KALAMAZOO Kalamazoo Valley Community College had such success with its first Entrepreneurs Boot Camp that it has planned another this fall and opened the competition to entrepreneurs with business plans outside the IT community.
The tentative dates for Boot Camp II at the Michigan Technical Education Center (M-Tec) will be four consecutive Fridays in late October and early November. There will be an enrollment fee for those selected to take part. The Boot Camp is open to teams throughout Michigan and the Midwest.
The first Boot Camp was targeted for entrepreneurs interested in information technology and was highly successful, said James DeHaven, M-TECs executive director. This one will be more wide open, available to those with entrepreneurial ideas from retail through manufacturing.
Eight teams were chosen to participate in the inaugural Boot Camp from a field of entries. They competed in February for first, second, and third-place prizes of $5,000, $2,500 and a laptop computer, respectively. Participants also worked closely with a score of chief executive officers and corporate leaders who acted as both presenters on key topics essential to success and as mentors in helping them mold workable business strategies.
A first place check for $5,000 went to Realitycheck, a Grand Rapids telecommunications audit/resource outsource company managed by Lorie Nutting and Scott Greenlee.
A second place check for $2,500 went to TKF Solutions. The company described its concept for a company providing IT support and services for local businesses. Owners are Lori Hernandez and Budd Wright. Formerly based in Grandville, it has moved to space in the M-TEC incubator for start-up companies.
Third place and a laptop computer went to Kteq Information Technology Solutions, which has also moved into the M-TEC incubator from Paw Paw and is owned by Mark Poffenberger and Bob Milbeck. It provides information-technology services to small businesses.
The format for the next Boot Camp will be basically the same, DeHaven said – those who have made it in the business arena helping those who want to make it by means of intensive dialogues, networking, and presentations. Because of the feedback from both teams and from those serving as mentors in the process, the planning committee is making some slight alterations in the format to make the experience even more effective. Whats more, graduates of the first boot camp will be on hand to share their experiences.
Boot Camp II will not only be a valued-added learning opportunity for the teams of entrepreneurs, but, as in the first session, it will again be an educational experience in practical business for KVCC students and Western Michigan University business majors who will be taking part in the strategizing, conceptualization and developmental process of creating business plans and mapping marketing strategies, DeHaven said.
This is like earning a mini-masters in business administration because of the caliber of those who will be shepherding the process and because of the practical experience available to the participants, he said. Statistics show that three out of four new businesses fail to survive. We believe the boot camp experience change those odds for the better.
For more information about Boot Camp II telephone James DeHaven at (269) 353-1280.
