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CONNECTS

Our CONNECTS seminar series enhances the experiential education of any individual interested in innovation and entrepreneurship. Tailored mainly for students to help take their ideas from conception to commercialization, the seminars run throughout the academic year. Teams looking for talent and talent looking for teams can CONNECT at these events.

McGinnis Venture Competition Focused Seminars (Fall 2024)

Applying for the McGinnis Venture Competition? Attend these seminars to help prepare. These are noted in the seminar descriptions
NEW THIS YEAR: The Social Enterprise Track for the McGinnis Venture Competition will have focused seminars for those applying.

All CONNECTS events will be hosted in-person at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, Tepper Quad, 3rd Level. A virtually option will also be available.

Advanced registration is required. Zoom information will be sent before the event to all registered attendees. Please note that the session will be recorded.

Join the CMU Entrepreneurship Slack to connect with fellow entrepreneurs

Fall 2024 Schedule

Designing a Product Culture

Tuesday, September 10, 2024
 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EST
  In Person: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual  
Presenter: Brad Eiben, Carnegie Mellon University

You'll learn:

The critical importance of culture, especially for startups
Applying design thinking to building culture
When, "The customer is always right," is wrong
Motivation, implementation, and reinforcement

Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition

Wednesday, September 11, 2024
  12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EST  
In Person: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual 
Presenter: Len Caric, Carnegie Mellon University

Why interview for a job when you can be the CEO of your own company after graduation? No ideas for a business? No problem, acquire an existing business and be in control of your future.

Business Model Canvas: A Practical Guide*

Tuesday, September 17, 2024
 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST
 In Person: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual 
Presenter: Craig Markovitz, CMU Swartz Center

*This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs have heard of the business model canvas, but few actually use it correctly. This workshop will focus on the proper techniques to leverage the full value of this important tool for business planning and validation.

Customer Discovery*

Wednesday, September 18, 2024
 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST 
In Person: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual 
Presenter: Emily Moquin, Schmidt Market Research

*This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition.

Understanding the importance of customer-centricity in decision-making from concept to commercialization and practical tips for when and how to gather customer insights.

Uncovering Ideas with Strategic Design*

Thursday, September 19, 2024 
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EST 
Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual 
Presenter: Megan Guidi, Open/CMU

*This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition.

“That’s a great idea!” is an exclamation we’d all like to hear from our leaders, instructors, investors and users. But are great ideas just lucky strikes? Or is there a structured way to explore possibilities and generate ideas? In this seminar, we’ll focus on the types of strategic design methods used to uncover ideas, discuss how to implement these in your own practice and try one or two!

You’ll:

Learn how to identify where you are in the process of having a “great idea”
Appropriately target methods to your work
Get FREE access to a virtual strategic design tool-kit

Please come ready to follow-along and participate in interactive activities (this will not be a passive session).

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning*

Tuesday, September 24, 2024
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EST 
Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual 
Presenter: Bob Blattberg, Carnegie Mellon University

Please note: The speaker for this talk will be virtual

*This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition, specifically into the Social Enterprise Track.

This workshop will explore a critical part of a marketing strategy, segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP). Market segmentation is the process of dividing up mass markets into groups with similar needs. Targeting identifies the most attractive segments. Positioning refers to the place that a product or services occupies in the minds of the customers and how it is distinguished from the products or services of its competitors. Topics covered will include examples of successful application of STP in the social enterprise space and the process to determine how to segment a market, what criteria should be used for determining which segments to target and showing positioning maps.

Start Smart Law: Introduction to Startup Law

Thursday, September 26, 2024
 5:00 - 6:15 p.m. EST, Zoom Only 
Presenter: David Lehman, K&L Gates & Stephanie Dangel, University of Pittsburgh School of Law

Using a checklist that will be distributed, you’ll be given a lightning round of the key legal needs and issues for a startup: Founders agreements, equity splits, company formation, handling IP, raising capital, building a team, etc. Then you’ll get to ask YOUR most pressing legal questions. This session and checklist will be the basis of future Start Smarts which will go into each of the issues in more depth.

Unique Selling Proposition*

Tuesday, October 1, 2024 
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EST
 Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual 
Presenter: Bob Blattberg, Carnegie Mellon University

Please note: The speaker for this talk will be virtual

*This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition, specifically into the Social Enterprise Track.

The purpose of this workshop is to learn about a key marketing concept – an organization’s unique selling proposition (USP). The unique selling proposition, also called unique value proposition in the business model canvas, is the marketing strategy of informing customers about how ones brand or product is superior to its competitors. Topics to be covered include what are the three criteria for determining if your product or service has a USP, what is the difference between a benefit and a feature and why is this critical in determining a USP and examples from both for profit and non-profit firms of USP’s.

Science vs. Art in Pricing and Revenue*

Wednesday, October 2, 2024 
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EST 
Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual
 Presenter: Laura Forth, Go Further, LLC

*This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition.

This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition. The science of pricing involves systematic analysis, data-driven methodologies and profit-maximizing techniques. The art of pricing encompasses the intuitive, creative and strategic aspects of setting prices. Every good revenue model requires a bit of both.  

This workshop blends the 'science' of market-proven best practices with the 'art' of creative strategies, helping entrepreneurs build a confident revenue model.

The Lean Startup

Tuesday, October 8, 2024 
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST
 In Person: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual 
Presenter: Dave Mawhinney, CMU Swartz Center

The Lean Startup is a technical approach to generating and managing startups, helping to get an anticipated product or service into the hands of customers faster. Learn how to make your startup lean and efficient using entrepreneurial best practices in this seminar.

Pitching Innovation to the C-Suite

Wednesday, October 9, 2024 
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST
  In Person: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual 
Presenter: Melissa Murphy, Carnegie Mellon University

One of the most common complaints of corporate entrepreneurs is being blindsided by questions from outside their areas of expertise. Even well-prepared corporate entrepreneurs have higher-stakes conversations than traditional startup CEOs with stakeholders coming from narrower perspectives.

Before pitching the idea, think about it from the perspective of the functional areas of leadership in the C-Suite. Through what lenses will the most powerful decision-makers in the company view new ideas?

Join us for a lively discussion about better ways to prepare for pitching innovation to the C-Suite, the much higher communications burden placed on intrapreneurs in the early days of innovation and how to better leverage tools such as the Pitching Innovation to the C-Suite Canvas.

Start Smart Law: How to Handle Your (and Others') Intellectual Property

Thursday, October 10, 2024
5:00 - 6:15 p.m. EST, Zoom Only
Presenters: David Lehman and Lauren Murray, K&L Gates

Intellectual Property is an asset to be protected. This session will cover how to deal with IP issues including:

Different ways to protect your company’s IP (copyrights, trade secrets, patents, trademarks, etc.)
Do you really need a patent?
Difference between a provisional patent and a formal patent filing
Developing a patent strategy
How to handle IP created by class projects when one or more of the student team members want to pursue commercialization
Tips on searching the US Patent Office Database (for prior ‘art’ e.g. existing patents)
What to expect after filing a patent (time and expenses)

Start Smart Law: How to Form Your Startup Company, Part 1: The Basics

Thursday, October 24, 2024
5:00 - 6:15 p.m. EST, Zoom Only
Presenter: David Lehman, K&L Gates & Stephanie Dangel, University of Pittsburgh School of Law

Please note: this session is a pre-requisite to attend “How to Form Your Startup Company, Part 2: Workshop”

Learn the basic legal issues involved with new company formation, including choice of entity (LLC, C-Corp, social enterprise options such as non-profit (501c), Benefit Corporation, B Corps certification, and other company structure alternatives)), basics of founders’ agreements, splitting equity, and employee vesting. Participants will receive a legal road map and checklist to begin working on prior to “How to form Your Startup Company, Part 2: Workshop” on November 7.

Pitch with Production Value*

Tuesday, October 29, 2024 
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST 
Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual 
Presenter: Brian Staszel, Carnegie Mellon University

*This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition.

How to script, capture and edit quality video that looks more expensive than it was.

Outcome & Impact Measurement*

Wednesday, October 30, 2024 
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EST 
Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual
Presenter: Bob Blattberg, Carnegie Mellon University

Please note: The speaker for this talk will be virtual

*This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition, specifically into the Social Enterprise Track.

This workshop will focus what and how to measure social enterprise’s impact. In the “for-profit” sector, there are numerous measures used to assess the success of the organization such as profit, EBIDA and sales increases. Measuring non-profits is more difficult. Many non-profits use input measures such as number served or cost to serve. While important, it is necessary to also measure impact and outcomes. We will provide a measurement structure which focuses on inputs, intermediary measures and output and outcome measures. Examples will be provided showing how non-profits can compute these relevant measures.

Avoiding Mentor Whiplash: How to Manage Conflicting Advice*

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST 
In Person: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual
Presenter: Jim Jen, CMU Swartz Center

*This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition.

Building a strong network of mentors and advisors can be incredibly valuable for your startup (and career). But as you talk to more people, how do you reconcile the differing feedback you receive? This CONNECTS talk will provide frameworks for assessing feedback and tips on how to build successful mentor relationships.

How to Win Friends and Influence Judges: The Lost Art of the Question & Answer Experience*

Thursday, November 7, 2024 
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EST
 In Person: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual 
Presenter: Adam Paulisick, maad labs/CMU

*This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition.

Most people think that great presentations are finished when you have completed your pitch but that's just when the live-or-die moment emerges in the questions that come from panelists, investors, fellow entrepreneurs, or audience members to see if you are really doing something differentiated. This session will focus on how to inventory those likely questions, especially the ones that might get hostile, and proactively answer or crowdsource within your team the most differentiated answers.

You'll

 Learn how to identify different types of hostile frequently asked questions (polar, open, closed, etc)
Explore answer patterns that result in urgency, heavy recall, and a variety of other desired outcomes
Get FREE access (30 days) to Skillbuilder.io to help easily crowdsource the best answers proactively to these tough questions for your pitch
Work towards the 10 most likely make-or-break questions you'll get LIVE!

Please come ready with a tablet or laptop to follow along, interact, and workshop your specific questions during this session.

Start Smart Law: How to Form Your Startup Company, Part 2: Workshop

Thursday, November 7, 2024
5:00 - 6:15 p.m. EST, Zoom Only
Presenter: David Lehman, K&L Gates & Stephanie Dangel, University of Pittsburgh School of Law

Please note: in order to attend this session, you will need to have previously attended “How to Form Your Startup Company, Part 1: The Basics” on October 24

Your team will be matched with one or more law students to design a “legal roadmap” that will recommend the best entity option for your startup and the basics of a Founders Agreement. You will also receive guidance on other legal issues on your ‘checklist’ – all under the supervision of experienced startup lawyers!

This workshop fills up quickly, so if you want to be matched with a Pitt Law student, you will need to fill out a brief application (to be provided to attendees of the Oct. 24 “How to Form Your Startup Company, Part 1: The Basics” session) and send to Stephanie Dangel (sad111@pitt.edu) by EOD on Thursday, October 31.

Note: There is NO obligation to form a company because of participation in this workshop. Startups can form a company at any time that it makes sense to do so!

Nonprofit Finance and Funding*

Wednesday, November 13, 2024 
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EST 
Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, 3rd Level, Tepper Quad/Virtual 
Presenter: Kim McCormick and Leah Lizarondo, CMU Swartz Center

*This seminar is recommended for anyone participating in the McGinnis Venture Competition, specifically into the Social Enterprise Track.

Social Enterprise and Nonprofit Financing: An overview of some alternative funding strategies tailored for startups that are "social enterprises" (for-profits for good) i.e. companies that have social, economic, or environmental impact or targeting B-Corp status and nonprofits with revenue models. Topics will range from non-dilutive funding options to nonprofit M&As.