Entrepreneurship

1. Von Allmen Center for
Entrepreneurship
UNDERSTANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
AND THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET
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2. VISION: Expand VACE’s entrepreneurial focused initiatives and programs that reach across all
UK Colleges and impact both undergraduate and graduate student engagement/retention, as
well as promote community engagement with the University.
1. Conduct the Entrepreneurs Bootcamp Program
2. Conduct workshops, Lunch and Learns, networking events and summits which are focused on issues
pertaining to entrepreneurship and startups.
3. Conduct pitch type events targeted to all various constituencies across campus and the regional
entrepreneurial community.
4. Partner with organizations like Commerce Lexington and Awesome Inc on events (e.g., Open Coffees,
Networking events etc.)

3. More than 90 community & UK mentors have volunteered to help

4. PERSPECTIVE
• Full semester (Fall and Spring), now offered for EXP academic credit
• Open to all UK students, faculty/researchers , staff and community entrepreneurs
• Teams working on real world projects
• Community/UK instructors & mentors (80+ mentors)
• Business Model Canvas & Investor Pitch deliverables
• Opportunity to compete in regional & national competitions
• Opportunity to receive up funding that is offered exclusively only to Bootcamp teams to support idea development,
prototyping, customer validation and business modeling
* To date 34 companies have been formed.

5. “The Design Squiggle”

6. What is an Entrepreneur?
An individual who undertakes the
risk associated with creating, organizing,
and owning a business.
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7. Personal Characteristics of
Successful Entrepreneurs
•Persistent
•Creative
•Responsible
•Inquisitive
•Flexible
•Goal-oriented
•Independent
•Self-confident
•Risk taker
•Coachable
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8. Similarities Between Entrepreneurs and Researchers/Scientists
1) Innovative Thinking
Innovative thinking is key as for both entrepreneurs and researchers. They need to look out for new
opportunities, technologies, and methods to grow.
2) Doing for Innovation
Both entrepreneurs and researchers have to have the confidence of achieving success and the
willingness to fail. They take the leap and act on the ideas in their head.
3) Always Learning
To be ahead of the game entrepreneurs and researchers need to continuously pick up new
information and new skills. Those skills may be business-related, product/service related, or skills
like creative thinking or marketing.
4) Flexibility
Things just don’t always go the way as expected or planned. If entrepreneurs and researchers who
are not flexible with workload or schedules, their ventures/research may fail even before it gets off
the ground. They need to think on their feet and go with the flow.
5) No giving up
Both will face more failures than successes. In order to achieve success entrepreneurs and
researchers need to be persistent.
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9. Skills Needed by Successful Entrepreneurs
•Communication skills
•Human relations skills
•Problem-solving & Decision-making skills
•Technical skills
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10. “The Design Squiggle”

11. The business model canvas

12. The canvas - A Blank Space
What?

13. The canvas -
What?

14. What?

15. The canvas -
What?

16. Creation Pre-Revenue Breakeven Growth
Idea
IP Protection
Prototype
Business Plan
Beta Customers
Sales/Marketing
Paying Customers
Growth Plan
“Valley of Death”
Startup Company Funding
1 – 10+ years

17. Creation Pre-Revenue Breakeven Growth
Idea
IP Protection
Prototype
Business Plan
Beta Customers
Sales/Marketing
Paying Customers
Growth Plan
Friends/Family/Founders
SBIRs/STTRs & State Match
State Investment Funds
Angel Investors
Strategic Partners
“Valley of Death”
Venture Capital
Banks
Funding Roadmap
Crowdfunding
Customer Sales

18. Types of Financing
Grants Loans/Debt Investment/Equity Revenue
Sources Federal & state agencies
Foundations
Banks
Credit cards
Friends & family
Angel investors
Venture capital
State programs
Friends & family
Customer Sales
Pros No payback
Non-dilutive
Keep control
Non-dilutive
Keep control
Shared risk
“Smart” money
Nothing better
Cons Lengthy process
Highly competitive
Usually technology
based
Payback with interest
Security required
Dilutive
Give up some control
None

19. Thank you!