Join us for our second workshop of the semester, next week—October 9th from noon to 1 pm in The Commons 329—to speak with and learn from Yair Flicker as he shares his “Lessons from the Trenches”. He will be discussing his experiences hiring his first ten employees, what he learned and how you can apply those lessons to your own start-up. If you’d like the inside scoop on how management, hiring and firing really plays out, and how you can be a better leader and stronger entrepreneur, this is the talk for you. Bring your lunch and your questions—we can’t wait to see you!

Tomorrow is the day--our first Speaker Series of the semester. Join us tomorrow--September 27th from noon to 1 pm in University Center 310—with some very special guests, Ron and Cyndi Gula. The Gulas are most notably known as the founders and CEO/COO of Tenable Network Security, and will be returning to UMBC to share their experiences managing cyber security companies in Maryland. If you’re interested in cyber security—a hot market in the area—then you do not want to miss this opportunity to get an in-depth look behind the curtain at developing products, setting up a business, raising capital, managing culture and dealing with the competition.

Our first workshop of the semester in only one week from today--October 2nd from noon to 1 pm in The Commons room 329--and you will not want to miss it. Neil Davis will join us to talk about one of the most fundamental aspects of starting a business--The Business Plan. We know that this can be not only a long and arduous process, but that it can be overwhelming to tackle. If you have questions on where to start, how to get it right the first time, and how to ensure your pitch is still winning on paper, you'll want to be spending your lunch with us next Monday. We can't wait to see you there! 

Neil Davis serves as TEDCO’s Director of Entrepreneurial Development. In this role, he manages all of TEDCO’s non-funding programs – the mdPACE Program, the Executive Exchange Program, the Rural Business Innovation Initiative, the Maryland Entrepreneur Resource Listing, and all of TEDCO’s educational efforts for its portfolio companies. Neil is also the Organization’s liaison with the State’s technology incubators, is part of the deal team for TEDCO’s core seed funding programs, and is actively involved in creating new strategies designed to assist entrepreneurs. He brings more than 30 years of experience in engineering, business development, business consulting, and management.

Prior to joining TEDCO, Neil was the Vice President of Operations at the Emerging Technology Centers (ETC), where his leadership and expertise were directed toward the formation of technology-based businesses in Baltimore City. During his tenure, more than 325 early-stage IT and life sciences companies were affiliated with ETC. As one of ETC’s senior leaders, he was instrumental in augmenting ETC’s traditional business incubation model with both co-working and acceleration business models.

The political cartoonist and film & TV writer, Lalo Alcaraz, will explore his history as an editorial cartoonist and creator of the first politically oriented and Latino themed syndicated daily comic strip, La Cucaracha. In this strip, Lalo chronicles the history of the modern Latino political movement in the U.S., starting with the rise of anti-immigrant laws like Prop 187 in California through Arizona SB 1070 and today's SB4 in Texas. Not to mention the current occupant of the White House. Laughs abound!

Bio: Lalo Alcaraz is an award winning visual and media artist and writer based in Los Angeles who chronicles the ascendancy of Latinos in the US. Lalo's graphic novel and cartoon books include: A Most Imperfect Union; Latino USA: A Cartoon History, 15th Anniversary Edition; Migra Mouse: Political Cartoons On Immigration; and La Cucaracha. Alcaraz was a writer and producer on the animated FOX TV show “Bordertown” and he is a consultant on the upcoming Day of the Dead-themed animated Pixar movie “COCO.” Alcaraz is the co-host of the satirical talk show, "The Pocho Hour of Power," heard on L.A.’s KPFK 90.7 FM.

Sponsored by the Latino/Hispanic Faculty Association;the Visual Arts Department; the Office of the Dean of the College of the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; the Dresher Center for the Humanities;the Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication Department; the Global Studies Department; and the Media and Communication Studies Department.