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CNET News.com reporters Michael Kanellos and Carl-Gustav Linden recently met with Steve Jurvetson to discuss how the downturn in the broader economy will impact venture capital firms. For those of you who don’t already know, Jurvetson is a leading venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, best-known for his involvement in Hotmail, Interwoven, Kana, and Skype. He is a managing director at the presitigous venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

When asked how much the economic downturn has changed the venture capital, Jurvetson’s response was positive. He claims that in an up or down market, there will always be ideas. The market for innovation and entrepreneurship should not be considered volatile with respect to broader economy; in his experience, entrepreneurial activity can almost be thought of as a constant,or even continuously accelerating.

Jurvetson positions himself as somewhat of a maverick or rebel when describing his investment mantra:

I don’t really care what the venture industry thinks…We want to invest in unique ideas that can change the world. We don’t even care what industry they fall into, but ideally they’re driven by some major disruptive force, as a different way of looking at the economy and venture opportunities. I know that 10 years from now we will be investing in something that relates to that.

Over the next five years, Jurvetson sees a lot of money going into (more…)

SCORE, which is a non-profit aiming to educate entrepreneurs and small business owners, recently launched a new section with resources for young entrepreneurs.

Visitors to the site will find the following resources:

• Insights for Young Entrepreneurs features key articles on: entrepreneurship as a career choice; Web site design; university assistance; and how to start smart.
• Resources for Young Entrepreneurs lists more than 35 organizations, groups and Web sites that offer news, strategies and assistance.
• Competitions for Young Entrepreneurs features eight awards that help encourage and recognize business success.
• Stats on Young Entrepreneurs provides the latest research and facts on Generation X and Generation Y entrepreneurship.
• How SCORE Can Help You highlights SCORE’s free online and face-to-face counseling, low-cost workshops and free eNewsletters.

SCORE is headquartered in Herndon, VA and Washington, DC and has 389 chapters throughout the United States and its territories, with 10,500 volunteers nationwide. Both working and retired executives and business owners donate time and expertise as business counselors. SCORE was founded in 1964.

Since Chris Klundt, Hicham Bouabdallah, and Dave Sargant, rolled out TheClassConnection last august, the site has steadily gained momentum. Peaking at around 16,000 users in February, the site continues to provide a self-described “academic ecosystem” where users create profiles and can interact with other students in their high school and college classes.  Users can create flashcards, collaborate to update class calendars, and message each other directly with any questions or comments about course material. To boost users, Bouabdallah, Sargant, and Klundt recently released a Facebook application that allows students to share the courses they are currently enrolled in and eventually diverts users to the more extensive set of services on the website.

The site addresses a major student concern regarding the fast pace of the lectures by allowing students to discuss material they missed in class online. Furthermore, students can build their own class database by creating flashcards to prepare for exams.

Critics of TheClassConnection feel the site allows some users to enjoy the hard work of others without any obligation to contribute their own portion.  While this “tragedy of the digital commons” is a cause for concern at larger schools, dividing large classes up into smaller subsections online could increase student accountability and divide the workload more evenly. Overall, the site’s easy layout and constructive purpose both indicate it should continue to grow in popularity.

FireWire Films is a digital video production company based in Franklin, MA. Founded by Chris Ronzio at age 14, FireWire has experienced tremendous growth over the past year, and is now one of the premiere multimedia production companies in New England.

Ronzio, who is currently a student in Bentley’s Management program, has always had a passion for business and an insatiable entrepreneurial spirit. When he founded FireWire Films, Ronzio recognized the need for a company that could produce top quality digital videos and broadcast quality footage. So far, his vision has carried the company a long way from its humble beginnings. Ronzio now manages close to fifteen employees, and his company took third place in the New England Regional Competition for the 2007 Global Student Entrepreneurs Awards.

Ronzio continues to cleverly utilize developing technologies to allow for a wide range of compatibility. According to the company site, “All videos are shot using 3 CCD (3 chip) Mini DV Cameras for premium broadcast quality footage. Duplications of videos can be made in DVD, Mini DV, S-VHS, VHS, VHS-C, or Hi-8. Multiple copies can be made to accommodate each customer’s unique needs.”

In addition, FireWire Films now has an online store where customers (more…)

FreeTicketExchange.com is cutting scalpers out of the loop and saving real fans money. It’s become the largest online network for fans wanting to buy, sell or trade tickets with each other, for free.

The site is half innovative tool and half social network. It works as a forum where fans can obtain tickets to sporting or entertainment events through a unique trading system. Users can purchase, sell or trade tickets with each other (all accomplished for free) using TicketTokens, which are credits from the user’s entertainment bank. “Tokens” each have the value of a dollar. See an example on the site.

Because the site acts to bypass the scalper and broker market, it saves fans money and gives them a choice. In the past, the only viable options for selling tickets to an event were to work through a ticket broker, which takes a heavy commission and then jacks up the resale price for other fans, or to try to sell them yourself, which takes time and a special trip to the venue.

With FreeTicketExchange.com, users can create their own profiles and view other those of other fans, allowing them to decide whom they give their tickets to. They can reward real fans and true friends instead of passing tickets onto fair weather bandwagon fans and posers.

The site is a new concept conceived by Joe Pensa, (more…)

Zinch.com is bringing a face to the college admissions process, along with some much needed personality. According to founder Mick Hagen, a Princeton student, Zinch reminds college applicants that “I am more than a test score.”

In a recent interview with AdmitSpit, Hagen cited the debate surrounding the emphasis on test scores throughout the college recruitment process as the inspiration behind Zinch. Hagen described Zinch as “a tool to level the playing field in college admissions by giving every high school student in America the opportunity to showcase themselves to colleges, communicating those talents and accomplishments that make them unique.”

Essentially, Zinch is an online community of high school students, colleges, and universities. Any college hopeful can create a personal profile, enabling them to connect with admissions officers representing the colleges of their dreams. At the same time, colleges can engage those students expressing interest in their programs by reaching out and engaging them.

In the past, the only way colleges obtained demographic information about prospective students was through standardized tests like the PSAT and SAT. With a Zinch profile, these students are “more than a test score” because they can now engage with the colleges they’re interested in on their terms. With no more piles of direct mail pieces from colleges you’ve never heard of, Zinch facilitates real dialogue through an interactive medium that kids are comfortable in. For many students who already have MySpace and Facebook profiles, Zinch will come naturally.

The trick lay in getting admissions officers on board. Just a year ago, it was clear that most were skeptical. Today however, it seems that many admissions officers are praising the value of personal engagement with prospective students. Many have said that the ability to ask questions of prospective students compliments their traditinal approach, while at the same time giving them the ability to promote certain programs within targeted environments.

Perhaps the most attractive reason for prospective students to join Zinch is the opportunity to win a number of scholarships, some worth as much as $20,000.

Launched just a month ago, the site has attracted a over 522 colleges and universities so far in addition to some 30,000 students. The numbers keep growing as admissions departments all over the nation realize the value of communicating with prospects in the type of social online environments they’ve grown accustomed too.

But will Zinch revolutionize the college admissions process? That depends if students are willing to sharing the personal information essential to Zinch’s success. Moreover, students and the admissions officers trying to recruit them will need to be proactive within the Zinch community to create the depth of experience required to influence such a huge decision. With the time constraints admissions officers now face as they sift through thousands of paper applications, will they have the time necessary to interact with every student who sends them a shout-out? There’s really no value for either user segment unless there’s a lot of the other. So can Zinch provide enough value for both parties to use it consistently? Zinch founder Mick Hagen thinks so, but we’ll see.

Does your start-up business need a dash of inspiration? Could your web-based company use a crash course in how to make it? Startup Weekend is a 21st century medicine tent for would-be pioneers of Web 3.0 and beyond. Traveling through America’s most electrifying cities, college towns and talent hotbeds, Startup Weekend is an idea and a company that brings together motivated, web-savvy folks where they live. Harnessing the creative energy of web-based entrepreneurship, Startup Weekend fosters links between developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus and graphic artists for 54 hours that build communities, companies and projects. The idea driving Startup Weekend is that entrepreneurs should learn from each other by creating and collaborating on their actual projects.

Founded in 2007, by Colorado-based graphic designer, Andrew Hyde, Startup Weekend is known for its quick decisions, ‘out of the box’ thinking, unique facilitation technique and letting the founders show what they can do. Founders pay a nominal fee for three days of intense brainstorming, market analysis and pointed questioning and are expected to leave the weekend with a developed company or project. Often, harsh reality checks from like-minded web peers are what follow, but the aim is for projects to leave as robust and battle ready as possible. Is there someone else competing in your space? Here’s how you can gain an edge. Learning directly from others engaged in the startup process saves headaches and can be a great way to learn a few shortcuts. Best of all, you don’t have to leave town to do it.

To hear from the CEO and learn more about the business, (more…)

Sean Glass, one of the many success stories of college entrepreneurship, is getting ready to launch Pikum, his newest project, this spring. As students, Glass and his two partners started Higher One, a higher education-focused online financial services company, back in March 2000. In 2007, Higher One was ranked number 85 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing U.S. private companies. Following the success of that project, Glass moved to the UK to develop Pikum, initially known as Friendent, which describes itself as a social network where users are able to create their own games to play against friends or other people they meet online, either for money or for pure satisfaction. Essentially, it appears, Pikum will let users create online sports betting pools.

Pikum, whose management team also includes former Overture executive Johannes Larcher, closed a £2.6 million investment from Virgin USA in early March. The site is currently in stealth mode, so I can’t tell you exactly how the betting will work on Pikum, or how the social aspect of the site will come into play. It also remains to be seen how Pikum will compare to likely competitors in the online betting space such as Betfair, Party Gaming, 888 and Tradesports. However, Glass did let me know that the site plans to launch towards the end of this month, so more details will be available then. We’ll certainly be watching and keeping you updated, and we can’t wait to see what this proven entrepreneur creates next!

Monday, March 31st, 6:00-7:00pm

Business Pitching Essentials: Larry Begley
Location: Boston College, Fulton 412
Organizers: Boston College Venture Competition
Details:
Larry Begley, partner at .406 Ventures and one of the judges for the final event, will be coming to BC to discuss the elements of a good business presentation. This was a popular and informative event last year so BCVC decided to bring Larry back. This event is MANDATORY for all finalist teams, and would be extremely useful for everyone down the road.

Monday, March 31, 8:00-9:00pm

E-Tower Meeting
Location: Babson College, Van Winkle, C-Tower, 2^nd Floor; map
Organizers: E-Tower
Details:
Rocket Pitches, Student Businesses, Billion Dollar Ideas. Join E-Tower’s 21 entrepreneurs for their weekly meeting.

Wednesday, April 2, 5:15-6:00pm

Speaker: Ryan Davis, on The Evolution of Institutional Equity Trading
Location: Babson College, Olin 102; map
Organizers: Babson Investment Banking Association
Details:
The Babson Investment Banking Association (BIBA) is proud to have Dr. Ryan Davies, a distinguished professor of finance at Babson, to speak about his research on financial markets and what is happening in today’s markets. There will be an opportunity for Q&A at the end.

Please RSVP to echiu2@babson.edu.
Thursday, April 3, 6:00-7:30pm

Roundtable Career Talk: “Legal Aspects of Venture Capital Careers in the Life Sciences”
Location: Harvard Law School, Austin East; directions; campus map
Organizers: Harvard Law School
Details:
Panelists: Marc Goldberg, General Partner, Bioventures Investors; Susan Mazur, Partner, Wilmer Hale; John Vander Vort, General Partner and COO, MPM Capital; Moderator: Benjamin Roin, Academic Fellow, Petrie-Flom Center

For questions, please contact Aneesh Kulkarni, kulkarni@fas.harvard.edu.

Thursday, April 3, 7:00pm

Speaker: Ryan Allis
Location: Boston College, Devlin 008 (admissions building next to the library); map
Organizers: Boston College Entrepreneur Society
Details:
Ryan Allis, CEO of two successful internet companies, has shown up on Donny Deutsch’s show “The Big Idea”, has been featured on the cover of “Fortune Small Business” Magazine and has just released his own book titled…”Zero to One Million”… which reached #2 on amazon, and #1 in the business section of amazon…in a matter of 2 days. You will not want to miss this event where Ryan will be GIVING AWAY 50 free copies of his book to the first 50 people who show up at the door. He will also be sharing with us how he reached his success and share with us some tips and tricks on getting started with our own ventures.

Sunday, April 6, 8:00am-3:00pm

Speaker: Ryan Allis
Location: Harvard Business School; map
Organizers: HBS Retail and Apparel Club
Details:
On Sunday April 6th, 2008, the Retail & Apparel Club and the Luxury Goods & Design Business Club will host their 4th Annual Retail and Luxury Goods Conference at the Harvard Business School campus in Boston. The conference will bring together members of the HBS student community, alumni, faculty, distinguished business leaders, and community members to explore the opportunities and challenges facing retailers and consumer brands in an ever-changing business environment.

For details and to register, please visit http://www.studentclubs.hbs.edu/lgdb/conference/.

I just attended the Babson Entrepreneurial Energy Expo. For a student run conference, it was well run: over 500 registered guests and leading green technology specialists from around the country participated. The part of the symposium that caught many eyes was the soon to be installed residential wind turbine.

Jesse Fink, the keynote speaker and Co-Founder of MissionPoint Capital (a VC firm that specializes in clean tech), addressed the current state of the green economy, business inefficiencies, and climate breakdown. He affirmed that we are in a new era with respect to environmental and economic conditions, a potential turning point green technology which could result in rapid commercialization. Going green is not only a business opportunity for entrepreneurs, but a marketing challenge moving forward. He explained that there are many technologies on the shelf that need to be commercialized by entrepreneurs like ourselves, but that a traditional model of technology innovation cannot provide the entire solution. In order to move forward Fink emphasized three key movements:

1. The emergence of new technologies that are followed by deployments from capital markets.

2. An effort on the consumer side to change habits.

3. A crucial change in governmental policy; a lack of such change will not allow us to make a switch to become a low carbon market. There must be a price on carbon, and the lack of, is primarily why companies are so wasteful.

We must create new business models to change behaviors. To sustain and build this new economy, there must be a vital combination of technology, innovation, and commercialization. Fink certainly knows what he is talking about and others seem to have confidence in his abilities and vision: he raised $335 million for his fund in under 10 weeks.

Some other interesting remarks were made by Mark Donohue, a General Partner of Expansion Capital Partners, LLC. Much to my surprise, 10% of all venture capital investments are backing green tech, which is the fastest growing sector. He, like Fink, emphasized that entrepreneurs are a crucial component in the growth and commercialization of clean technologies.

An entrepreneur shared an excellent quote:

“If you’re not doing what you’re passionate about, you’re wasting your life.”

Couldn’t agree more.