Click here to register.

The state of the economy has created uncertain times for entrepreneurs.  While starting a company in this environment certainly has its benefits (particularly in terms of the available pool of talent), fundraising is a lot more challenging. As you look to satisfy your capital needs, you will need to be creative in searching out funding sources, including leveraging business relationships and contacts to uncover possible leads for financing your startup.  This limited-seat lunch will give you a perspective on what you can expect from the Boston-area angel groups, VCs and debt providers. We'll have a representative from each of these sources of capital to give an overview on what it's like out there and to answer the questions you may have.

Working lunch programs are hosted by TCN's professional service sponsors in New England to provide tactical level information designed to accelerate the fundraising process for Boston-area startups.

Topic Expert:
Pete McDonald - Relationship Manager, Silicon Valley Bank

Event Fees:

Regular Registration Fee - $70

TCN Season Pass Holders - FREE

Approved Guests - FREE

TCN Affiliates - $40

Students - $40

Click here to register.

Click here to register.

Mass Innovation Nights (MIN) is a website and organization created to provide innovators with ways to connect with the social networking world, the main stream media, the marketplace and each other.

Held once a month (second Wednesday of the month, registration and networking at 6:00 p.m., products start showing at 6:30 p.m., the Experts Corner team has one-on-one conversations with start-ups and entrepreneurs and with an after-party at a nearby bar at 8:30 p.m.) at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham near Route 128, and open to the public, the live MIN events allow companies to show off Massachusetts-based innovation.  The events are free although our local host, the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation, always welcomes volunteers and donations to help keep the museum going!  We also ask that attendees help out by using the power of social media to help spread the word about cool new products they see at the events.

MassInnovationNights.com allows product developers, product managers and marketers to showcase their new products online to an audience of social media enthusiasts, mass and industry media, influential bloggers, potential customers and prospective partners.

Visitors to the site RSVP for the monthly live events and can peruse the list of already committed attendees in order to make plans for connecting live. MIN is also great for connecting job hunters, job seekers and recruiters.

MassInnovationNights.com does accept advertising (to help defray the cost of name tags, hosting and additional development on the site - we've got BIG plans) and sponsorship opportunities are available for the live events.  If you are interested in holding an Innovation Night event, let us know.  Please contact Bobbie Carlton at 781-718-7619 or at bobbie (at) carltonprmarketing (dot) com for more information.

Innovation Nights LLC is a partnership comprised of Bobbie Carlton, Carlton PR & Marketing, and Dan Englander, High Rock Media.

 Let us know what you think! Vote for your top four companies!

Alphasoftware
careinnovators
Dan Hermes Fine Art
How2Heroes
HubCast
Kaon Interactive
OnState
Scallop Imaging
VisibleGains

Click here to register.

Designing iPhone Apps:  It's More than Just Beautiful Coding
A MITX Design Series Event

Speakers:

• Raj Aggarwal - CEO, Localytics (Moderator)
• Steve Brykman - SVP, Lead Strategist, Apperian
• Anna Callahan - Software Developer, RaizLabs
• Dan Katcher - CEO & Co-Founder,  Rocket Farm Studios
• Bryan Maleszyk - Senior Consultant, Experience Design, Molecular
• Yoni Samlan - Partner, Active Frequency

Developing a iPhone app is more than just meticulous, accurate coding. It's about understanding the needs of your customer and designing for them in order to create a long-term engagement with your users. Without consideration of the iPhone unique interactions and technological features, and the understanding behind how this mobile device is used, companies often spend wasted time creating an app that doesn't get used - and therefore doesn't generate impressions of your brand, bring in the expected amount of revenue or whatever your goal may be. 

According to eMarketer, fewer than one-half of marketers created a mobile app in 2009, but most plan to build one this year, with the iPhone as the preferred platform.    Before you begin, join MITX to learn how to design iPhone applications that create a richer user experience - and to understand what's next in mobile design with the growing use of the Android. 

During this MITX Design event, our panel of iPhone experts will cover:

. What strategic decisions you need to make before starting the design process
. The difference between gaming apps, utility apps and apps that are part of a larger strategy
. A thorough review of one application's user interface design from concept to working prototype

We'll end the event with a "What's Next" discussion focusing on mobile app design for the Android.  With 17% of mobile users considering an Android phone, compared to 20% looking for an iPhone (according to Comscore), what do you need to know now to get ready for the next milestone in mobile app development?

Audience:
This MITX Design event is geared towards mid-level staff involved in interactive/web/interaction design and/or development, usability, marketing, creative and any other field where user experience knowledge is important. If you are an entrepreneur  starting a company based on mobile apps, this event is also for you.

Agenda:
8:00am - 8:30am  Registration & Networking
8:30am - 10:00am  Presentations and Discussion

Follow this event series on Twitter with hash-tag #MITXD

Organic search drives 75% of all Internet traffic. 2009 saw the percentage of total traffic driven by search engines to websites in the automotive, business, finance, entertainment, media, and sports industries increase by double-digits.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical to increasing the volume and quality of traffic to your website. Organizations with large or enterprise-level web presences enjoy unique opportunities to leverage the power of their content to drive towards higher search rankings. They also face specific challenges.

This free webinar addresses how enterprises and large organizations can best achieve SEO results to drive traffic and get found.

You'll learn:
. How Google and other search engines work, and how embracing their mission can help your enterprise dominate search rankings.

. Three steps to implementing a content strategy for SEO: 
Knowing your market: keyword research, putting competitive intelligence to work, and choosing your targets for the best ROI
On-page optimization: Implementing effective on-page SEO across your large enterprise or corporate site, including 5 simple 
changes you can make to your web pages to see results fast 
Content Strategy: Implementing a content strategy for effective off-page SEO: Planning and creating compelling content
that attracts inbound links and builds authority, plus leveraging the power of user-generated content and blogs.

Register at: http://bit.ly/clM0H9

Click here to register.

This limited seat luncheon discusses how to access U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans for small businesses.  SBA loans are administered by and delivered through commercial lending institutions, and are a viable funding option for many qualified Boston-area small businesses.  Come join lending experts from First Commons Bank as they discuss SBA loans and provide answers to some commonly-asked questions about the SBA loan program, including: how to access SBA loans, whether they are right for your business, and what is needed to successfully apply for an SBA loan.

Working lunch programs are hosted by TCN's professional service sponsors in New England to provide tactical level information designed to accelerate the fundraising process for Boston-area startups.

Topic Expert:

Tony Nuzzo - Chairman, President & CEO, First Commons Bank

Event Fees:

Regular Registration Fee - $70

TCN Season Pass Holders - FREE

Approved Guests - FREE

TCN Affiliates - $40

Students - $40

Click here to register.

What Is the Future for Advertising Agencies?
A MITX Special Event

Keynote Speaker:

• Sean Corcoran - Analyst, Interactive Marketing, Forrester Research

Panel Discussion:

• Chris Colbert - CEO, Holland Mark
• Matt Lindley - Director of Brand Engagement and Innovation, Sapient

"What is the future of agencies?" During the past century and a half, marketers have turned to agencies for both strategic and tactical support. These relationships evolved over time, often in response to changes in consumer behavior, technology and communications advances, and changes in how firms managed their agency relationships. Today, as technology becomes the key driver for marketing, we find these relationships at another precipice. Agencies must evolve faster and more drastically than ever before while new competition from consultants and technology firms arise to challenge their seat in the value chain.

Join MITX and Forrester Research as they delve into Forrester's research on the complicated agency landscape and its future in the marketing ecosystem. Talking points will include:

• The ever changing role of agencies in marketing
• How agencies fit (or don't fit) into the new marketing era
• How marketing leadership should rethink their outsourcing models
• Predictions on the future of agencies and their role in the world

If you're a large advertising agency who's trying to stay ahead of increasing competition - this event was designed with you in mind.  Specifically, our discussion was designed to support those agencies who have more than 100 employees (in their or their parent organization collectively), so if this is you - read on.  And if you are a brand who always turned to your trusted advertising agency, and want to understand how your relationship may change with them - this event can help you understand those changes.   

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the limited seating available, and the precise nature of the research - developed for large agencies and brands - MITX reserves the right to move to a wait-list and/or cancel registration for those outside the scope of the target audience.  Should your registration be cancelled, you will be notified and refunded fully; however we'll make every effort to accommodate everyone.

Agenda:
6:00pm - 6:30pm:       Registration & Networking
6:30pm - 7:15pm:       Keynote Presentation from Forrester Research
7:15pm - 8:00pm:       Agency Panel Discussion


Follow this event series on Twitter with the hash-tag #MITXSE

Overview: The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and The Johnson School at Cornell have teamed up to host the first ever Boston MBA Interview Forum <http://www.johnson.cornell.edu/InterviewForum/Boston/>  for second year MBA students.  
 
Objective: The Objective of this event is to bring MBAs from top non-Boston programs  to interview with Boston area employers.  profs from the 3 school will debate the economy, provide some context around careers.  Sign up for that (we'd love to have you, others) is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8FX6CGH  or just come.

Details:
Date: Friday, February 26, 2010
Location: The Langham Hotel in Boston, 250 Franklin Street
Timing for Signing up: ASAP

Next Step: If your firm has positions that would fit an MBA skill set, reach out to one of the following Career Office Directors from Tuck, Darden and The Johnson School and they can provide more details on the event and help you register. Official Deadlines is 1/27, but late entries may be accepted.

E-mail a job description (or multiple) as soon as you can to Tuck Recruiting Associate Kerry Reed (Kerry.M.Reed@tuck.dartmouth.edu
 
Contacts:
Darden: Everette Fortner, Executive Director, fortnere@darden.virginia.edu
Johnson School: Fred Staudmyer, Director, fks6@cornell.edu
Tuck: Jonathan Masland, Co-Director at Tuck, jonathan.d.masland@dartmouth.edu

Click here to register.

Wind, solar, waste-to-energy, geothermal, biofuels, smart-grid, carbon-emissions capture and storage -- whatever the form, CleanTech is active. Angels want in, VCs want in, large utilities and software giants want in, even the Government wants in! Explore the available early stage capital funding options for CleanTech startups in New England and learn what it takes to successfully attract capital from Boston-area funding sources.

Cocktail reception to immediately follow program.

Panelists:

TBD
 
 
Moderator:

TBD

Event Fees:

Regular Registration Fee - $70

TCN Season Pass Holders - FREE

Approved Guests - FREE

TCN Affiliates - $40

Students - $20

Click here to register.

This limited seat members-only luncheon provides attendees invaluable information on structuring founder equity to avoid the pitfalls that can harm a company's ability to attract investment capital.

Working lunch programs are hosted by TCN's professional service sponsors in New England to provide tactical level information designed to accelerate the fundraising process for Boston-area startups.

Topic Expert:
Paul Sweeney - Partner, Foley Hoag LLP

 Event Fees:
Regular Registration Fee - $70

TCN Season Pass Holders - FREE

Approved Guests - FREE

TCN Affiliates - $40

Students - $40

 Click here to register.

This limited seat members-only luncheon provides attendees a deep dive into equity compensation arrangements and management carve-out plans.  You will have the opportunity to ask specific questions about your company's needs.

Working lunch programs are hosted by TCN's professional service sponsors in New England to provide tactical level information designed to accelerate the fundraising process for Boston-area startups.

Topic Expert:
Michael Conza - Partner, Bingham McCutchen LLP

Event Fees:
Regular Registration Fee - $70

TCN Season Pass Holders - FREE

Approved Guests - FREE

TCN Affiliates - $40

Students - $40

Click here to register.