Entrepreneur’s Foundation and I2P
Nov 7 2010
Time to write is scarce these days. My days are full with work, kids, homework supervision, music, house stuff, friends, and movies. The kids and I saw Megamind in 3D today. 🙂 So that means less time for me to write on the blog, but not to worry I am still getting my creative outlet through song writing. My new music writing partner and I now have 5 prototype songs done. They are still works in progress but for the few people I have played acoustic/rough cut recordings to, they seemed to like them or they did a good job at acting they liked them! My favorite one so far is based on lyrics inspired by my daughter.
This past week, I had the chance to participate in two really neat entrepreneurial related events in Austin. One was the Entrepreneur’s Foundation of Central Texas (EF) annual fundraising Texas Hold ‘Em poker night event. The Austin Technology Incubator, where I work, partners with the EF to handle our company’s equity donations to The University of Texas at Austin. The organization was co-founded by one of my friends, Randi Shade, who is currently an Austin city council member. This was my third year to go and I always have a blast. Each time, I’ve made it past the initial table to the 2nd table. One year I think I made it past the 2nd table, but this year I was out at the 2nd. It’s a fabulous networking event with the who’s who of Austin entrepreneurs and investors in attendance. Last year, they had celebrity guests, one of whom was Heather Graham. I got a picture with her and yes she is as beautiful in person as she is in the movies! She even gave me a stick of chewing gum. The EF provides a great service to our community by helping facilitate donations when companies have a liquidating event to charities of their choice.
The other event was the Idea to Product Competition (I2P). I have judged and served as a feedback judge at I2P for several years now. I remember being part of the early formation discussions of the competition 10+ years ago. I really enjoy participating in this competition for many reasons. The student teams seem to get better every year. I’m always fascinated with the life science companies and this year is no exception. One company had invented a tiny microscope to help detect diseases in blood samples via enhanced imagery. I don’t want to go into too much detail because our advice to them was to really get a clear understanding of their intellectual property ownership. Another had an at home device for testing for certain sexually transmitted diseases. The topic makes me cringe but apparently there is a large and unfortunately growing market. The entrepreneur in me gets excited to see these students interested in commercializing technology they have either created or intend to license from a university. It also reminds me of when I was a student presenting my first company in front of a panel of judges in one business plan competition after another. I can relate to the nerves/anxiety but the thrill of selling the concept kept me going.
As I think I’ve mentioned before, there are many really neat things happening in Austin in the world of high-tech entrepreneurship, and I only wish I had time to write more about them.
Author: Aruni | Filed under: austin technology incubator, competition, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship | Tags: austin technology incubator, entrepreneur's foundation, idea to product, megamind | 1 Comment »
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