You reached this page through the archive. Click here to return to the archive.

Note: This article is over a year old and information contained in it may no longer be accurate. Please use the contact information in the lower-left corner to verify any information in this article.

St. Olaf to host discussion on 'what's hot' in business world

By Kari VanDerVeen
February 7, 2008

News about the economy has been bleak in recent months, but a group of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs who will speak at St. Olaf College Tuesday, Feb. 12, will point to areas in their fields where they see growth and opportunity.

MuirSian
Sian Muir
The "What's Hot and What's Not" panel, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 6 p.m. in Buntrock Commons' Viking Theater. The panel will provide an opportunity for students and members of the public to find ideas for the next innovation in medical services, medical devices, environmental work, technology and general business. Panelists will talk about areas in their fields that are hot despite an American economy that has gone cold.

"Start-ups and smaller ventures can be nimble in tough economic times and make quick adjustments with the changing marketplace," says event organizer Sian Muir, associate director of the Finstad Program for Entrepreneurial Studies at St. Olaf. "In fact, in recession sometimes a start-up is the most 'secure' job you can have. The panelists will certainly address where they see advantage in this changing economy."

Almost all of the panelists, who are experts in a variety of fields, are St. Olaf alumni. They include Sean Benson '90, co-founder and vice president of technology for ProVation Medical, a company that creates software for the medical industry; Jodi Hubler, managing director of Lemhi Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in health-care services; Kristine Johnson '73, president of Affinity Capital Management; Mark Johnson '82, founder and CEO of Four51, a business that helps companies establish e-commerce networks; and Erik Knutson '84, co-owner and executive vice president of Baltix Sustainable Furniture. Jonathan Pearce '01 will moderate the event, which will include time for questions from the audience.

Widgets
Sparking innovative ideas
The idea for the panel grew from a number of converging interests, Muir says. She realized that entrepreneurial courses on campus weren't spending enough time on finding an innovative idea that students could develop over the course of the semester. A conversation about how St. Olaf could build an entrepreneurial alumni network and how it could interact with current students led to the idea for the panel.

"Our goal for this panel is to show that there is a wealth of opportunity out there in terms of new venture ideas, whether they are a solution to a long-term social issue or a better way to build a mouse trap," Muir says. "If we all can just spend a little time really listening to the marketplace and getting information from a variety of sources, we can start to get those creative juices flowing."

Students who attend the panel will use the ideas generated to formulate "elevator pitches" for a business plan competition in April. The idea behind the "elevator pitch" is that students should be able to convince an investor in three minutes, or roughly the time it takes to ride in an elevator, to fund their business idea. Panelists will return to judge the competition, and the most innovative pitch will win $300.

The panel is sponsored by the Center for Experiential Learning, the Finstad Program for Entrepreneurial Studies, OleVentures and the Alumni and Parent Relations Office at St. Olaf College.

For more information e-mail muirs@stolaf.edu or call 507-786-3904.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.