The 2013 Heartland Student Entrepreneur Conference will take place on Friday, April 19th from 8:30 – 2:30 at Metropolitan Community College's Fort Omaha Campus and will bring together over 200 middle, high and college students from the Omaha metro area specifically studying entrepreneurship, innovation or creativity. This 2nd and now annual conference is able to again be offered for FREE! and is not to be missed if you are an area student from the Heartland area (Douglas, Sarpy, Washington and Dodge counties, Nebraska).
This year's conference participants have a unique ability to be the first Nebraska students to take the YES! – (Your Entrepreneurial Strengths) assessment, a new entrepreneurial talent tool being launched in partnership with Gallup, Inc. prior to coming to the conference. At the conference, students will hear directly from Gallup experts on how to use their YES! results, as well as from other young, local entrepreneurs getting it done including Becky App and Abby Jordan from eCreamery who were recently seen on ABC’s Shark Tank and will be bringing their ice cream with them for a networking mixer.
Click Schedule to view the entire conference program.
REGISTRATION:
Registration is FREE! for Heartland area entrepreneurial students and educators and starts Monday, April 1st! at heartlandconferenceregistration.brownpapertickets.com.
Hurry to be sure to secure your seat at the conference and discover your entrepreneurial talents! Registrants will receive a personal email on the morning of Monday, April 15th giving a private web address and directions to take and view their YES! – (Your Entrepreneurial Strengths) assessment custom report prior to coming to the conference on Friday, April 19th. If possible, you are encouraged to print out your YES! report and bring with you to the conference. Your YES! custom report will explain your results and how you can develop your entrepreneurial talents and style to succeed in an entrepreneurial role and tap into one’s entrepreneurial energy. This information can be used in school, in any career, or in starting a new business.
In consideration of acceptance of enrollment in The Heartland Student Entrepreneur Conference, registrants will authorize Metropolitan Community College to use their image, likeness, name and comments in, but not limited to, photographs, videos and audio recordings created or used for the purposes of publicity/marketing and advertising for the College.
SCHEDULE:
- Click Schedule to view the entire conference program.
- When: Friday, April 19th 8:30 am – 2:30 pm. Registration, Coffee & Networking starts at 8:00 am.
- Where: Metro Community College, Fort Omaha Campus, Swanson Conference Center Building #22. (Inside The Institute for Culinary Arts). 5300 North 30th Street, Omaha, NE (32nd & Sorenson Parkway). Parking is free and open to the public. To view information on the campus including the ability to download a map of the campus, see: http://www.mccneb.edu/campuslocations/foc.asp.
SPEAKERS
Key Note Speakers
Get The Scoop on eCreamery Ice Cream & Gelato
Becky App and Abby Jordan, Co-Owners
www.ecreamery.com
Becky App & Abby Jordan met while working at Borsheims Fine Jewelry & Gifts, Becky in Marketing and Abby in eCommerce. Over their lunch hours, they would brainstorm about how luxury gift giving could get even better. It hit them, make it personalized and edible! In 2008, they launched eCreamery Ice Cream & Gelato, a boutique ice cream parlor in Omaha, Nebraska with a traditional storefront located in Dundee churning out customized ice cream sold and delivered nationally through its online store. They've received extensive press for the quality of their ice creams, the uniqueness of personalized flavors and their success of entering the gift giving industry. Their impressive clientele includes previous U.S. Presidents, Hollywood celebrities and top chefs. Their story has been seen in Oprah, Martha Stewart Weddings, The New York Times, the ABC hit show Shark Tank, The Today Show, The Wall Street Journal, Town and Country and many, many more.
Immediately after their speak will be a Networking Event featuring Ice Cream & Gelato from the eCreamery! This will not be any standard ice cream social….come prepared to make new relationships and get some business done! You are encouraged to bring business cards.
Panelists
Angela Lee, CEO and Founder of SHOLDIT
www.sholdit.com
Born in Western Nebraska and raised on a cattle ranch, Angela Lee grew up knowing how to work hard and the value of a dollar. She attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 2000-2004 and received a degree in journalism and went on to establish the Strictly Business Magazine in the Omaha market. In 2011, Angela invented the SHOLDIT Clutch Wrap purse that within five months of launch was featured on The TODAY Show, recognized in USA Today and profiled by The Associated Press as well as other various newscasts.
Keith Fix, Chief Blab, Owner of Blab Feed
www.blabfeed.com
Keith Fix is an Omaha native and recent graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha whom has managed to raise six-figures from private investors to start his 3rd company, BlabFeed.com while still in college. Keith won many entrepreneurial competitions during his collegiate days including being the 2012 Heartland Student Entrepreneur Conference Elevator Pitch winner of the college division. His work as a successful young entrepreneur and his various tech ventures have made headlines, receiving local and national media coverage by Entrepreneur Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek and the Omaha World Herald.
Alex Toole, Owner of Lawn Care For Less
Alex started Lawn Care for Less at the age of 15 with one push mower, two clients that lived next door to each other and parents that were needed to drive him around. Just five years later Alex has grown the company to over 100 clients in the Metro area, providing both lawn care and snow removal services with a team of 2-6 employees with their own trucks to haul their equipment. Alex is a student at Millard West High School and is enrolled in Millard's Entrepreneurship Academy where he is able to directly apply his Academic time towards enhancing his business knowledge and planning for his future. He has already completed many college level business and entrepreneurship courses through the dual credit programming available in partnership with UNO and Metro Community College. Alex will graduate in May and continue on to UNO in the fall while continuing to run Lawn Care for Less fulltime.
WORKSHOPS
As a new feature this year, students can self select to attend two workshops during the conference. Workshop topics are designed for those in either the “Start-Up” or “Growth” stages of entrepreneurship to cater to different degree levels of educational need and interest. But certainly, students can attend any workshop in any phase.
Even the Educators have a workshop session to attend! During Breakout Session “A” Educators will attend a professional development session instructed by Gallup and the Nebraska Department of Education. This session is for Educators only.
For more information on the workshops including the workshop times, descriptions and presenters, please click Schedule to view the entire conference program.
COMPETITIONS
Win Prizes
Throughout the day, all student attendees will have the ability to win door prizes provided by our exhibitors. Local entrepreneurial resource providers such as The Small Business Administration, SCORE, and The Small Business Association of the Midlands (SBAM), etc…. in addition to representatives of the educational institutions will be on hand to get you connected!
Additionally, the following competitions will take place:
Big Idea Essay Contest
1. BIG IDEA ESSAY CONTEST: Submit Your Big Idea! In 300 words maximum, craft an essay to show your passion for entrepreneurship by summarizing your big idea to be your own boss, an intrapreneurial-minded employee or the next great innovator. All ideas accepted including those with a for-profit, non-profit or a social agenda. Winners will be announced at the conference. Tell us what you have going on! Identify:
- What is the idea? How was the idea born? Why is it a good idea?
- Who would be (or are) your consumer and how can it satisfy a consumer need?
- How will you personally make it successful? (Show your passion)
- What are your next educational and/or professional development plans to support your idea?
Submission: Email to: entrcompetition@mccneb.edu by midnight, April 15th to submit your essay as a .doc, .docx or a .rtf file attachment. Super Slick!
Judging: Entries will be judged on the ability to present an idea in writing, addressing all of the elements above while using correct grammar and sentence structure.
Prizes: Winners will be announced at the conference and some students may be invited to read their essay to the audience. There will be three divisions (College, High School and Middle School) with three winners from each division named. Prizes for each division:
- 1st Place: $50 Gift Card
- 2nd Place: $25 Gift Card
- 3rd Place: $10 Gift Card
Elevator Pitch Contest
2. ELEVATOR PITCH CONTEST: This competition will bring together the top presenters as to be identified by each individual school’s competitions held prior to April 19th (or as identified by Instructor if a school has not held a competition) to participate in a 2-minute maximum elevator pitch contest. Students will use their voice only to present their ideas to a panel of live judges to win prizes. No technology nor props of any kind will be allowed. Students will have a maximum of 1-minute following their pitch to address questions from the panel of judges. There will be 2 divisions of students:
- College/University: Each participating college/university in the Heartland Student Entrepreneur Conference will be able to nominate and send up to 2 students to participate from their respective schools.
- Middle/High School: Each participating middle or high school in the Heartland Student Entrepreneur Conference located in Douglas, Sarpy, Washington or Dodge counties will be able to nominate and send up to 2 students to participate from their respective schools.
Submission: The lead Instructor from each representative school to be in attendance must register their student participants by emailing by midnight on April 15th to entrcompetition@mccneb.edu the following:
- School Name
- Division Entering (College/University or Middle/High School)
- Student's Names (maximum two)
- Business Name being pitched (or quick summary of the business concept being developed)
Judging: A panel of external judges will assess the quality of the pitches to include both the content and the delivery using the following scoring form:
TEACHER RESOURCES
SPONSOR
The Heartland Student Entrepreneur Conference is made possible with the support of the Lincoln Financial Foundation.
CONTACT
For conference-related questions, please contact:
Heather Nelson: 402-289-1376, hnelson@mccneb.edu
|
Close Disable
