Tools for Entrepreneurs - A Business Forum that Matters

Tools for Entrepreneurs - A Business Forum that Matters

Entrepreneurs with high-tech startups may have product design all figured out, but they often lack the business savvy necessary to commercialize their ideas, market their products and protect their proprietary interests.
As part of a sustained program for supporting local startups, the Rhode Island Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RI-CIE) will hold a forum entitled “Fundamentals for Founders” to familiarize local entrepreneurs with the foundations of any successful business venture.

Geared toward early stage entrepreneurs, students and university faculty looking to monetize their innovations, Fundamentals for Founders is one in a series of signature programs offered by RI-CIE to support Rhode Island’s growing entrepreneurial community.

“Sometimes entrepreneurs are so busy developing a product or service that they don’t give enough attention to the foundation,” said RI-CIE Program Coordinator Leigh Kendall. “Choosing a proper legal structure, protecting intellectual property, forming effective management teams and obtaining seed capital – these things have serious implications down the road.”

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The forum – moderated by Jim Hahn and Ted Howell – will address the fundamentals of building a successful business, from allocating equity to employees and investors to setting up agreements on vesting and protecting intellectual property. Hahn and Howell – partners at Providence law firm Partridge, Snow & Hahn – are both “active supporters and mentors for RI-CIE, back when it was the Brown Forum for Enterprise and even the Brown Venture Forum,” according to Kendall.

Partnerships

RI-CIE is a public-private partnership between Brown University, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC), the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC) and the Slater Technology Fund. The Center serves as a support network for Rhode Island’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, running a suite of programs focused on early stage, high-tech ventures from workshops to educational labs and forums.

“There are at least 40 or 50 startups in various early stages of development in Rhode Island,” Kendall said. “Maybe many more.”

There are 29 companies currently in the Center’s New Venture Pipeline, from antimicrobial materials developer Axena Technologies to vaccine design company EpiVax.

“[RI-CIE] is really the heart of entrepreneurship in Providence,” said Axena CEO Jonathan Brown. “Every single company I know, new or old, is connected through the Center.”

“The Slater Technology Fund has played a critical role in EpiVax’s growth,” said EpiVax representative Jason Del Pozzo. “RI-CIE is leading the grassroots development of a Knowledge Economy in the city and the state.”
The benefits of involvement with RI-CIE and attending the Center’s various events extend beyond knowledge gained. Each forum begins and concludes with a networking reception, giving entrepreneurs a chance to meet one another and panelists to exchange critical experiences and information.

How an Ecosystem Can Emerge

“One of the most valuable things about the forum is that entrepreneurs get to meet each other and cultivate a community,” Kendall said. “New businesses draw strength from this ecosystem.”
“RI-CIE is about more than just the info sessions,” Brown added. “It has really be the foundation for our presence in Providence because it connected us to people at all levels of industry. Beyond just the pure information it provides – though that’s great, too – that presence allows us to remain connected within the entrepreneurial community.”

The Fundamentals for Founders forum will be held at RI-CIE headquarters, One Davol Square in Providence from 5-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 1. Members and students get in free; tickets for non-members cost $30. All are required to register.

“The climate for startups is really improving here,” Kendall concluded. “The atmosphere in Providence and Rhode Island is more supportive than ever. The community here is very strong – and growing.”