CSU, Chico Center for Entrepreneurship: Future Four 2014 Judges

Bob Bozeman - Lead Judge

General Partner, Eastlake Ventures

Bob Bozeman loves being involved in entrepreneurship events because entrepreneurship is the only thing he does, and has seen true entrepreneurship work very well. Bob decided to be a judge for the Future Four event because entrepreneurs need feedback, “the best adjust based on the best feedback, so that circle is important to understand and to participate in”. He believes that the Future Four event is important for students to participate in because "students who learn from these kinds of experiments become motivated to become involved with business, and they relate to the demands and requirements to package solutions in the best way to be successful."

Marc Nemanic

Executive Director, 3Core Inc.

Both of Marc Nemanic’s parents each owned their own businesses, so he has lived and breathed entrepreneurship from an early age. Running 3Core is an exercise in change and novelty so he has to be entrepreneurial each day. “In today’s changing economy, creating new enterprises, whether for profit or for social objectives, will become the norm as opposed to the exception. Jobs will increasingly be self-developed by people as institutions shed traditional jobs and rely on a contingent workforce,” something which he has seen and experienced over many years as the executive director of 3Core, and previously as the Deputy Director of the Shasta County Private Industry Council. Marc chose to be a Future Four judge because he believes that an event like this is the first step in building momentum for entrepreneurship regionally and with partner institutions. He believes that it is essential for young entrepreneurs to get involved with events such as the Future Four because, “every journey starts with the first step. Involvement will spark students to see the possibilities and opportunities. Like-minded people can share and support each other as the journey begins. Not everyone will be a prototypical entrepreneur, but it takes many different skills and creative talents so that something is created and gives consumers something of value. Events like this open doors and minds to the future.”

Thomas Villa

Product Director, Education Products & Services, Verizon Wireless

“In today’s business environment, innovation and entrepreneurship go hand in hand.” Thomas Villa has over 20 years of service and management experience both domestically and overseas within the wireless industry, and throughout that time has worked for some true entrepreneurial companies. Those companies have in common the ability to look out into the future, identify needs, and translate those needs back to present day roadmaps that deliver disruptive, innovative, value added products and experiences. Tom loves that CSU, Chico’s Center for Entrepreneurship is promoting an environment of Ideation, “free thinking that could change our lives”. Being given the opportunity to judge this event where students are “at the bleeding edge of changes that could and should occur…it would be difficult for me not to support that both professionally and personally.”

Lance Blanshei

Managing Partner, Blanshei Partners, Brand & New Products Development Consultancy

Founder, Tea Innovations, Inc.

Lance Blanshei has had over 20 years of driving food and beverage innovation vis-a-vis new product and brand development for Fortune 100 CPG firms. He also created what is described as the most innovative and successful foodservice tea concept in the country. Lance chose to be a judge for the Future Four event as he is pleased to support Peter Straus and his amazing program. Lance believes that the Future Four event is, “an exceptional opportunity for CSU, Chico’s aspiring entrepreneurs to realize the potential of putting their ideas and passions on the line in a competitive review”.

Jeff Spence

Serial Technology Entrepreneur

Jeff Spence has been involved in buying, building, and selling technology companies for more than 15 years. He has raised capital and built teams on six continents across dozens of countries, and currently advises a half dozen technology companies. Jeff chose to be a judge for the Future Four event because he believes that “entrepreneurial leadership skills are learned, not inherited at birth” and that “these skills will have the greatest impact on our economy and society over the course of the next 20 to 50 years.” Jeff believes that an event like the Future Four is important because the type of competition allows students to gain the benefits of in-market successes and failures without having to endure the typical time and expense of these in real life. He says, “the business and innovative discipline that participants have to exercise to be successful in these competitions is difficult to teach through traditional classroom business curriculum.”


Louis Stewart

Deputy Director, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)

Louis Stewart’s current role is to help California develop an ecosystem that encourages entrepreneurship, promotes long term economic growth and facilitates job creation through innovation. He wanted to be a judge for the Future Four because he saw it as an “excellent opportunity to get involved at the grassroots level of entrepreneurship as well as become aware of up and coming innovation in the region.” Louis believes that events like the Future Four are important because “students are the future of innovation and I believe innovation drives the global economy so it is imperative for students to participate in events such as these so that we understand how to reduce barriers based on what is presented and they inform us about what is coming.”

Julie Indvik, Ph.D.

Associate Dean of Business (interim), CSU Chico

Julie Indvik’s involvement with entrepreneurship has been “layered”. As the department chair in the early 2000’s, she initiated the development for the CSUC Entrepreneurship Program in the Management program. In 2007-09, she redesigned the academic program as the current major for Business students and the current Minor available to any student on campus. “Our program is definitely an example of bricolage: making the most of the resources at hand to create something new.” Being so involved with the Center for Entrepreneurship since its development in 2005, it was an easy choice for Julie to be a part of this landmark event. The academic entrepreneurship program, the Center for Entrepreneurship, and the student club Collegiate Entrepreneurial Association have spent a great deal of time offering tools, practice, experience, and guidance so that students can start new ventures. “This event is the culmination of many faculty and many students across the four campuses working and learning for months to turn creative ideas into viable ventures.”

Dan Ripke

Director, Center for Economic Development and Northeastern California SBDC

Dan Ripke has spent 26 years of his life supporting entrepreneurs, and works with approximately 3,000 small businesses annually. He has been a strong supporter for student entrepreneurs across 23 counties, so being a judge for the Future Four event was an easy decision for him. Dan believes that it is essential for students to be involved in events like the Future Four, because “students need to understand the important opportunities created by applying their technical skills, natural talents, and energy to start new enterprises.”

3Core, Inc. is proud to be a partner with the Chico State Center for Entrepreneurship, and to sponsor eWeek.

Moms in the Workplace

Photo Credit: onlineri.com

Once children come along, women are still “opting out” or downscaling their careers to take care of their new family, even though some countries have stepped up the support for working parents. It is starting to become noticeable that this is actually a worldwide phenomenon, most of the time due to one partner earning enough that the mother can afford not to work, or for the mother’s job not paying enough to cover childcare costs. The main drivers are educational attainment and childcare issues. In the US, mothers at the top of the “educational ladder are disproportionally opting out” according to Joni Hersch, professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Women with bachelor’s degrees from the most elite universities are 20% less likely to work, if they are married with children, than those who do not have children. Women with the same degree from lesser-ranked schools are only 13.5% less likely to work. These percentages are magnified when Women who receive bachelor’s degrees from the most-selective schools continue to earn an MBA. 35% of women with bachelors degrees from these schools will also hold an MBA and work full time, in comparison to 66% of women MBA holders from less-selective schools. “For a lot of women, when they’re struggling through that tough pipeline mid-career phase when everything is on their shoulders at work and at home, what women need is to have really strong opportunities to make it worth it for them and their families” says Ilene Lang, president and CEO of Catalyst, a New York-based non-profit that advocates for executive women. 

The other reason for women leaving the work force for their families is the cost and quality of childcare. Another pull for women is that especially in the media, there is an attitude that women should start focusing more on their kids when they are young, says Julia Broussard, the country program manager of UN Women’s China office. In Sweden the availability of high-quality childcare is plenty, there is a guaranteed spot at public preschools for all children, and the parents are charged no more than 3% of their salary for the care. Other European countries are not the same. A report in 2007 by McKinsey & Co showed that employment rates for mothers “ranged from a high of 78% in Sweden to a low of 42% in Spain” (Schoenberger), and probably lower for mothers in the hardest-hit countries since the European financial crisis.

Are you a working mother? How do you balance work life and family life?

Meet Our Recipients - Upper Park Designs

The concept of the Seed Fund is to provide emerging entrepreneurs with small investment that propels them forward. While the capital is important, mentoring and intellectual support has proven to be the valuable components to this program.  

Upper Park Designs is a small disc golf accessory company located in Chico, California. As avid disc golfers we struggled to find a bag that met our needs and looked good doing it. Our goals were simple: create products that are unique in style, innovative in design, and unmatched in comfort. We use cutting edge design techniques and durable, outdoor materials to bring our creations to life. From your average casual player to professionals, our products are designed for all types of play. We believe the best designs should be as versatile as the people using them.

 

Our team consists of three Chico State students: Jon Richardson, Hobie Jensen, and Patrick Edelman. Each of us brings a separate skill set to the table, allowing the three of us to cover the majority of needs in the company. 

 Jon is a well-versed business major with a project management and management background. He handles marketing, customer relations, photography, and the majority of day-to-day business. Almost as outgoing as he is busy, his vision and drive keep the company on a path of growth and success.

Hobie is a complete hands on guy. As a Sustainable Manufacturing major he likes to get down into the details and ensure end-to-end quality. With his 3D printer and connections to local manufacturing companies, prototyping and testing is as easy as ever. Hobie also heads up bookkeeping and product fulfillment. 

Patrick is a passionate Computer Science student with a wide range of web programming and design skills. He provides the team insight of current web technologies and trends to help deliver methods to grow our online sales and marketing platform. . Having also worked and consulted with numerous local start-ups on web and design, he makes a great asset to the team.

For more information on Upper Park Designs, please visit them at
www.UpperParkDesigns.com
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