• Wed. Feb 28th, 2007 @ 7:00pm - 9:00pm
• TiE Midwest
• Drinker Biddle Gardner Carton
• Address: 191 North Wacker Drive, Suite 3700
• Fee: TiE members free (others $ 20)
• sign up here

Join TiE Midwest for our kick-off to the 2007 program year. Our first event will be “What VCs look for in a CEO”, held on Wednesday, February 28th.

For entrepreneurs who are looking to build a business that scales rapidly and achieves a substantial liquidity event, outside institutional investors and a new management team may help increase the likelihood of success. In this discussion we will explore:

- the characteristics of a CEO that VCs would wish to obtain
- how that might impact the founder’s role and ability to influence the future of the new venture
- how to find a candidate that can be trusted to provide the best possible business platform for the founder’s intellectual property

Join us for a candid discussion involving a panel of VCs and entrepreneurs, moderated by Adarsh Arora, President of TiE Midwest. Seating will be limited, so make sure to RSVP early!

Parking for event attendees is available in the parking garage at Lake and Wacker.

• Tue. Feb 27th, 2007 @ 9:00am - 12:30pm
• SCORE
• Address: SCORE, 500 W. Madison, Suite 1250, Chicago 60661
• Fee: $ 35 prepaid, $ 45 at door
• RSVP website

A thoughtful and well-executed business plan is the first step for every potential entrepreneur. Good planning increases the odds of success. This workshop covers the essential elements of business plan development. Topics include: setting goals and objectives, preparing marketing and financial plans and defining action steps to attain appropriate goals. With a good plan, build your roadmap to success.

• Mon. Feb 26th, 2007 @ 3:30pm - Wed. Jan 31st, 2007 @ 8:00pm
• by many sponsoring organizations
• Gleacher Center
• Address: 450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive, Chicago
• Fee: $ 25 ($ 15 for students)

Entrepreneurs are invited to tryout their best pitches at the Chicagoland FAST PITCH Competition on Monday, February 26, 2007. At the competition, entrepreneurs will deliver pitches of three minutes or less for a chance to win a prize of $ 5,000. A panel of judges will offer feedback to the entrepreneur, and select a winner in each of 5 categories: Information Technology, Business Products and Services, Life Sciences, Retail and Consumer Products, and Open Competition. The five finalists will then present to the general audience, and the champion will be chosen by audience vote. Find more information and register for the competition here.

This competition kicks off Chicago’s celebration of Entrepreneurship Week 2007, a national event sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation. FAST PITCH is co-sponsored by DePaul University, the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, the Illinois Business & Investors Forum, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

For more Entrepreneurship Week 2007 activities, visit: www.chicagoeweek.com

• Thu. Feb 22nd, 2007 @ 9:00am - 12:30pm
• SCORE
• Address: SCORE, 500 W. Madison, Suite 1250, Chicago 60661
• Fee: $ 35 prepaid, $ 45 at door
• RSVP website

If you do not know about SCORE, now is a good time to check them out.

Learn how to protect your business by insuring against losses due to asset damage, third party liability, workmen’s compensation and business interruption. This workshop also covers the basics of federal, state and local taxes and the importance of good recordkeeping.

• Tue. Feb 20th, 2007 @ 5:00pm - 8:00pm
• MIT Enterprise Forum of Chicago
• Drinker Biddle Gardner Carton LLP
• Address: 191 North Wacker Drive, 37th floor
• Fee: free for members, $ 30 otherwise
• sign up on the website

Money. You need it. They have it. How do you get it?

For a company, this is the elemental nature of capital markets, but at a global level, investors drive opportunities. It’s the successful entrepreneur who knows the forces that shape investment decisions.

For our February program, Capital Markets Update 2007 our world-class panel will examine at a macro level the flow of money for the coming year, answering such questions as:

* What are the outlooks for the VC, public and M&A markets?
* What is the general outlook for the economy - local, national, and global - for 2007?
* What structural and regulatory issues will pull and shape the capital markets over the coming year?
* How will all of these affect a company’s financial strategies?
* What does this mean for Chicago?

Register today for this vital program and learn the forces at play on the financial markets for 2007 - and how it affects the welfare of your business.

• Thu. Feb 15th, 2007 @ 5:00pm - 9:00pm
• Chicago NW Chapter WebSphere User’s Group
• 9 Parkway N, Deerfield, IL 60015
• Address: Meridian IT, Nine Parkway North, Deerfield, IL 60015
• Fee: 0

Call Jan Ashley 847-964-2823 about the latest solutions including presentations on:
* Virtualization
* Microsoft Vista and SQL64
* Network Security
* Unified Communications
* Wireless
* Business Continuity
* Meeting IBM’s solution partners
* Touring Innovation Center
* Demos, Prizes, Food and Drinks

Questions? Contact: JannyLeung@yahoo.com

• Tue. Feb 13th, 2007 @ 7:00pm - 9:30pm
• organization"s website
• Lincoln Park Cafe
• Address: 2413 N. Clark St.
• RSVP website

Personal Computing as we know it today can be traced back to a few key moments in the late 70s where a few hobbyists got together to play with very crude computers at the homebrew computer club in Silicon Valley.

It has been a great ride, but we are coming to a point where the last 10 years of the PC experience is largely unchanged.

This isn’t about old computers, Microsoft, web 2.0, Google, Linux, or Apple. It is about starting off with a clean whiteboard, a crazy idea and what you would like to see the next 20 years of computing look like.

• Tue. Feb 13th, 2007 @ 9:00am - 12:30pm
• SCORE
• Address: SCORE, 500 W. Madison, Suite 1250, Chicago 60661
• Fee: $ 35 prepaid, $ 45 at door
• RSVP website

SCORE runs lots of business events, here is just one of the ones from their website:

No matter what the nature of your business, your marketing and sales efforts will determine your success. This workshop covers marketing plans, pricing, promotion and distribution strategies, and methods for finding and keeping your customers.

• Thu. Feb 8th, 2007 @ 7:00pm - 9:00pm
• Chipy
• DePaul CTI 243 S Wabash Ave. The computer lab on the 4th floor
• Fee: free

Meet the founding team behind Enso, as well as learn how it can simplify your computing-life. Seriously, this looks like a really, really, impressive group of founders. Just read Enso’s about page before you dismiss attending this meeting.

I would not want to miss this event. Combine the ever-friendly Phython users group, plus these smart speakers, and you will be entertained and educated. (The President, Aza Raskin is the son of the man who started Apple’s Macintosh project, Jef Raskin).

One of Enso’s products is Enso Launcher. This is designed to give you instant access to your applications and windows. With a few easily remembered keystrokes, you can launch an application, switch to a window by name, and control the state of your windows.

ChiPy is made up of people of all levels of programming and Python knowledge. At every meeting we have had both beginning programmers, people who are just starting to use Python, as well as experienced Python programmers. Don’t be intimidated about coming to a meeting. They also have a great book discount with O’Reilly, just ask.

• Wed. Feb 7th, 2007 @ 6:00pm - 8:00pm
• Young Professionals of Chicago
• University of Chicago Gleacher
• Address: 450 N City Front, Rm TBD, Chicago
• Fee: $ 15 for Members & GSB Students, $ 20 for non-YPC members (prepay and save $ 5)
• Rsvp (links below)

After founder Jimmy John Liautaud graduated second-to-last in his high school class, his options were joining the Army, college, or starting a business. Because Liautaud was always interested in the restaurant business, he chose the latter.

His father loaned him $ 25,000 to start his own hot dog business. If the business was successful, he would own 52% and his father would own 48%. If it failed, it was agreed that Liautaud would join the army. It turns out, Liautaud never started the hot dog business or joined the army. He instead started the sandwich shop, Jimmy John’s.

Today, Liautaud is the sole owner of Jimmy John’s after buying out his father’s side of the business. Jimmy John’s now sells 18 different types of subs with almost 400 outlets in about 20 states. Liautaud projects the chain to grow to at least 1,000 shops by 2009.

Join us on Wednesday, February 7th for our Entrepreneurial Evening Event as Liautaud explains the frustrations and rewards of starting a successful business.

Members & GSB Students Prepay Here for $ 10

Non-Members Prepay Here for $ 20

• Thu. Feb 1st, 2007 @ 7:00pm - 10:00pm
• WCLUG
• State Restaurant
• Address: 935 W. Webster Avenue, Chicago, IL
• Fee: 0
• No RSVP Needed

We’ve Moved! The new location has more room, free WIFI and $ 5 laptop rentals. State Restaurant

Questions? Contact: mmccune@wclug.com