filename: "e-club-description-brief"; contents: REWRITE of e-club description for ua guide; icreated: thu 27aug92; source01: inbox/3104, to: queen@eagle.mit.edu, to edit and rtn; x-refs01: e-club-description1, generic reply to "e-club-request"; -------- Generic Description of the MIT Entrepreneurs Club, brief, of 27 August 1992 The MIT Entrepreneurs Club, aka "The E-Club" Doug Ling and Richard Shyduroff, Co-Founders, Co-Directors Risa Bobroff, Research Associate v-mail & information tree: x3-2000 (MITmail: c/o R Shyduroff, MIT E-Club, E15-443) e-newsletter subscriptions: 10k competition info: <10k-request@athena> The MIT Entrepreneurs Club meets every Tuesday at 6 pm in 66-144 for regular, new business start-up idea presentations and crits, and again at 7pm in 66-148 for brainstorming and consulting sessions. The 6pm meeting is our "regular" meeting, lasting one hour. It is open to all students, especially those with new ideas looking for immediate and critical feedback, and to people primarily from The MIT Community who have current and relevant knowledge, skills and talents they would gladly share with a new MIT start-up venture if they knew what those ventures were about, who was trying to launch them, what the market might be, and how they might be funded. After the usual introductions all 'round, new and prospective members give new idea presentations of from three-to-ten minutes, per idea. Sometimes these are carefully planned talks with handouts and references, but just as often we enjoy impromptu offerings from those who only "got" their first or latest new idea hours before they knew the E-Club existed. Prepared presentation or not, it's the quality of the idea and it's market potential that is of real importance, and the commentary and critical feedback from the audience, which may range in size from six-to-sixty people, is what the presenter is most interested in obtaining. If the idea is well received and the presenter appears to possess what at MIT is referred to as the "Preston Passion Factor" [see note a] then the invitation is extended to the presenter to return with more fully developed material for an extended, in-depth brainstorming session usually at one of the Tuesday 7pm sessions in 66-148. These more analytical sessions are attended by Club members, advisors, associates and friends from around The Institute who have an especial interest in the field from which the new idea comes or the carefully organized MIT and associated venture capital environment in which the idea may best be funded, researched and developed and brought to market. Presentations in the 7pm sessions may go for hours and often include graphics and demos and by extension, invitations to participate further in field trips to area schools, universities, businesses and private corporate research facilities and to financial management and venture funding meetings where fully developed business plan presentations are delivered. MIT students quickly discover that these varied and related activities are immediately useful and can even be fun, and they often apply their new knowledge most energetically in our "10k" competition. The E-Club founded, organizes and conducts the annual (now in it's fourth year) MIT $10K Student Competition, with assistance from the Sloan School's New Ventures Association (The NVA). Since 1990 the "10k" has awarded over $40,000 to student teams which submitted winning business plans for their venture ideas, and the E-Club, it's advisors, the competition sponsors and judges have helped create and launch several MIT high-tech start-up companies. The Club's most highly visible and successful project, the "10k" provides a "common ground" starting point for students; it is during this on-campus, school-wide activity that participants regularly apply the experience they obtain in The Club; by participation in the regular meetings, crit, brainstorming and project update and review sessions, ongoing information and networking meetings and hands-on tutorials, in team building and in collaboration among those with the "passion factor" that they have proved the value of our nearly five-year effort at MIT to foster the generation and presentation of new, high quality venture ideas, the learning of market research and business plan preparation, fundraising for R&D and the ultimate creation of new technology-based enterprises. The history and details of the "10K" are available as a separate paper, sometimes titled "$10K Facts" and sample guidelines to entering the competition are available upon request. The guidelines for 10K'93 are in preparation and shall be available during fall term. Off-campus, the E-Club has been instrumental in designing and launching the recent city-agency-based Cambridge Business Development Center, which recruits MIT students interested in working with people from a wide range of business backgrounds and experiences from around the US and many foreign lands. The two principal routes for student funding are through MIT's Public Service Center's $1200 fellowships and for funding and credit through the MIT UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program). For information on the Cambridge Business Development Center (CBDC) contact E-Club Co-Director Douglas Ling, Associate Director, at 349-4690. Internationally, The E-Club operates a pilot program in it's virtual "E-Club Moscow Office" and has alum involved in several technology- based start-up assistance programs in Central America and Eastern Europe. The E-Club is open to all members of The MIT Community, and is, in fact, the only group of it's kind that is open and free to all from frosh to post-docs, and to faculty, staff and alum. For additional information please contact any of the directors or regular (active) members by calling x3-2000 or simply coming to your own Tuesday meeting at 6pm in 66-144 to participate or just observe. See you at the next meeting! Tuesday, 8 September at 6pm in 66-144! - richard shyduroff, and for Doug Ling, Risa Bobroff and The E-Club .