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iStart Valley, a leading business accelerator is announcing the appointment of Entrepreneurs in Residence. In an effort to better support the needs of aspiring entrepreneurs, startups, innovators and creators, iStart Valley is bringing on board high caliber and best-in-class experts who have deeper and broader experience in making technology ventures successful. Search for Entrepreneurs in residence which started two months back resulted in an overwhelming response.
After reviewing seventy-five applicants, Board Advisors and the Executive Committee have selected Tom Charman as the Global Entrepreneur in Residence and Denis Salins as the Executive Entrepreneur in Residence. Both Tom and Denis started their entrepreneurial journey as teenagers and have rich experience in creating successful startups and mentoring entrepreneurs. Welcoming the entrepreneurs in residence, MJ Charmani, Chairman and Founder of iStart Valley, said “We are very excited to have both Tom and Denis join us at a very important juncture. We look forward to work with them to refine and enrich our Startup Accelerator and Human Capital Accelerator Programs. Tom and Denis will also help us shape our experiential entrepreneurship Programs to position iStart Valley as the #1 Provider of Entrepreneurial Services to early Stage Entrepreneurs and Startups.”
Global Entrepreneur in Residence, Tom Charman, is based in London, UK. Named the Future Face of Innovation and Technology in the UK, Tom focuses on areas including artificial intelligence and quantum computing. He’s been featured in international publications such as the TATA Consultancy Report of 2016 and Success Magazine and has advised both the UK and EU governments on entrepreneurship and the implications of regulation within cutting edge technology. He has previously mentored for organizations including Stanford University and was named one of the young entrepreneurs to watch in 2017 by startups.co.uk. He was named as one of the finalists for the future business leader of the year by FMCG company MARS and has since joined both KAIROS and Founders of the Future, as one of the world’s most innovative young entrepreneurs.
Denis Salins, Executive Entrepreneur in Residence, based in Shreveport, Louisiana, is a Chief Technology Officer of EMR Technology Solutions, a fully integrated software platform to help physicians manage the business-practice and documentation of medicine. Over the years, Denis has grown many businesses from offshoring development and back office work, to sales and vacations. Denis has always loved the adventure of taking an 'idea' and find the value-proposition. Personally having developed full-stack applications (C# and Python) for web and mobile, Denis is an expert in helping Startups choose the right Technology Platforms and adopt the successful business models.
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For Immediate Release
September 14th 2017
iStart Valley, a leading Business Accelerator is pleased to announce the launch of “Human Capital Accelerator Program” geared towards helping the workforce to transition their careers to new and emerging Industries. Primary goal will be to prepare the workforce for the fourth Industrial Revolution. Besides learning new and necessary skills, programs offered through this accelerator will provide a holistic assessment of personal and professional goals, leverage individual strengths for a personal transformation journey.
Compared to previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing the emerging technology breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage, and quantum computing.
iStart Valley’s Human Capital Accelerator Programs will focus on preparing the workforce and to empower people with the necessary learnings required more tactically to secure jobs in AI, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Data Science, Analytics etc. Program also offers special learning opportunities for College Students and kids in Middle and High School from Grade 6th - 12th learn the new and emerging Technologies and Industries.
MJ Charmani, Founder and Chair of iStart Valley says “We are thrilled about this new initiative that’s geared towards enabling personal transformation of the individuals. Our goal is to introduce programs on the emerging technologies to prepare the workforce for the fourth Industrial revolution.”
CoWork Incubate will work with iStart Valley as a service provider and consulting partner to help set up and launch the programs. Nancy Hong, Managing Director of CoWork Incubate is excited about this new opportunity to work with iStart Valley and says “there is no better time than now to rebrand, rewire, or retrain to position oneself for the economic boom.”
About iStart Valley
iStart Valley Inc., is an award winning non-profit Business Accelerator for Technology based Startups in emerging technologies. Our goal is to provide world class resources for aspiring entrepreneurs to turn their creative ideas into growing Tech Startups. We help redefine the startup ecosystem with the support of local and global resources by providing a viable pool of startups and entrepreneurs.
About CoWork Incubate
CoWork Incubate helps coworking spaces’ members grow and scale their members’ businesses by connecting their residents to resources at the exact time that they need to grow their businesses: not too soon or not too late, and by providing coaching and mentorship to the residents within a coworking space.
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Registration Link: http://communities.techstars.com/usa/dallas/startup-weekend/10958
Receive an EXCLUSIVE 35% OFF DISCOUNT CODE: THIRTYFIVE
Friday, July 28th to Sunday, July 30th 2017
Location: NoD Coworking (North Dallas), 17290 Preston Rd, Dallas, TX 75252
What is Startup Weekend? Startup Weekend™ is a 54-hour weekend event, during which groups of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more pitch ideas for new startup companies, form teams around those ideas, and work to develop a working prototype, demo, or presentation by Sunday evening. In just 54 hours, you will experience the highs, lows, fun, and pressure that make up life at a startup. As you learn how to create a real company, you'll meet the very best mentors, investors, cofounders, and sponsors who are ready to help you get started. Yes, the hardest part of starting up is starting out. At Techstars Startup Weekend, you'll be immersed in the ideal environment for startup magic to happen.
Surrounded by smart, passionate people and with the best tools and approaches at your disposal, you’ll take giant leaps toward creating a business, becoming a founder, and connecting with the right people and resources. On average, half of Startup Weekend’s attendees have technical or design backgrounds, the other half have business backgrounds.
Beginning with open mic pitches on Friday, attendees bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their team. Over Saturday and Sunday teams focus on customer development, validating their ideas, practicing LEAN Startup Methodologies and building a minimal viable product. On Sunday evening teams demo their prototypes and receive valuable feedback from a panel of experts.
Get ready for 54 hours of fitness, design, and entrepreneurship. Design mentors and experienced entrepreneurs will be available to mentor you and your team as you develop brand new startup ideas and business plans. Teams will get tons of cool event swag (t-shirts, stickers, books, and other giveaways) and they will be competing for prizes including: 2017 Big Design Conference Passes and NoD Coworking 3-Month Memberships.
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Read the below blog by Linda McMahon, SBA Administrator
Once upon a time….
It’s the classic opening to our favorite fairy tales. As children we dream of magic potions and knights in shining armor that will provide our happily ever after. How were we to know that our own hard work, skill and determination could be far more effective?
Once upon a time, my husband and I started our business sharing a desk. As he developed our product and expanded our markets, I managed the books. When the work became too much for the two of us to handle ourselves, we hired our first employee. As our business grew, we hired another. Then another. Over decades of hard work growing our business, that company we created now has grown to a publicly traded enterprise with more than 800 employees and consumers in 180 countries worldwide.
As an entrepreneur, I have truly lived the American Dream: the classic tale of taking a risk on an idea, working hard and creating something from nothing. Don’t get me wrong – we had plenty of stumbles and challenges that provided the plot twists along the way. But it’s a story I am always proud to tell.
And as head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, my goal now is to help more people have the opportunity to live the American Dream.
Yet many aspiring entrepreneurs have no idea how to get their stories started or write their next chapters.
The SBA is here to help, with resources both online and in communities from coast to coast.
During National Small Business Week, as we celebrate the 28 million small businesses that drive our nation’s economy, we also showcase the resources and services the SBA provides to entrepreneurs at every stage, whether they are starting up, expanding or getting through a tough time.
The SBA has 68 district offices and an extensive network of resource partners across America, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. The experienced professionals that staff these offices offer a core group of services that we call the “three Cs and a D” – capital access, counseling, contracts, and disaster assistance.
Many entrepreneurs need capital to start or expand their small business, combining what they have with other sources of financing. While the SBA doesn't loan money directly to small business owners, it helps facilitate loans with a guaranty that a certain portion will be repaid. We offer counseling on starting, scaling and succeeding in business, from how to draft a business plan to how to export your product overseas. And we train small businesses on how to compete for government contracts, especially those set aside exclusively for small business owners. Finally, SBA provides a helping hand to small businesses recovering from disasters.
As I think back on my own story as a small business owner, I wonder how much easier things might have been if we’d been aware of the many valuable services SBA provides. My hope is that as more people learn about the SBA, they will have the confidence, skills and resources they need to succeed as small business owners, and we can continue to revitalize a spirit of entrepreneurship in our country.
There’s room for far more success stories in our library.
And the SBA can help more entrepreneurs write their own “happily ever after.”