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Roughing IT: Ann Arbor's IT Boot Camp Graduates its First Ten Entrepreneurs
by Mark Maynard
In mid-October, when approximately twenty local entrepreneurs submitted business summaries to the Ann Arbor IT Zone, they did so with a complete understanding of what might lay ahead of them. They knew that, if selected, they would be sequestered for four days and three nights, away from their families. They knew that they would be expected to work harder than they had perhaps ever worked before. They also knew that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for them as entrepreneurs.
The ten entrepreneurs who were ultimately chosen soon discovered that Ann Arbor's first IT Boot Camp was all that and a great deal more. Over the course of those four days in late October they would to eat, breathe and sleep business. Moving only between ERIM's Ann Arbor facility, which housed the event, and at the Hawthorne Suites next-door, they would be drilled constantly by University of Michigan Business School faculty, business formation consultants and successful local entrepreneurs. "They would," according to Geri Larkin, the noted business consultant and author who led the Boot Camp sessions, "be given access to every possible tool we as a community have at our disposal."
In addition to the market and subject experts brought in to guide the entrepreneurs, the Boot Camp employed resources from UM's Technology Transfer organization and the Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. Resources also came in the form of Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce members and UM College of Engineering and Business School students, who provided business advice and market research support. Additional resources from ERIM, a local research and business development company, and members of New Enterprise Forum rounded out the team by contributing educational content as well as presentation analysis.
After four days, the ten budding entrepreneurs emerged from the Ann Arbor Hawthorne Suites a little exhausted and a lot more knowledgeable about their companies and the real-world business landscape outside. According to Chuck Salley, a southeastern Michigan entrepreneur and investor who worked closely with the Campers, "Some of them were staying up past 4:00 AM in the morning. They were critiquing each others' plans and incorporating the things they'd learned during the day into their business plans, or talking amongst themselves, trying to get their plans ready for presentation."
"I think the biggest thing we've gotten out of (the IT Boot Camp) is the feedback in terms of what's going to be a plan that is executable? What's going to be a plan that is going to sell to other investors, to raise capital," says camper, Michael Beaton, of Evision LLC, a start-up enterprise looking to commoditize intellectual property on-line. Other campers stressed different specific benefits, but all of those interviewed praised both the educational content and the spirit of camaraderie that arose within the group. According to Mike Whealan, of Elationship Builders, "Even though we're all competitors, no one is holding anything back. There is a great spirit of teamwork."
On Saturday evening, before a crowd of eighty community friends and supporters, the ten campers presented their polished plans to a panel of judges, which included community business development experts and investors. The spirit of teamwork that had developed between the campers was evident. After each entrepreneur presented his/her business case in a crisp and professional manner, the crowd erupted in an enthusiastic, foot-stomping, hand-clapping ovation, lead by their fellow campers.
The winner of the event was declared later that evening, and Dan Weller's Wellersoft venture took home the $1,500 grand prize and an automatic finalist position in the November 10th "Get Launched" competition, sponsored by national IT powerhouses Cisco, EMC and Oracle in partnership with the Ann Arbor IT Zone.
Shortly after 11:00 PM, as the last, tired Boot Camp participant made their way from the celebration , a group of IT Zone volunteers was already gathering outside to discuss what they could do next year to make it an even better event. Amid suggestions of speakers and workshop topics, one person said, "Next time, we should get a real drill Sargent to wake them up at 4:00 AM to exercise." Everyone stood silently, considering his suggestion, until he added, somewhat shocked by their serious contemplation, that he was, "just kidding."
If you think that the IT Boot Camp might be right for you, keep and eye on
www.annarboritzone.org for details.
Printed from: http://www.techtransfer.umich.edu/news_events/news/article_10.php