Seattle Is a Great Place to be an Entrepreneur! Connie Bourassa-Shaw CIE From Invention to Start-Up University of Washington

A Community of Entrepreneurs You’re Lucky to Live in Seattle Entrepreneurial culture. History of scrappy entrepreneurs. 9,974 new licenses in WA in Oct (Seattle Times) Reputation. Seattle—and the state—in the news! #1 (#2) America’s Smartest City (Bizjournals.com) #3 in “Best States for Business” (Fortune) #1 in new start-ups (SBA) #1 in start-up failures (SBA) Top 10 states in patent applications (Kauffman) #1 in “100 Best Places to Live and Launch” (CNN Money)

A Community of Entrepreneurs You’re Lucky to Live in Seattle Reputation. America’s Top States for Business (CNBC) Companies go where the money is WASHINGTON Cost of Business35 Workforce37 Economy11 Education17 Quality of Life 9 Tech and Innovation 6 Transportation22 Cost of Living36 Business Friendliness34 Access to Capital 4

A Community of Entrepreneurs Support for early-stage entrepreneurs. Northwest Entrepreneur Network, MIT Enterprise Forum, TiE, Six-Hour Start-Up, Seattle Tech Start-Up, and industry associations WTIA, WBBA Angel groups. Alliance of Angels, Keiretsu Forum, ZINO Society, Puget Sound Venture Club, Seraph, Energy Angels Venture capital firms. More than 35 at last count. A talented pool of workers. And professionals A strong media. Start reading John Cook (PSBJ) now! “Anchor tenants.” Nordstrom, Microsoft, Boeing, Costco, Amazon, Starbucks, RIE (where’s bio-tech?) University of Washington and PNNL. Research powerhouses.

Mission: Integrate entrepreneurship into the fabric of the University of Washington; promote learning and discovery in entrepreneurship and innovation Curriculum Activities and Events EntrepreneurWeek UW, Business Plan Competition, Science and Technology Showcase (with SEBA), Entrepreneurial Law Clinic, LaunchPad (with TechTransfer), WRF Fellows, “From Invention to Start-Up” series, Springboard Resources for Early-Stage Entrepreneurs Research Symposium in Technology Entrepreneurship UW, Stanford, USC, UC Irvine, and University of Oregon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship Curriculum Undergraduates (20 credits) 12 percent of undergrads take at least one ENTRE course — Novel feature: “Creating a Company” experience MBAs and Technology Entrepreneurship Certificate (18) 88 percent of MBAs take at least one course — 74 TECs (non-business graduate students) from across campus in the ENTRE classes with our own MBAs — Novel: Technology Commercialization Practicum PhD in Technology Entrepreneurship (future faculty) One of a handful of programs in the country

Business Plan Competition Real-Life Experience in a Non-Fatal Environment Science and Technology Showcase (Fall Quarter) Early Networking across campus Resource Nights (Winter Quarter) The information you need to put together your team, your business plan, your presentation, your pitch, and your answers to the judges’ questions. Screening Round (April 2, 2009) 5 to 7 page Executive Summary, feedback for the teams teams Investment Round ( April 28) 1 page Exec Summary, Trade show/Science Fair format, Students make quick pitches to 150 entrepreneur/investor judges. 16 teams advance.

Business Plan Competition Real-Life Experience in a Non-Fatal Environment Sweet Sixteen Semi-Final Round (May 21) Full page business plan; full presentation and 10-minute pitch in a closed session; judges advance 4 to 6 teams Final Round (May 21) Full presentation and 10-minute pitch to an open audience; 7 entrepreneur judges decide awards Dinner and Awards (that evening) Grand Prize—$25,000 in seed funding In all, $70,000-$75,000 awarded to students In 11 years, 2,010 students have participated in the BPC, and 71 teams have received seed funding of $757K. More than 26% of competitors have started their companies. NETWORKING

Other Activities and Resources Entrepreneurial Law Clinic Law and business audits for very early-stage (pre-launch) technology companies. Students, practicing attorneys, and mentors work with non- UW companies throughout the year. TechTransfer’s LaunchPad LaunchPad was designed to move market-ready inventions out of TechTransfer as quickly as possible. WRF Fellows [MBAs and TECs] work with faculty inventors, tech managers, and mentors from the community. From Invention to Start-Up Videos UW Environmental Innovation Challenge The intersection of environmental problems, their solutions, and entrepreneurial opportunities.