Lee Todd will speak at Venture Kickoff
September 22, 2014
By Katherine Stach
Future entrepreneurs can get a jump at the UK Venture Challenge Kickoff on Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the James F. Hardymon Theater in the Davis Marksbury Building.
The event is put on by the Innovation Network for Entrepreneurial Thinking (iNET), Big Blue Starters and the Kentucky Innovation Network. Deb Weis, partner development and iNET director, said that those attending can learn how to get ahead in business from entrepreneur and former UK president Lee T. Todd, Jr.
In his speech entitled, “From Paperboy to Entrepreneur to UK President,” Todd, who was inducted into the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2010, will detail his career and give advice to students.
“Every year the kickoff speaker is an entrepreneur that can give students success tips and advice concerning entrepreneurship,” said Weis, who planned the event with Dean Harvey, the Executive Director of the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship.
The kickoff event is a preview for the actual UK Venture Challenge, which will take place in March. Students who are interested in the UK Venture Challenge are encouraged to attend the kickoff to learn additional information, Weis said.
Following the kickoff, Weis said the Venture Challenge will hold monthly meetings, which will help students learn skills and develop ideas into successful promotions that they will eventually pitch to judges from the local entrepreneurial community.
Winning teams will be awarded $3,000 in scholarship money, Weis said.
The event is sponsored by the Bluegrass Development Partnership, which includes the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Commerce Lexington, and the University of Kentucky. The event is also sponsored by Gatton College of Business and Economics and the College of Communication and Information.
The monthly event schedule is available through the iNET website, Weis said, and also the iNET Facebook and Twitter accounts.
“Mentors both on and off campus will be available to help participants prepare for the challenge in March,” Weis said.
