Event Notices From Oct. 29
Automation Alley Offers Recruiting Using Social Media
Monday, Nov. 4: Hiring the right person for a position can be a challenge for any company, especially for small business owners competing for qualified talent with larger companies. Let social media level the playing field. By utilizing platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, small businesses can gain access to a network of referrals to well-matched candidates. The event will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Automation Alley, 2675 Bellingham, Troy. More at www.automationalley.com/a2_nws_eventcal?m=11&y=2013
GVSU Sets Sprout Lab
Monday thorugh Wednesday, Nov. 4-6: Attendees at Sprout Lab, a new program for agricultural innovators, will explore commercial potential for their agribusiness ideas. This three-day workshop is for producer/growers and out-of-the-box thinkers who are energized by problem solving. Invest time in this workshop and explore the commercial viability of your idea; discover how to protect your intellectual property, develop a prototype, and scale up for production. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the Grand Valley State University William Seidman Center in Grand Rapids. More at www.sproutlab.org.
SCORE Sets Startup Event
Tuesday, Nov. 5: This is Detroit SCORE's introductory workshop. The workshop will start by discussing your concept and a short self-evaluation. The workshop will also cover legal entities - both For-Profit and Not-For-Profit. The essentials include a management section on how to build your management and support team. The final section is a discussion of your financial responsibilities and financing resources for start-ups. The event runs fromk 8:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Future Help Designs, Suite 105, 91 North Saginaw, Pontiac. More at http://detroit.score.org/localworkshops.
Motor City Connect To Gather In Novi
Tuesday, Nov. 5: Join the business professionals of Motor City Connect for an effective and fun alternative to the traditional networking meeting. This is a chance for everyone to come face-to-face with other MCC members. MCC Live lunches are relaxed, casual and usually good for a few laughs. It's never a something you have to attend; it's an event you want to attend. No sixty-second commercials. No ten-minute speakers. This is just a chance to break bread together, meet new people, seek to understand their needs and connect on a new level. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at BD's Mongolian BBQ, 43155 Main St., Novi. More at http://motorcityconnect.groupsite.com.
Team SBA Financing Roundtable – Ann Arbor
Wednesday, Nov. 6: The roundtable gives current or prospective small business owners insight into the SBA Guaranty Loan Program and the criteria used by loan officers to evaluate a loan request. A team of experts will demystify the lending process, debunk the myths about SBA programs, and share real life examples of successful loan applicants. The roundtable is taught by experienced lenders with expertise in small business and SBA financing. The event runs from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in the Morris Lawrence Building, Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor. More at www.misbtdc.net/events.aspx.
Ann Arbor Spark Offers Selling Smart Workshop
Wednesday, Nov. 6: Ann Arbor Spark will offer its monthly "Selling Smart Workshop" on the topic "Identifying Personality Style and Adapting for More Sales" will be held at Spark Central, 330 E. Liberty, from 9 to 11 a.m. Frustrated that you don't know why a certain prospective customer isn't excited by your product or service? Do you feel like you just don't have a "good chemistry" with some of the people most important to your success? Learn the secrets to better communicate and influence others and adapt your communication to match their style. You'll come away knowing how to quickly identify personality styles and easy ways to adapt to make more productive interactions with EVERYONE; prospects, customers, employees, friends and family. More at www.annarborusa.org/events.
Start Garden Sets Defining your Target Market
Wednesday, Nov. 6: The term "target customer" isn't a new concept, but actually identifying and speaking to that audience isn't as simple as it sounds. In this class, we'll walk through the basic steps of defining your target customer, as well as touch on why this process is important, and how a defined target audience will help your business flourish and eliminate wasted marketing efforts. The event runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Start Garden, 50 Louis Ave., 1st floor, Grand Rapids. More at www.StartGarden.com.
Michigan Tech Opening Patent Center
Wednesday, Nov. 6: Michigan Technological University will host the grand opening of its Patent & Trademark Resource Center Wednesday, Nov. 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at MTU's Van Pelt and Opie Library, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton. This is a free seminar for inventors, entrepreneurs, educators and legal professionals featuring speakers from the United States Patent & Trademark Office and Michigan Technological University. More at www.mtu.edu/library/ptrc.
Baker College Sets Pitch Competition
Wednesday, Nov. 6: Baker College Muskegon is hosting its E-Merge Elevator Pitch Competition from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 6. Win $1,000 or a meeting with investors! You'll have two minutes to present your business-real, or just the idea. No props or presentation slides allowed. The venue is the Baker College Auditorium, 1903 Marquette Ave., Muskegon. More at http://web.muskegon.org/events/eventdetail.aspx?EventID=3636.
Ann Arbor Spark Sets Michigan Energy Forum
Thursday, Nov. 7: Ann Arbor Spark will host its monthly Michigan Energy Forum on "Balancing Energy and Environmental Demands." Join the Michigan Energy Forum for a discussion with three energy professionals who will provide a look behind the curtain into how these decisions are made. You may be surprised to find how central mitigating environmental impacts is to siting, constructing, and managing power generation facilities! Or streamed live at http://www.annarborusa.org/live-events/index.html. The event runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at Spark Central, 330 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor. More at http://www.annarborusa.org/events.
Start Garden Offers Markeitng Event For Startups
Friday, Nov. 8: Start Garden will present a Lunch and Learn,Marketing for Startups. During this panel discussion you will learn how to best tackle the marketing of your business. Hear from Reagan Marketing and Design on how they've formed partnerships with local small businesses. Hear from their small business clients on how when they have used them and when they marketed successfully on their own. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Start Garden, 50 Louis Ave., Grand Rapids. More at www.StartGarden.com
Grand Rapids Inventors Network Offers Patent Event
Tuesday, Nov. 12: The Grand Rapids Inventors Network will present "Should You Patent it?" from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, 301 Michigan St. NE, Grand Rapids. This monthly meeting features networking, guest speakers and a roundtable discussion about immediate issues being faced by members. This month's guest speaker is Dan Girdwood, Price Heneveld Law patent attorney. More at http://grinventors.org.
Ann Arbor Spark Offers Monthly OpenCoffee
Tuesday, Nov. 12: This is a networking event for entrepreneurs, investors and those who work with innovation businesses, particularly in IT, cleantech and life sciences. 8 to 9:30 a.m. at Spark Central, 330 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor. More at www.annarborusa.org/events.
Midland To Host TED Talks
Thursday, Nov. 14: The MidMichigan Innovation Center will offer TED Talks – Midland from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the MMIC, 2007 Austin St., Midland. Be enlightened and enjoy the company as we view inspiring videos from TED Talks, ideas worth spreading! Entrepreneurs, staff and MMIC members gather for conversation and community building, coffee and snacks. More at www.mmic.us/events.
Inventors Council of Michigan to Meet
Thursday, Nov. 14: The Inventors Council of MidMichigan will hold a meeting titled "Don't spend a penny until…" from 7 to 9 p.m. at 1341 S. Center Road, Buirton. This monthly meeting features networking, guest speakers and a roundtable discussion about immediate issues being faced by members. This month's guest speaker is Bonnie Griffin Kaake, Innovative Consulting Group Inc. More at www.inventorscouncil.org.
Macomb-OU Incubator Sets Small Business Financing Forum
Thursday, Nov. 14: Is your business in need of financing to cover expenses or commercialize a new product? Join us for an information-packed session and hear from experts about a variety of traditional and non-traditional sources for securing money to move ahead. Expert speakers from Grow Michigan, Huntinton Bank, Hennessey Capital, Macomb-OU INCubator, MEDC and SBA will be featured. The event runs from noon to 2 p.m. at the Macomb-OU INCubator at Velocity, 6633 Eighteen Mile Road, Sterling Heights.
MSU Bioeconomy Institute Sets Biofuel Speaker
Friday, Nov. 15:: The MSU Bioeconomy Institute will present Karl Seck, president and CEO of Mercurius Biofuels, has spent most of his career in the petroleum refining field as a process engineer. He has held design, technical services, optimization, and operations management positions with three oil companies. Seck started his own process consulting service eight years ago. He received bachelor of science in chemical engineering from the University of Kansas. The event runs from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the MSU Bioeconomy Institute, 242 Howard Street, Holland. More at http://bioeconinst.msu.edu/events.
Startup Weekend Detroit Returns
Friday, Nov. 15 - Sunday, Nov. 17: Startup Weekends are 54-hour events designed to provide superior experiential education for technical and non-technical entrepreneurs. The weekend is centered on action, innovation, and education. Whether you are looking for feedback on a idea, a co-founder, specific skill sets, or a team to help you execute, Startup Weekends are the perfect environment in which to test your idea and take the first steps towards launching your own startup. The event begins Friday at 6 p.m. and ends Sunday at 9 p.m. at Grand Circus, 1570 Woodward Ave., Detroit. More at https://swdetroit5.eventbrite.com/
Spark Offers Business Law & Order
Monday, Nov. 18: Starting a new business is complicated: there are many t's to cross and i's to dot. The Business Law & Order Legal Series will give entrepreneurs insight into some of the most important legal issues they must consider during business formation. Some of these issues include: proper business structure, intellectual property protection, founders and key employee compensation, considerations regarding employees versus independent contractors, doing business overseas and commercial agreements. The event runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at Spark Central, 300 E. Liberty, Ann Abor. More at www.annarborusa.org/events.
A2NewTech Sets Monthly Meet
Tuesday, Nov. 19: Five presenters this month take the stage for ten minutes each, five minutes to demo and five minutes to answer questions, followed by open announcements and community networking. E-mail organizers at a2newtech.org if you'd like to present! The event runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Room 1225 of the South Hall of the University of Michigan Law School, 701 S. State Street, Ann Arbor. More at www.meetup.com/a2newtech/events/96674632.
Muskegon Inventors Network To Meet:
Tuesday, Nov. 19: The Muskegon Inventors Network will meet on the "Dos and Don'ts of Retail Markets." This monthly meeting features networking, guest speakers and a roundtable discussion about immediate issues being faced by members. The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center, 200 Viridian Drive, Muskegon. More at www.muskegoninventorsnetwork.org.
Ann Arbor Spark Sets Fall 2013 Entrepreneur Boot Camp Celebration
Wednesday, Nov. 20: Come celebrate with us the conclusion of the Ann Arbor Spark Fall 2013 Entrepreneur Boot Camp. This is a great opportunity to network with the mentors and campers and to see which team is awarded Best of Boot Camp. The event runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Spark Central, 330 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor. More at www.annarborusa.org/events.
Start Garden Sets Update Night
Thursday, Nov. 21: You've endorsed, we've endorsed and now it's time to find out how our invested ideas have grown. Each presenter will be allowed three minutes to answer the following questions: What was your hypothesis? What was your experiment? What did you learn? What is next? The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at Start Garden, 1st Floor, 50 Louis Ave., Grand Rapids. More at www.StartGarden.com
Failure Lab Detroit To Meet
Thursday, Nov. 21: Failure Lab features a diverse group of six storytellers and six performers in a fluid 90 minute format. Each storyteller shares a personal failure in under nine minutes. No talk of lessons learned or who's to blame -- just the intimate story of what went wrong. After each narrative there is 90 seconds of silence for the audience to internalize and reflect on what the story means to them. A four-minute performance follows to clear the air and recharge the room. Audience members are encouraged to share their thoughts on Twitter using #failurelab during the performance. The event runs home from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St., Detroit. More at www.eventbrite.com/event/8351988021?ref=ebtnebtckt.
Grand Circus Offers 'Minimum Viable Product' Info
Friday through Sunday, Nov. 22-24: In this workshop the material will dive into the Minimum Viable Product concept to get you laser focused on what not to do as you spend your precious startup time and dollars. Workshop instructors will utilize Lean Startup principles as the backdrop for you to create and test the MVP for your business. The event begins 2 p.m. Nov. 22 and ends at 4 p.m. Nov. 24 at Grand Circus, 1570 Woodward, Detroit. More at http://grandcircus.co/workshops/create-a-minimum-viable-product
Motor City Connect – Royal Oak
Tuesday, Nov. 26: Join the business professionals of Motor City Connect for an effective and fun alternative to the traditional networking meeting. This is a chance for everyone to come face-to-face with other MCC members. MCC Live lunches are relaxed, casual and usually good for a few laughs. It's never a something you have to attend; it's an event you want to attend. No sixty-second commercials. No ten-minute speakers. This is just a chance to break bread together, meet new people, seek to understand their needs and connect on a new level. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Tequilla Blue, 526 Main, Royal Oak. More at http://motorcityconnect.groupsite.com.
