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Kinko’s, Bulldog Group founders to headline Sebo Series at BGSU
BOWLING GREEN, O.—Paul Orfalea, who founded Kinko’s, and Ellie Rubin, co-founder of The Bulldog Group, will be the featured
speakers for the fifth annual Sebo Series in Entrepreneurship, April 18 at Bowling Green State University.
Rubin will speak at 9:30 a.m. and Orfalea at 12:45 p.m., both in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom of the Bowen-Thompson Student
Union. Orfalea’s address will follow a noon luncheon and introduction of the first nine inductees into BGSU’s Dallas-Hamilton
Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame.
At 10:45 a.m. and again at 2 p.m., conference participants may attend any of four concurrent sessions. In the sessions, executives
will lead discussions on key entrepreneurial theories and practices, all under the umbrella of this year’s theme, “From Inspiring
Ideas to Economic Vitality.”
Orfalea, the keynote speaker, opened the first Kinko’s in 1970 with a simple idea: provide college students with products
and services they need at a competitive price. Kinko’s, which he eventually sold to FedEx for more than $2 billion, has been
named one of the best places to work in America by Fortune, Forbes and Mother Jones magazines. Orfalea is the author of “Copy
This! Lessons From a Hyperactive Dyslexic Who Turned a Bright Idea Into One of America’s Best Companies” and “The Entrepreneurial
Investor.”
Rubin is also an author, of the best-selling “Bulldog—Spirit of the New Entrepreneur,” based on her entrepreneurial journey.
She transformed her company, The Bulldog Group, from a traditional marketing and design company into one of North America’s
leading multimedia production houses and then pioneered its niche in software content management.
Set for other rooms in the Union, the concurrent sessions will be:
• “The Startup,” with BGSU graduate Bill Dallas, who will share the entrepreneurial ups and downs of the development of Fox
Sports Grill; the evolution of previous sports/dining concepts and what was learned from those operations, and how to harness
a worldwide brand and the power of Fox.
• “Financing,” with David Seidman, who is retired from Emerging Ventures Limited. He will provide an introduction to possible
sources of venture funding for a proposed enterprise, looking at the opportunity through an investor’s eyes.
• “Small Business,” with Ron Whitehouse, also a BGSU graduate and a retiree from HQ Chicago Inc. Whitehouse will summarize
three of his small business startups and acquisitions, emphasizing what made them successful.
• “Sales,” with Bowling Green alumnus Bob Heckman of The Allen Group. He will examine effective sales and marketing techniques
from the buyer’s perspective. His findings are based on interviews conducted with senior-level decision-makers for his book,
“Boardroom Selling.”
J. Robert Sebo, a BGSU trustee, is principal sponsor of the conference, which is hosted by the College of Business Administration
and the Dallas-Hamilton Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. The center was established in 2004 with seed money from Bill
Dallas, also of Dallas Capital, and his former neighbor, Olympic gold-medal figure skater and Bowling Green native Scott Hamilton.
Huntington provides additional support for the event, which will open with an 8:30 a.m. reception and conclude with another
at 3:15 p.m. The afternoon reception will feature book signing by Orfalea and Rubin.
Cost to attend is $200 per person, or $1,600 for companies purchasing a table of eight. To register, call 419-372-8181 or
1-877-650-8165 toll free, or go online to www.business.bgsu.edu/DallasHamilton/events/register.html. Reservations are recommended
by April 7.
For more information about the conference, visit www.business.bgsu.edu.
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(Posted April 10, 2008 )
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