ENTREPRENEURS’ ACADEMY
BASIL SPRINGER COLUMN TO APPEAR IN THE BARBADOS ADVOCATE’S BUSINESS MONDAY ON 06 MARCH 2006
ENTREPRENEURS’ ACADEMY
“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them†– Matthew 18:20
The following excerpt from the book ‘The God in You’ by Robert Collier paraphrases the above text: ‘That is the reason it was said in the Vedas thousands of years ago that if any two people would unite their psychic forces, they could conquer the world!’ …That is the reason Jesus told us – For when two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them, and I shall grant their request….When two or more nerve cells unite for a certain action, they get that action, even if to bring it about they have to draw upon every cell in the whole body for help’.
At recent meetings of various combinations of Directors of Counterpart Caribbean over the last eight months, there have been several recurring themes. One of these, promoted by Dr Noel Brown, former head of the United Nations Environmental Programme, has been the mounting of a Caribbean Young Entrepreneurs’ Academy as a Centre for the training of people to make money. He commented that ‘We are good savers, but we are not good investors’.
There are many examples of Entrepreneur Academy’s around the world. One such example is the Vietnamese Silicon Valley Network (VSVN) which launched its first Entrepreneurs’ Academy Seminar on June 11, 2005. It provided an overview of key business issues in starting a technology company for the aspiring as well as experienced entrepreneurs.
Specifically, this one day seminar featured discussion on the planning and preparation phase prior to starting up a company by experienced entrepreneurs. Other topics discussed included legal issues to consider when forming and structuring a company, how to market your idea to potential investors and venture capitalists, and how to get and close beta customers. Unlike other educational and training programs, the Academy will also have a panel of mentors, who are experienced entrepreneurs, executives or investors with expertise in different aspects of the company building cycle. The mentors will provide ongoing mentoring to VSVN paying members who attend the seminar.
’Many great ideas and innovations are never brought to market, due to lack of business know-how. With the Entrepreneurs’ Academy we hope to inspire and provide the business intelligence for entrepreneurs to just make it happen’, said Huy Do, chairman and president of VSVN.
‘The Entrepreneurs’ Academy also distinguishes itself with an ongoing mentoring panel of veteran professionals in high-tech space that will help VSVN’s members even after the seminar has ended. It will be an invaluable resource to the community.’
Over the last six months CBET has been promoting the CBET Shepherding Modelâ„¢ , which speaks of CBET business facilitation