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The Arizona Republic, October 13th, 2008 (Link)
by Betty Beard and Erin Zlomek - Oct. 13, 2008 12:00
AM
The Arizona Republic
Even with credit markets frozen and business loans scarce, it's not
a bad time to think about starting a new business, service or
product, even a global one.
On Tuesday would-be entrepreneurs are being offered the opportunity
to learn how to do just that by attending an event hosted by the
nationally recognized Thunderbird School of Global Management in
Glendale.
"(The conference) wasn't planned this way, but it's times like
these, when the economy is shaky and there's uncertainty more than
ever, that people need to know there . . . are always opportunities
out there," said Angel Cabrera, the university president.
The 62-year-old school, which has stood out in the state with its
international student body and focus, has been reaching out to get
better known locally and to help local companies compete globally.
As a measure of the school's increasing importance, Cabrera was
recently appointed to the board of the Greater Phoenix Economic
Council.
Barry Broome, GPEC's president and CEO, said "We have always felt
and still feel we put a lot of emphasis on Arizona State University
and the community colleges but I think the market has never really
recognized or leveraged the potential of how Thunderbird can really
help us in our economy."
With credit hard to get for small businesses, Cabrera stresses the
importance of educating entrepreneurs about alternative funding
sources.
"Investors who are fearful are now dreading the stock market, they
are putting their money into more non-traditional investment
vehicles . . . so credit is frozen but many venture capital and
other capital of that form is not frozen," he said.
Robert Hisrich, director of the Walker Center for Global
Entrepreneurship at Thunderbird, said some start-up companies are
finding funds by going to foreign stock exchanges but that most
start with private investments from private individuals.
"Bank credit is tough. There is no credit available. But on the
other hand, there is probably more money available today than ever
in the history of the world."
Thunderbird has been offering seminars, workshops to mentor
entrepreneurs with large and small companies. It also has an
incubator program, and the first one is Myndsparc, which plans to
produce a user-friendly software to allow educators to turn
curriculums into video games, said company founder KellyAnn Bonnell.
She said Thunderbird helped her get grants and funds to offset the
credit shortage.
What: Panel discussion featuring Angel Cabrera, president of the
Thunderbird School of Global Management; Barry Broome, president and
chief executive officer of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council; and
Jan Belt, executive director of the Oxford Learning Centers in
Scottsdale and Fountain Hills.
When: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Where: Wells Fargo Conference Center, 100 W. Washington St.,
Phoenix.
Cost: $10 for members of Thunderbird alumni chapters, $20 for
others.
Details:
www.sebconsulting.com/thunderbird
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