RSS
Ms. Monica Doss
President
Council forEntrepreneurial Development
Monica Doss has servedsince 1986 as President of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), anon-profit organization founded in 1984 to stimulate the creation and expansionof high-growth entrepreneurial businesses in North Carolina. She is responsiblefor spearheading the direction, operation and overall management of theorganization. During her 20-year tenure, CED has grown to become the largestentrepreneurial support organization in the U.S., with 4,000+ membersrepresenting 1,100 member companies and an annual budget of $2 million.
Ms. Doss hasreceived both local and national recognition as an industry leader, is afrequent speaker and coach on entrepreneurial development and buildinginnovation-based economies and an active member in national and regionalcoalitions on entrepreneurship and innovation. Additionally, she is in numerousand diverse professional and educational organizations, including as a currentboard member of Southeast BIO, NCIDEA, the North Carolina Bioscience Fund and achairman and CEO of the Entrepreneurial Education Foundation based in KansasCity. She co-chaired the Entrepreneurship and Technology Committee for theResearch Triangle Region's Future Cluster Competitiveness Initiative and servedon the North Carolina Nanotechnology Planning Committee.
Dr. Timothy R. Janke
State Program Director, Private Equity Initiatives
Small Business Technology Development Center
University of North Carolina
Responsible for thedevelopment and implementation of committed private equity Angel funds acrossthe state to include ongoing educational programs for both investors andentrepreneurs seeking private equity investment. ROI and job creation areprimary goals. Tim is the founderof the Inception Micro Angel Family of Funds and a participant in 26 privateequity deals. In addition heserves as an adjunct professor in business law at Wake Forest University.
Tim holds anundergraduate degree in analytical chemistry from the University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill as well as a Doctorate in Law and a Masters Degree inLabor Relations from Woodrow Wilson College of Law - Oglethorpe University anda Masters of Business Administration from Wake Forest University. Prior tobeing appointed a Director with the SBTDC in 2002, Tim served as Vice PresidentAdministration for the Maybelline division of L'Oreal Paris and Vice PresidentOperations for Sara Lee Hosiery.
Mr. John Obermeyer
CEO
Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network
Jon joined thePiedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network (PTEN) in December, 2004 as VicePresident of Programs, and was named CEO in August, 2006. Supportinghigh-growth, high-impact companies across the 12-county Piedmont Triad region,Jon leads a team of economic development professionals focused on access tocapital and business growth. PTEN's initiatives include the Growth AcceleratorProgram, Capital Connects! Investor Breakfast, NC Nanotech Conference and NEXUSSupply Chain Strategy Summit.
In addition toconsulting with entrepreneurs directly, Jon serves as an advisor onentrepreneurship to area economic developers, angel investment funds, businessincubators, research parks and the Piedmont Triad Partnership's WIREDinitiative. He serves on the advisory board for UNC Greensboro's Bryan Schoolof Business, and various start-ups including NC A&T State University'sspin-out, Provagen. Jon has 20 years experience in banking, economicdevelopment and entrepreneurial support. His guest columns on business topicshave appeared in The Business Journal, BIZlife and the News & Record. A native of Santa Barbara, CA,Jon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Westmont College, a Master of FineArts degree from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a certificate from the Basic Economic Development Course atUNC Chapel Hill.
1. Monica Doss, CED
a. 'Entrepreneurial Psyche'
i. Behavioral management
ii. CED tries to focus on entrepreneur, pre-entrepreneur, etc.
iii. Culture clash between young entrepreneurs and more established business community/thought leaders
2. Jon Obermeyer, Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network
a. Focus on management when he goes to conferences, great to see more new names/perspectives Q&A
a. Managing projects vs managing alliances
i. Patience is something that disappears in the project management phase, but has to be balanced carefully and re-focused in the managing alliances phase.
b. Trends that are effective for building management teams
i. CED Fast-Trak classes are useful as think-tanks/focus groups to bring together entrepreneurs in related industries
ii. Who the speakers you select to bring in can really infuse certain characteristics into your team
c. How is triad developing clients?
i. Joint ventures/corporate facilities being built
ii. Make alliances with economic recruiters
iii. Dell came in here to make a massive plant
iv. Hanes has been refocused to work not just with textiles, but with scientists.
v. People are the most important thing in the region according to surveys, not VC funding, or facilities, etc. The quality of the people is the most attractive thing to companies.
4. Best practices / resources in your region
a. Kansas City has Kauffman right there
b. University of Missouri @ Kansas City has begun a center for entrepreneurship. They even give PhD's in entrepreneurship.
c. Migration patterns >> enticing VCs outside the traditional 3 hour radius. Eg. Savannah, Aerial, etc.
