Expand your network, Enhance your networth!   Announcements: VenturesPlus presents the April 2008 events Complete a Successful Real Estate Transaction Monday, April 17, 2008 4:00 to 6:00 PM Carlson Private Dining Hall - (Lower level behind cafeteria) Please click for more details...  April 17, 2008   Notes from James Kahl to Venture Plus Members   What a week!  On Monday we heard from Art Fry, inventor of 3M Post-it notes and last night Jim Bernard from MarketWatch.com showed us what is necessary to monetize a website.  To download a copy of Jim's presentation please check out his blog at:  http://jimbernard.net/csom/ Finally,  if you have any questions regarding an idea or interest you have, please feel free to contact me.  I'm always open to meeting innovative and energetic people.  Finally2, We constantly stress how valuable networking is.  LinkedIn.com is a great resource.  Check it out! Finally3, register for the ENTR classes this fall. Dileep Rao didn't win teacher of the year for nothing.   We have a great slate of speakers lined up for this semester.  The only problem we have is deciding who we'd like to have first.  Please take a look at the list and respond with the ones you would be interested in.  The votes will help us decide who we'd like to bring in and when. Potential speaker topics for Spring Semester - Entrepreneurship in the Arts & Sciences - Lifestyle Entrepreneurship (Not making millions but making life fun) - Start with your Exit Plan - What are the Current Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Real Estate - Ventures Plus students in business (Hear from students who are running a startup company) - IT and Entrepreneurship Environment in Minnesota - Economies of an Online Business (What goes into running a web business) - Understanding the Angel Market in Minneapolis - Debates & Dilemmas series reply to jkahl@umn.edu Finally, Ventures Plus will sponsor "Peer Advisory Groups" to help students and alums reach their goals. The concept of peer advisory groups is well established and also, quite expensive (companies like Vistage and Inner Circles charge over $5,000 per year). Each peer group can act as the support and advisory group for the members, who can get the benefits of experienced speakers and the larger network through V+. Peer groups can meet for about 20-30 minutes before each V+ meeting so that new members can experience them. If you are interested in becoming a member of a peer group, please send us the following: * Name * Type of peer group you would like to join (eg., real estate, new ventures, new product development, etc.)"  send to jkahl@umn.edu Welcome to VenturesPlus VenturesPlus is an organization comprised of full and part-time students and alumni from University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management (CSOM) with an interest in entrepreneurial pursuits.  VenturesPlus provides its members an opportunity for the exchange of information, knowledge, and resources with entrepreneurs and small business owners in the Twin Cities region. The group consists of individuals with diverse backgrounds in the areas of accounting, engineering, marketing, sales, product development, and many others. All current and former students of CSOM are welcome to join. For more details on becoming a member and about membership benefits, please see the membership information. VenturesPlus is an officially sanctioned University of Minnesota Campus Life Program. See the constitution for details. VenturesPlus Mission VenturesPlus exists to provide a lifetime of opportunities for Carlson School MBA Students, Alumni and Supporters to generate, promote and participate in business ventures through the exchange of knowledge, experience and resources with each other and the global business community. VenturesPlus Structure VenturesPlus currently has three internal groups with specific areas of interest, each group focusing its time and resources on the development of knowledge in that area. Those groups are as follows: Consulting Entrepreneurship (Independent/Corporate) Real Estate