Virtual Entrepreneur

JSOnline.com:
A successful businessman, angel network director and trainer of would-be entrepreneurs, Tim Keane is looking for help figuring out how to develop a program to make it easier for young companies – or just people with business ideas – to be successful here.

There are lots of programs in the Midwest that tackle the issues that entrepreneurs face, whether through daylong seminars or semester-long classes. And there are many opportunities to go online and learn the nuts and bolts of entrepreneurship.

But there aren’t a lot of easily accessible programs aimed at tailoring entrepreneurs’ own unique plans for success, said Keane, Marquette University’s entrepreneur-in-residence and director of the Marquette Golden Angels Network.

‘The thing I see over and over again is a lack of understanding of how finance works at a detailed level to allow you to make good decisions,’ said Keane, who in 1989 founded NuEdge Systems LLC, a marketing automation software and consulting services company now owned by Metavante Corp. ‘How do you take a guy with an invention and help him understand how this works?’ he said.

Keane’s starting point for discussion: a program, maybe part in-person and part online, that would connect an entrepreneur with people who could help him/her develop a well-rounded business plan.

He envisions a 3-day intensive class for 3 or 4 young companies, followed by a 6-to 8-week online community that would include the companies and experienced advisers. ‘This isn’t the solution to anything, it’s a step. It’s one thought about people getting going,’ said Keane, who emphasized that this is a personal effort not connected with Marquette.

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