Entrepreneur Commons update - 10/4/11
Summer is over and we are getting close to the deadline to submit applications for our loan, so here is a reminder to entrepreneurs that if you are interested, now is the time to let us know and get into the process, plus a few other news. In this newsletter:
- mutual guarantee fund loan application deadline reminder
- update from Alana Lea and RainforestEco
- Entrepreneur Commons discount for the FailCon event----------** MUTUAL GUARANTEE FUND LOAN APPLICATIONS
The deadline to apply for the Entrepreneur Commons loan is Friday 10/14/11.
As a reminder, the loan terms are as follows:
- 3 years interest only loan. The loan can be paid balloon (only interest are paid monthly until the loan is at maturation), no pre-payment penalty
- Interest rate is 4% (1% CD rate plus 3% bank fee to manage the loan)
- Loan documentation fee $495The loan is made thanks to the guarantee that we were able to raise through Indiegogo. It is available for an Entrepreneur Commons member who will be selected through a peer-review process. If you are interested in being considered for the loan, please add info about your business on the Entrepreneur Commons space at http://www.gust.com (ex http://www.angelsoft.net - the platform that Entrepreneur Commons uses to communicate within and across chapters. All Entrepreneur Commons members have access to the platform, If you cannot access it please send an email to request access to myseslf at marc@entrepreneurcommons.org, with reference to the chapter you belong to. ** UPDATE FROM ALANA LEA AT RAINFORESTECOCongratulations to Entrepreneur Commons member Alanea Lea, founder of RainforestEco and ambassador for WeForest, who was featured on the Marie Diammond Show last Saturday 10/1/11. You can get more info here - http://blog.rainforesteco.com/2011/09/30/marie-diamond-show-to-feature-rainforest-ecobank-founder-alana-lea/ - and you can listen to the show here - http://www.vokle.com/events/25069-the-marie-diamond-showAlanea has been doing great work to help plant trees in the Amazon rainforest, and she deserve all our support for her dedication. Make sure to “like” her on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/RainforestEcoBank and donate if you can - http://www.rainforesteco.com/what-happens-next.shtml
----------NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS: COMING UP SOON** FAILCON 2011
October 24th, 9:00a - 6:00p
Hotel Kabuki, SF
FailCon is a one-day conference for over 450 technology entrepreneurs, investors, developers and designers to study their failures and prepare for success.
As an entrepreneur, you will inevitably encounter failure; it is overcoming it that is the biggest challenge. At FailCon, we help you do just that. Join founders and partners from MySpace, Uber, Cuil, Airbnb, Khosla Ventures, MindJolt, KISSmetrics, PBworks, Second Life, Mohr Davidow Ventures, and more as share advice on how to reach success. More information at http://thefailcon.comEntrepreneur Commons discount: use the code "commons" and get people 20% off your tickets
http://failcon.eventbrite.com/----------OTHER RESOURCES FOR ENTREPRENEURS / ON GOING PROGRAMS FROM PARTNERS** 1M/1M
Sramana Mitra is an entrepreneur and a strategy consultant who is sharing her experience with entrepreneurs through a free, weekly, online strategy roundtables program, and through her blog, and her Entrepreneur Journeys book series. All resources worth looking at.
http://www.sramanamitra.com/entrepreneurship-strategy-roundtables/** Acceleration Coop
Acceleration Co-op is a global, filtered, virtual community of industry veterans and domain experts, motivated to focus on your challenges. Our goal: help entrepreneurs create successful new ventures; micro-cap companies grow faster; and expanding businesses attack new markets and new countries. Our value proposition: "Cross the finish-line faster, with less expenditure of capital, and fewer mistakes and missteps along the way - by leveraging the experience and market wisdom of our expert community."
Check them out at http://www.accelerationcoop.com/
** EntreOasis - The system that powers EntreOasis is the same system that powers Cisco Entrepreneurship Institute, and it contains valuable information on how to start and grow your business. This is a great resource that I recommend to your attention.
Check them out at http://www.entreoasis.com/ - and also check http://www.goventure.net/ for great games to train entrepreneurs** Founders Space
Founders Space brings together founders, angels, VCs, attorneys, CFOs and other experts to answer the questions all founders have. Whenever an advisor answers a question for one founder, the answer is shared with the entire community and preserved in our database. This way the advisor is actually providing assistance to tens of thousands of founders now and into the future. Founders Space long term goal is to build a global platform, where startups and advisors work as virtual teams to enter and grow new markets, and where investors can efficiently discover the best matches for their investment goals.
Check them out at http://www.foundersspace.com/** Parisoma
The pariSoma Innovation Loft is a great resource and network for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and startups in the SF Bay Area. Their collaborative coworking environment serves as a launching pad for startups, with services and events tailored to helping you get off the ground. It is home to an Entrepreneur Commons Chapter, Founders Round Tables by Founders Space, TEDxSoMa, and more. Check out their space & events at www.pariSoma.com
** StartupWeekend
Startup Weekend is a great program to beta test your idea, get it off the ground and/or get some early traction. It provides networking, resources and incentives for individuals and teams to go from idea to launch. Get connected with local developers, innovators and entrepreneurs. Build communities. Start companies.
http://startupweekend.org** Supercoolschool
Our friends at Supercoolschool are providing a great and free service allowing all entrepreneurs to learn from each other through online classes where anyone can be a teacher or a student. They have now more that 100 videos of recorded classes.
http://startup.supercoolschool.com** UrbanFire
UrbanFire workshop is one of the fastest, most effective methods of writing a business plan for functionality. What a business plan should be is one that speaks to your soul and helps you to realize how your dreams can be turned into a lifetime of passionate pursuits, realistic and concrete - a plan that helps you to launch your business, get it functioning and feel like it's the very heart of what you should be doing. In a matter of four Saturdays during July for four hours each session, you can walk away with a fully develop Start-Up Plan to get your business idea off the ground or to re-energize your business with focus and retooling.
For more information:
http://urbanfire.org** Venture Hacks
VentureHacks is the publisher of the ebook "Pitching Hacks". They are also building a list of startups that is published to Angel investors, and you can register here:
http://venturehacks.com/intro
** WickedStart gives people who have not started businesses before a roadmap of 10 steps to create a start-up. At each step are resources to help the entrepreneur, a community to ask questions, and more.
Check them out at http://wickedstart.com
----------Thank you to Foley Lardner LLC, KL Gates, Parisoma and Regus for their support of Entrepreneur Commons.And as always, thanks to you for being part of this movement, nothing will happen without you.
Please consider forwarding this email to your friends to let them know about Entrepreneur Commons.Marc Dangeard
Founder Entrepreneur CommonsNewsletter signup: http://www.entrepreneurcommons.org/contact2
