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Entrepreneur Conference is a Success

By Kari Johnson
UW-RF News Bureau
[photos]
MAY 13, 2005--The University of Wisconsin-River Falls College of Business and Economics held the first annual Young Entrepreneur's Conference on April 29-30.

Established by a grant from the Xcel Energy Foundation, the conference brought together students and faculty from throughout the UW System. Teams of students from all majors and disciplines were able to take part in a business plan competition to show their entrepreneurial spirit. Students had the opportunity to find out what goes into a successful business plan, to share ideas with leading business executives and entrepreneurs, and to network with business-minded individuals from all over Wisconsin.

Twelve business plans were submitted from five UW schools, which included River Falls, Whitewater, Stevens Point, Eau Claire and Milwaukee. Awards were presented for Best Poster Presentation (Uni's Salsa/ River Falls), Best Written Business Plan (Avella Nets, LLC/Eau Claire), Best Business Plan Presentation (The Alerter/ Whitewater), and Best Overall Business Plan (Functional Fashions/ Stevens Point). The best overall business plan winner received the traveling Lydecker Award, sponsored by the St. Croix and Pierce County Economic Development Corporations.

On Friday, April 29, Greg Frankenfield, president and CEO of Magenic Technologies spoke about his experiences as an entrepreneur and some of the lessons he has learned. Frankenfield told students that one of the most important lessons in business is to understand individual strengths and weaknesses, and to find people to work with who complement your capabilities.

Students attended afternoon panel sessions on Saturday. At these sessions, students learned about the resources that are available to entrepreneurs and received helpful tips on approaches to financing. Also discussed was how to access and make the best use of community resources.

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