Tapping Entrepreneurial Energy

LETTER FROM PROGRAM CHAIR

I am pleased to invite you to join me in kicking off the 2006-2007 program year of the WPI Venture Forum. This summer, much of the activity has taken place behind the scenes. What you'll find this fall is a year of offerings which promise to build upon the WPI Venture Forum's long history of past successes, drawing upon the energy of a dedicated group of volunteers to add a few new twists to our winning formula.

I am honored to have been elected Chair of the Executive Board of the WPI Venture Forum. I thank Amar V. Kapur for his dedicated service as Chair and look forward to working with him and the Board as we tap into the entrepreneurial energy that surrounds the WPI Venture Forum.

The WPI Venture Forum offers its participants an excellent resource for tracking trends in technology, exploring topics of interest to entrepreneurs, and building a network for success. I encourage you to attend the monthly meetings to learn from our speakers and discover cutting-edge companies examined in the case studies. Use the networking breaks during the monthly meetings and the special networking events held throughout the year to connect with fellow entrepreneurs, service providers and funding sources.

For those of you with a new technology venture, consider submitting your business plan to next fall's annual business plan contest. Take advantage of the mentoring made available as part of the competition to hone your pitch. You may notice a few changes in how we run our monthly programs over the next few months, part of our effort to improve the WPI Venture Forum and its offerings.

For a small investment of your time and resources, the WPI Venture Forum can offer you high returns for years to come. I hope you will consider making the WPI Venture Forum part of your plans.

Sincerely,
Patrick R. Jones
Chair, WPI Venture Forum Executive Board
Attorney at Law, Gesmer Updegrove LLP