- Spatial Corp
-
Marty Murphy
- Manager of Enterprise Development
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
-
Sheldon Romer
- Founder
- Rudi’s Organic Bakery
-
Michael Sherman
- Principal
- Crestone Capital Advisors
-
David Traylor
- Managing Director
- Headwaters MB
Board of Directors
-
Carol Frank
- Managing Director, Pet Industry Specialist
- SDR Ventures
News
Digital Journal
November 1, 2011
Steven Berens, chief marketing officer, of Power Tagging, joins the advisory board of the Deming Center.
Boulder County Business Report
November 2, 2011
The social media startup founded by CU alumni receives funding from a Deming Board member.
PR Web
November 1, 2011
Steven Berens, chief marketing officer, of Power Tagging joins the Deming Center Board.
Colorado Daily
November 1, 2011
The chancellor explains why a CU-Boulder degree remains highly valued even in a weak job market, with a nod to the Deming Center.
Leeds School of Business
October 10, 2011
The University of Colorado Boulder has been selected as one of six recipients of $2 million in funding to create a network of student-focused cleantech regional competitions.
Events
Event
February 17, 2012
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Highland City Club, 885 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder.
Productive Collisions puts the Deming Center community in front of a moderated panel of topic experts for lively, candid discussions--over a catered lunch--about a theme that’s of interest to today’s business and entrepreneurial leaders.
Event
March 14, 2012
11:15 am
Folsom Stadium Club
An annual celebration of CU-Boulder research and technology, brought to you by CU Tech Transfer and the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship. Event features luminaries from industry and academia and host-led discussions. Lunch provided.
Event
March 16, 2012
7:30 am – 9:30 am
University Memorial Center, Aspen Room
Join a panel discussion with experts in purchasing, private equity, investment banking and consulting and who hail from companies including IBM, Q Investors, Rudi's Bakery, and others. Materials and continental breakfast is provided. Space is limited; please register to attend.
Event
March 21, 2012
Colorado Convention Center
Four Seasons Ballroom
700 14th Street
Denver, CO 80202
Advancing the dialogue on building a sustainable economy in the Colorado business region and to teach best practices for greening your business. Learn more at sosummit.org.
Past Events
Event
February 8, 2012
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Koenig Alumni Center, 1202 University Ave.
Join the Deming Center and the alumni and friends at the Unreasonable Institute for some top notch good times. Learn more and RSVP to attend.
Event
January 24, 2012
9:00 am – 11:00 am
Center for Community
At this first meeting of the new year, we’ll introduce council members to each other and students. We’ll discuss plans and ideas for the year, and take the pulse of the membership on involvement and leadership interests. Getting input from all participants is key to the agenda, and open discussion will help the council shape its actions for the coming semesters. You’ll learn more about the council—past, present and future—why it was developed, and why it’s important.
Event
January 24, 2012
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Koelbel 210
Whether in your own company, in an established firm, or in pursuit of solving social problems, entrepreneurship is about developing the skill set to blaze your own trails and turn problems into actionable opportunities.
Event
January 18, 2012
8:00 am – 9:30 am
Koelbel room S233.
The faculty breakfast series (previously "board breakfast series,") is your chance to learn more about Leeds faculty and their research in entrepreneurship or entrepreneurship education.
Event
January 18, 2012
3:00 pm – 7:30 pm
ATLAS
This CU New Venture Challenge (NVC) boot camp offers an intensive workshop in entrepreneurship basics that will boost your chance of developing a successful business plan. CU instructors and professional entrepreneurs will offer advice on various aspects of planning, starting, successfully pitching, and gaining funding for your new venture. Don’t miss this half-day session to get answers to your questions and get set on the right track for whatever business you want to start!
Competitions
February 10, 2012
7:30 am – 5:00 pm
The Venture Capital Investment Competition® began in 1998 as an educational event for MBAs to learn about venture funding. Now in its 14th year, VCIC® has evolved into a marketplace for entrepreneurs seeking investors and a training ground for future venture capitalists. To learn more about VCIC see http://www.vcic.unc.edu/
Publications
Annual Report
August 2011
Thanks to the Deming Center’s collaborative relationships with companies, researchers, and organizations, our talented students can build careers and assume leadership roles in all of these areas with the added value of having positive social impact.
Download
Publication
August 2011
31 papers accepted by and published in leading academic journals, 7 papers submitted for review, 12 papers presented at conferences, 3 faculty awards, 2 student-run venture fund deals in 2011, and our MBA Venture Capital Investment Competition team won the Western Regionals for the seventh consecutive year.
Download
Annual Report
October 2010
2010 Deming Annual Report
Download
Full Publication
Publication
October 2010
2010 Deming Organic Business Initiative
Download
Full Publication
Publication
October 2010
2010 Deming Academic Report
Download
Full Publication
Publication
August 2009
2009 Deming Center Academic Report
Download
Annual Report
January 2009
2009 look at the state of the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado
Download
Case Studies
Case Study
May 2011
Authors: Hailey Broderick, Heather Lowry, Nicholas Mooney, and Dr. Donna Sockell
Namasté Solar is a leading Colorado solar installer in the residential market. Colorado’s favorable market conditions attract new competitors, putting pressures on price and market share. Unusual management structure and values systems, and public incentive structures complicate a pending decision to grow the residential market or develop a commercial installation business. Students must analyze the solar market, public incentive structures and financial scenarios to decide how this renewable energy company should grow.
This case contains a selection of three case studies that can be used to: Discuss a company’s core values, culture, and vision and examine how the corporate culture should be maintained or adjusted as the company experiences rapid growth; and to analyze target market selection in the context of competition, financial returns, and core competencies.
Download
Case Study
May 2011
Author: Beth Jensen
The founder of English Retreads, a recycled fashion company, considers how to adapt and grow a business that started as a hobby and became a legitimate venture with exciting opportunities for growth in the conscious consumerism market.
Download
Case Study
September 2009
Authors: Brianna Buntje, Susan Jung Grant, Nancy A. Smith
This case study explores the model of Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy and examines whether a viable market exists for its integrated retail concept. The distinctive model combines a traditional pharmacy with a front-of-store retail concept offering natural medicines, herbal supplements, and natural health and beauty products.
The structured assignments then take the student beyond marketing theory to derive strategic and tactical recommendations to educate consumers, attract investors, inform store location decisions, and ultimately increase revenues. Students will analyze the company, consumer, and competitive landscape to see how Pharmaca has positioned itself in this niche market. Students will then be asked to draw key consumer insights from survey and market data and to apply these to strategic business decisions for Pharmaca’s future from a marketing management perspective.
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Case Study
September 2009
Author: Jacquelyn F. Dietrich
Focuses on strategic decision-making at Aurora Organic Dairy, a sustainable venture in the organic food industry. The founders, having pioneered the first national organic dairy brand in 1999, established this packaged private-label organic dairy product company in 2003 during a period of rapid growth and relative stability for the organic industry. The company aggressively pursued sustainability initiatives and a vertical integration strategy to reduce the use of outside resources.
Download
Case Study
September 2009
Authors: Ryan Karlin, Rois Langner
The transformation of Tendril Networks from a software company offering a widely distributed set of services, to both a software and hardware company with a narrow focus, provides an excellent case study of the decisions made to cross a chasm, lead standards, and deploy a disruptive technology in a market.
This case addresses the challenges associated with “verticalizing” a company that was once a mile wide and an inch deep. The case also analyzes the decisions made to pursue the focused goal, once it was identified. Requiring significant resources, Tendril’s focus on an underdeveloped market was both ambiguous and far from safe.
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Case Study
September 2009
Authors: Ronald Melicher, Jacquelyn Dietrich
This case study examines entrepreneurial finance in the context of sustainable venturing and rapid sales growth. By presenting the cash needs, financial performance data, alternative sources of funding, and strategic priorities of Eco-Products, one is able to explore various aspects of structuring financial capital for a growing venture.
The case explores a proposed offer from a private investor and requires one to determine whether the offer is beneficial and fair in light of the company’s goals, values, and competitive position. This case has also been included in the fourth edition of Entrepreneurial Finance, the leading entrepreneurial finance text used in business school courses, coauthored by Leeds professors Chris Leach and Ron Melicher. It presents various aspects of finance in the context of entrepreneurship, company growth, and sustainable venturing and is suitable for any discussion covering financial decisions.
Eco-Products, Inc., is a leading supplier of environmentally friendly food service containers based out of Boulder, Colorado. As a company, Eco-Products is committed to responsible management and environmental sustainability. When demand for products made from renewable resources skyrocketed in 2007, the company faced rapid growth which was hard to sustain in light of their lengthy supply chain which tied up cash and made it difficult to stock the demanded inventory. Eco-Products therefore sought additional sources of funding through private equity to feed the company’s hurried growth.
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