“From inspiring ideas to economic vitality” - Entrepreneurship at BGSU

The Sebo Series in Entrepreneurship is quickly becoming the premier entrepreneurship event in the Great Lakes region.

For the past five years, BGSU’s College of Business Administration and its Dallas-Hamilton Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership have presented the Sebo Series in Entrepreneurship.

As funded annually by BGSU Alumnus J. Robert Sebo, the daylong event brings to Bowling Green State University national and local business leaders, entrepreneurs, students and educators to learn from those who are succeeding as entrepreneurial leaders. Attendees hear world-class speakers and participate in concurrent sessions on entrepreneurial thinking and innovation with presenters from start-ups to major corporations.

At this year’s event, internationally recognized entrepreneurs Paul Orfalea and Ellie Rubin were featured. (video clip coming soon)

Paul Orfalea opened a small copy shop called Kinko’s in 1970 and later sold it to FedEx for more than $2 billion. He molded a compassionate, unconventional, partner-driven culture that allowed Kinko’s to thrive. His rise through the business world was sparked by a belief in the power of entrepreneurship and a strong commitment to customer relationships and corporate responsibility. Orfalea has authored two books: Copy This! and The Entrepreneurial Investor.

Ellie Rubin is a number-one national best selling author, international speaker and media personality as well as an entrepreneur. As the co-founder of The Bulldog Group, she transformed her company from a traditional marketing and design company into one of North America’s leading multimedia production houses and then pioneered one of the hottest niches in software-content management. This entrepreneurial journey formed the basis of her first best seller, Bulldog–Spirit of the New Entrepreneur, which chronicles the roller-coaster business ride that any careerist would recognize.

The 2007 Sebo Series, “Entrepreneurial Thinking–the Catalyst for Business Growth,” featured Alan Webber, co-founder of Fast Company magazine. According to Webber, the two most important qualities of entrepreneurship are innovation and leadership–innovation is where “a great idea meets an unmet need” and leadership is the ability to “create positive change” and master it. (video clip)

Keynote speaker Guy Kawasaki shared his past experiences, particularly with Apple Computers, Inc. As manager of Garage Technology Ventures and former Apple Fellow, Kawasaki has written eight books on entrepreneurship, including “Art of the Start” and “Rules for Revolutionaries.” He urged the audience to be true innovators, make meaning rather than money, and create a two- to four-word mantra for the company, rather than a lengthy mission statement. The audience responded to Kawasaki’s remarks with a standing ovation. (video clip)

For more information on entrepreneurship, see the Dallas-Hamilton Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.