Entrepreneurship Education

Cantillon Entrepreneurial Education Course
Cantillon is an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs. It is a self-paced training program that provides lectures and assessments in a self-paced online tutorial system. Designed specifically to assist entrepreneurs examine and analyze their business opportunity, it is a web-based educational tool that's available anytime and anywhere.

Business lessons include:

How to create a plan for business
How to evaluate business opportunities
How to develop a new product concept
How to analyze and segment markets
What it takes to finance a business
How to develop and run a high-growth business

As you proceed through Cantillon, experts present you with the tools required to evaluate your opportunity and to develop a business plan. The presentations are informational and interactive. Along the way you'll be asked to complete exercises and submit your drafts for review.

How to Take the Course
Each unit is broken down into 15-20 minute sessions, making it easy for you to learn how to build a company during off hours. You can even return exactly where you left off within a given module. We recommend first-time entrepreneurs proceed through Cantillon in a sequential order, but you're free to pick and choose which topics you are most interested in. Simply use the table of contents to go to a specific topic of interest.

If you live in Washtenaw County or are starting a business here, the use of Cantillon is free. Contact Scott Olson at scott@annarborspark.org or 734.276.1472.

Check out recommended educational resources specially designed for your needs to help you launch your business. When you're starting a business, education is key.

The Business Plan - First Thing First
A good business plan includes the following elements:

Executive Summary
General Description
Products and Services
Marketing
Management
Legal
Finances
Operations
Goals and objectives

There are many resources available to learn more about business plans, including the Michigan.org web site.

Inventions and Intellectual Property Primer
It's important that you have addressed key issues with your new idea or product. Key information that you need to know to protect your idea.

The IT Zone regularly has intellectual property seminars. Check out the events calendar for specific dates and times.
Law firms specializing in Intellectual Property

University technology - If you work for a College or University, you need to first work with the appropriate technology transfer department or unit to clarify who "owns" the rights to the technology.

U-M office of technology transfer

Other resources

Business.com connects to a wide range of intellectual property information and resources.

Product planning and market strategy
How to understand and identify customers and markets, conducting market research and doing a competitive analysis, obtaining customer testimonials, Identifying the core business value. Industry knowledge - How to learn about a particular industry, "value chain", profit margins, customers and other key information.

Starting with the customer first
Seminar - High Impact Practical Marketing for Startups
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing.index.html This is a great source for marketing information such as marketing basics, market research, branding, sales, advertising, PR and online marketing.

Financially Planning & Funding Sources
Click here for more financial information.

"Ann Arbor's SPARK Business Accelerator stepped forward and provided the funding to kick start A.I. Medical Devices Inc. SPARK recognized what was needed and instantly provided the human capital necessary to develop our business plan and attract the capital for our launch. A. I. Medical is now well underway in getting our product to the marketplace."

John Schwartz
CEO
Airways Medical