Launch + Learns

Business plan competitions can be a good way to get experience pitching your company. In addition, you could meet potential investors and perhaps even win some prize money. But there can also be downsides to competing. This 90-minute workshop will help participants determine if/when to enter competitions — and provide “do’s & don’t’s” to help you put your best foot forward in the Michigan Business Challenge and any other competitions you decide to enter. Facilitated by Anne Perigo, Associate Director at the Zell Lurie Institute.

This 90-minute workshop will help new entrepreneurs understand the different types and sources of funding.

This 90-minute workshop will help entrepreneurs understand how to evaluate the market for their product or service. Is it big and exciting enough for you to pursue? For investors to get excited about? We’ll look at proven approaches to conducting secondary and primary research, in order to glean answers to key questions such as: How big is my market? Is it ready for my solution? How can I break up my market into useful customer segments, and then which segment should I target first, and why? Who are my competitors, and how do I position myself to compete successfully against them? Facilitated by Jim Price, Ross Faculty & ZLI Entrepreneur in Residence.

This 90-minute workshop discussion will explore some of the fundamental questions entrepreneurs encounter when considering launching a new business. How do we go about forming the company? Do we have partners? How do we split up equity? Do we set up a board of directors? An advisory board? How? What happens when investors come in? Facilitated by Jim Price, Ross Faculty & ZLI Entrepreneur in Residence.

This 90-minute workshop will introduce what you need to know about financial statements for a startup company including the three core financial statements (income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet), how to make projections, and what investors look for in startup financials. Facilitated by Mike Johnson, Ross Faculty & ZLI Entrepreneur in Residence.

This 90-minute workshop will explore what a business model is; why a strong model is absolutely critical to anyone interested in launching a new product, service, business, or social venture; and how to develop an effective business model. Participants will learn how to use Alex Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas, a valuable one-page tool for generating and assessing business models. Facilitated by Josh Botkin, Ross Faculty & ZLI Entrepreneur in Residence.

This 90-minute workshop will expose participants to several tools that can be useful in evaluating the financial viability of a startup business. The session will provide a brief overview of analytic tools to help address these key questions: How much money will it take to launch my company? Am I likely to be able to raise outside funding, and if so, from what sorts of sources? How big do we need to get to pay ourselves and quit our day jobs? How about to make a profit? Facilitated by Jim Price, Ross Faculty & ZLI Entrepreneur in Residence.

Have you heard of the “Elevator Pitch”? Do you have difficulty describing your ideas to your future investors? Through case studies, you’ll learn about the basic formula of a successful elevator pitch. With real-world examples, you’ll have the chance to create several of your own to practice. After this workshop, you’ll never be afraid of pitching. Facilitated by Anne Perigo, ZLI Associate Director.