Monterey County Business Council Present Idea2Venture(TM) Helping business ideas take shape

March 5, 2012 - PRLog -- Press Contact: Marci Bracco Cain/Chatterbox Public Relations, (831) 747-7455

Monterey County Business Council and Institute for Innovation & Economic Development Present Idea2Venture™ Helping business ideas take shape

MARINA, CA (March 5, 2012) Even a great idea, without guidance, might stay just an idea. But develop and refine it and learn how to promote it, and that great idea might just become a reality. Learning the tools that can bring an early-stage venture to market is the focus of Idea2Venture™, an intensive entrepreneurial training program being offered by the Monterey County Business Council and the Institute for Innovation and Economic Development, from March 27 through June 26.

The program, to be held at CSU Monterey Bay, has a practical, hands-on training format that promotes rapid venture/idea development, refines the idea, and then artfully communicates the offering through concise writing, presentation and self-promotion. The unique action-learning process utilizes an interdisciplinary roundtable framework that cultivates real-time solutions, teamwork and networking. It is being offered in conjunction with the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fresno State.
"This is the breakthrough that we need to bring creative talent and thoughts to the forefront of business creation and job development," says Monterey County Business Council President Mary Ann Leffel.

Entrepreneurs starting a new venture face tremendous uncertainty and complexity. Successfully commercializing a new venture requires a mastery of idea development skills and tools. "The idea is only 5 percent of it," says Prashant Joshi, an expert who helps entrepreneurs, start-ups, inventors and others commercialize their concepts. "It's the execution that's critical."

Joshi, Program Director for Technology Commercialization at the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, is among the professional trainers who will share their expertise during Idea2Venture™. He has worked with hundreds of individuals and teams on everything from intellectual property protection to strategy and has seen the pitfalls that can derail even the most promising of ventures: Underdeveloped ideas, emotion-driven decisions, and a lack of planning or concrete data.

Previously, these skills could only be learned through starting a venture and “learning by doing.” Now, with Idea2Venture™, instructors can assist attendees with each stage of the idea development process. Each week, the course is focused on developing the entrepreneur’s idea through learning of skills in a chronological sequence of startup actions. Among the issues to be covered in this intensive eight-session program are idea feasibility, different forms of business ownership, financing, licensing and reporting requirements, business and marketing plans, exit strategy and intellectual property.
The end game is to launch ambitious fast-growth companies, innovative products, and technologies that make a dynamic and lasting economic change in the Monterey Bay region. "Our motivation," Joshi says, "is to see businesses succeed.”
Idea2Venture™ runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, except for a Saturday, April 28th public lecture on Intellectual Property (8 a.m. to noon); the June 12th session for Final Draft Reviews and Presentation Practice (5 to 10 p.m.); and the June 26th graduation (6:30 to 8:30 p.m.).

Cost is $495, with participation limited to the first 15 enrollees. Download application at www.idea2venture.org, and submit completed form to kwadsworth@mcbc.biz or fax (831) 648-0458. Be sure to apply early for a spot in the program! For more information, visit the Website or contact Kim Wadsworth at the Monterey County Business Council, 582-3234.

About the Monterey County Business Council:
The Monterey County Business Council, a 501(c)(6) established in 1995, is comprised of a diverse group of members representing all industries and geographic areas of Monterey County who are interested in shaping the future of Monterey County and have a vested interest in the economic vitality of our community. The non-profit corporation seeks to promote the concept of public-private partnerships by bringing business experience and techniques to the public arena.

The Monterey County Business Council focuses on three key areas of vitality as we move forward in the 21st Century:
•        Business Advocacy
•        Economic Development
•        Work Ready Community
•        All phases: Business start-up, attraction, expansion and retention.
For more information go to www.mcbc.biz