Deliverables
DELIVERABLE 1: MAILERS
Reference proposal section II.1.4. BURTWALKER.COM will prepare mail piece for purposes of recruiting potential business accelerator clients. The product should be prepared in a form ready for commercial printing, including all camera ready artwork, illustrations, or photography. All content should be drafted and proofed prior to submission to commercial printers. Content should be reviewed by South Central ICC for relevance and effectiveness with respect to business accelerator candidacy. Content should identify the principal goal of the business accelerator, the benefits to accelerator clients, the criteria sought for business accelerator candidates, and the principal functions within the accelerator. The mailer should refer recipients to the web site and provide contact information.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Informs potential candidates about the accelerator and is used in recruiting them.
BENEFIT TO ENTREPRENEUR: Informs the entrepreneur of the existence of the business accelerator as a powerful tool to help nurture them with their business start-up and initial growth.
DELIVERABLE 2: BROCHURE
Reference proposal section II.1.4. BURTWALKER.COM will prepare a brochure for purposes of highlighting the purpose of the proposed business accelerator. The product should be prepared in a form ready for commercial printing, including all camera ready artwork, illustrations, or photography. All content should be drafted and proofed prior to submission to commercial printers. Content should be reviewed by South Central ICC for relevance and effectiveness with respect to business accelerator candidacy. Content should identify the principal goal of the business accelerator, the benefits to accelerator clients, the criteria sought for business accelerator candidates, and the principal functions within the accelerator. The brochure should refer recipients to the web site and provide contact information. While similar to the mailer, the brochure should be a larger document and include more detailed information.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Informs potential candidates about the accelerator and is used in recruiting them. Also used for purposes of promoting the accelerator within the region.
BENEFIT TO ENTREPRENEUR: Informs the entrepreneur of the existence of the business accelerator as a powerful tool to help nurture them with their business start-up and initial growth.
DELIVERABLE 3: WEB SITE
Reference proposal sections II.1.4 and II.1.6, BURTWALKER.COM will design and implement a web site for the Dynamic Business Accelerator. This web site will have to primary functions: 1) Provide information to interested viewers, and 2) provide an interactive mentoring capability, and 3) host educational forum instruction materials. The primary targeted viewers of the informational part of the web site should be potential candidates for occupation of the business accelerator. Additional target viewers should be sponsors, regional businesses, and other entities that may offer mutually beneficial relationships. It should be set up to showcase any tenants of the accelerator in a way that can offer contacts and potential business to the tenant. Additional information should be included as follows: Entry and occupation requirements, operational functions, graduation expectations, facilities and services offered, lease/license arrangements, and other related information.
The interactive mentoring function should be in the form of a sophisticated and in-depth online discussion forum. This function will be tied in directly with other deliverables (Mentoring Network, Mentoring Demonstration) which will provide the mentors as subject matter experts (SCORE). The subject matter experts will monitor all activity on the discussion forum to ensure timely response to questions from forum registrants (accelerator clients). Functionality from the discussion forum should include a facility to notify both mentors and clients of questions or answers via electronic mail. In addition to interactive discussions, this forum will provide a process for exchange of and viewing of electronic files as an extended mentoring function.
The interactive mentoring function will also include hosting of electronic documents used in educational forums as well as documents that can be used by clients not enrolled in formal educational classes or forums. These may include course syllabi, instructional documents, tutorial documents, slide presentations, etc.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Serves as the primary tool for public information about the business accelerator. The interactive mentoring function will be used for both client/tenants or as a tool for virtual tenants.
BENEFIT TO ENTREPRENEUR: Allows interested parties to become informed about the business accelerator, establishes interest from parties outside the region and attracts interest from potential sponsors or other partners. The interactive mentoring function serves as a direct benefit by allowing the clients and mentors to interact without regard to busy schedules of either party.
DELIVERABLE 4: SEMINARS
Reference proposal sections II.1.5. This consists of two seminars. BURTWALKER.COM will arrange one seminar for educating the community and local business leaders of the importance of business accelerators, how they operate, and how they will contribute to the local economy.
The second seminar, arranged and conducted by Advancement Strategies, LLC will be a leadership training seminar aimed at providing the fundamentals of leadership for entrepreneurs.
These functions will require the arrangement of facilities, developing the agenda, arranging speakers, and promoting and conducting the conferences. Promotion of the conferences will included publicizing the events using public service announcements and newspaper/radio advertisements.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Engaging community support for business accelerators.
BENEFIT TO ENTREPRENEUR: Establishes a community foundation for continued support of the business accelerator.
DELIVERABLE 5: ECONOMIC ROUNDTABLES
Reference proposal sections II.1.5. Advancement Strategies, LLC, in coordination with NCEF, WKU and BURTWALKER.COm will arrange three economic roundtable forums. The principal purpose will be educate the community and stress the importance of entrepreneurial efforts with respect to economic development. The roundtable events will be hosted by a panel of experts and a keynote speaker. The keynote speaker will be a reputable economist or business educator with experience and knowledge of this field of study. Panel members should include noted and local successful entrepreneurs, financial institutions executives, representatives of supporting organizations (SBDC, ICC, SCORE), venture/angel investment group representatives, etc.
Each of the forums should have a slightly different subject matter while keeping in mind the overall subject of entrepreneurism. One of the forums should focus on the subject of business incubation or acceleration.
This function will require the arrangement of facilities, developing the agenda, arranging speakers, and promoting and conducting the forums. Promotion of the forums will include publicizing the events using public service announcements and newspaper/radio advertisements.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Engaging community support for promoting small business entrepreneurship.
BENEFIT TO ENTREPRENEUR: Establishes a community foundation for continued support of the business accelerator.
DELIVERABLE 6: EAE SYLLABI
Reference proposal sections II.1.1. II.1.2, and II.1.3. This is a two phased project: 1) Introductory Entrepreneurship Training Module, and 2) Advanced Entrepreneurship Training Module. For the introductory module, enhance the existing EAE Introductory training module to focus more attention on establishing businesses with a focus on IT.
For the advanced module, design and construct a new training module based on the EAE model that is used for advanced entrepreneurship. Unlike the introductory level, the advanced module will include a model for individualized attention for each of the clients. This will include development of business plans, marketing plans, office planning, mentoring, and financial planning, business loans and grants, private capital investment, etc. This function should also be coordinated with the Mentoring deliverables.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: A direct function of the business accelerator.
BENEFIT TO ENTREPRENEUR: Increases likelihood of success with new business ventures.
DELIVERABLE 7: ENTREPRENEURIAL BOOT CAMP
Reference proposal sections II.1.5. This is a two phased project aimed at secondary school and college students. 1) Seminars, and 2) Remote Follow Up. The first phase will consist of four, three hour seminars aimed at entrepreneurial activity for high-school and college students. Target goal will be 100 students (25 students per session). These seminars will require coordinating with local high schools and colleges to arrange for facilities, times, and promotion of the functions. The purpose is to develop and encourage the entrepreneurial skills of Kentucky high school and college students in order to create and operate successful student-run small businesses. The principal goal is to expand the pipeline of youth into entrepreneurial opportunities in the LTADD service area that can be served by the Small Business Accelerator.
Additional follow-up sessions will be provided to participants online through WebEx sessions after school. Successful entrepreneurs will participate on these sessions and answer questions about their entrepreneurial experiences. Students will be encouraged to share their ideas and ask questions regarding their start-up businesses.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Serves as a pipeline between the accelerator and local educational institutions through direct education, mentoring, and establishes a potential link for future intern programs for schools.
BENEFIT TO ENTREPRENEUR: Informs youth that starting and running a business is a potential career path.
DELIVERABLE 8: FOCUSED EDUCATION PILOT
Reference proposal sections II.1.5. This deliverable is intended to serve as a pilot program to demonstrate the dynamic, “plug-and-play,” nature of focused education. This particular program will be a 20 hour course for entrepreneurs to teach them the fundamentals of contracting with governments and other organizations. Because of our focus on BRAC, this one will emphasize federal government contracting to include navigating regulations, qualifications, set-asides, reporting requirements, bidding, accounting, and other related contracting issues.
IPI will conduct this course of instruction and provide the courseware, texts, and other student materials, conduct initial student assessments, provide post-course evaluations and summaries, and conduct the actual classes. IPI will also coordinate the classrooms, publicity, and public forums.
DELIVERABLE 9: MENTORING NETWORK
Reference proposal sections II.1.6. BURTWALKER.COM, in coordination with SCORE, will research, identify participants, and establish a network of mentors to support the business accelerator mentoring function. This deliverable will establish a pilot network composed of mentors that can provide both executive and technical guidance for clients. The mentors involved in this pilot should be those with an IT focus. The mentors will be composed of SCORE volunteers, EAE instructors, the Lincoln Trail Venture Club, and other related business people. At a minimum, at least one mentor should be identified that is located in a geographic location outside this area. This is to demonstrate the ability of the network to function without the need for close proximity.
Upon identifying the mentor/volunteers, a process will be established under which the mentors and clients can effectively communicate with one another. Aside from normal modes of communication techniques (face-to-face meetings, telephone, email, etc.) the mentoring network will be integrated into the web site for interactive forums, allowing the exchange of information remotely.
During the performance period of this contract, at least one client/candidate should be identified and introduced to the mentoring network. For demonstration purposes, the client should present his business concept to the Lincoln Trail Venture Club and introduced to the members of the club for purposes of establishing a mentoring function with them.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Direct function of the business accelerator.
BENEFIT TO THE ENTREPRENEUR: Assists client entrepreneurs with connecting to experts in their field of business.
DELIVERABLE 10: IRIE DEMONSTRATION
Reference proposal sections II.1.1.B. BURTWALKER.COM, in coordination with WKU, will use available technology, an equipped classroom with a post-secondary institution arrangement, and deliver an Interactive Remote Instructor course of study comparable to the traditional on-campus regimen. This function may be combined with other demonstration deliverables, e.g. Focused Education Pilot or Entrepreneurial Boot Camp to demonstrate it’s ability to deliver content to students using modern technology.
This deliverable should utilize the IRIE classroom at the Radcliff WKU educational facility along with a selected remote location. To ensure full benefit, some course materials should include electronic material such as PDFs, spreadsheets, web sites, etc. that can be used with the existing computers in the selected facilities.
Students for this pilot should be given prior access to the DBA web site to review course materials, course syllabus, suggested study topics, etc.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: When IRIE resources are provided, this demonstrates the ability to provide educational modules to remote clients, particularly those considered virtual clients.
BENEFIT TO ENTREPRENEUR: Allows clients and other entrepreneurs to obtain focused education at remote locations from individuals with whom they would not otherwise obtain access.
DELIVERABLE 11: INTERACTIVE MENTORING DEMONSTRATION
Reference proposal sections II.1.6. BURTWALKER.COM, in coordination with SCORE, will arrange for two separate interactive mentoring demonstrations. This will include identifying two separate candidate clients, introducing them to a matching process (defined in this deliverable), locating the appropriate mentors, and establishing a scripted process that will engage each of the interactive mentoring functions. This will include the use of the DBA web site forum, exchanging of information such as electronic documents, use of collaborative tools, and video chat, etc.
This deliverable will also include defining, establishing, and demonstrating a mentor/client matching process.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: A primary function of the business accelerator.
BENEFIT TO THE ENTREPRENEUR: Allows the client to obtain useful information from seasoned veterans from their specific line of business
DELIVERABLE 12: PUBLIC NETWORKING
BURTWALKER.COM, in coordination with WKU will demonstrate that existing private networks can be used for a business accelerator without diminishing the operation of or risking the security of, the owner’s private network. Using the private network used by the Radcliff WKU facility, a virtual private network will be established to show that clients of the business accelerator can share the bandwidth of the WKU network without risk to WKU’s network. The demonstration will be in the form of demonstrating access to the public Internet, and more specifically, the DBA (http://dynamicbusinessaccelerator.com) web site and it’s functionality.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR: A necessary and direct function of the accelerator is providing access to public networks.
BENEFIT TO THE ENTREPRENEUR: Clients can piggy-back onto other networks to gain access to the Internet.
DELIVERABLE 13: TECHNICAL SUPPORT PLAN
BURTWALKER.COM will document all activities, functions, maintenance, etc., with respect to the technical functions of this contract. This should include, but not be limited to, the DBA web site, public networking demonstration, IRIE functions, interactive mentoring, and focused education.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Provides documentation for administration of the technical features of the business accelerator included in this contract.
BENEFIT TO THE ENTREPRENEUR: Allows proper maintenance to ensure clients do not endure technical downtime events.
DELIVERABLE 14: OPERATIONAL DOCUMENTS:
Reference Proposal, Project Overview, paragraph 1. BURTWALKER.COM will create customized documents relevant to operating a business accelerator. These documents will include the following: accelerator operational procedures, client application procedures, lease or license agreements, service lists, conflict of interest policies, confidentiality agreements, and graduation policies. The source for these documents will be other business incubators or accelerators. They will be customized to meet the needs of the anticipated local business accelerator. Some will require review of legal counsel and will be submitted to local firms for that review.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: All products will be needed to effectively operate a business accelerator.
BENEFIT TO THE ENTREPRENEUR: Identifies the operational and legal parameters under which a client can use the services of the business accelerator.
DELIVERABLE 15: IT EDUCATION MODEL
Reference proposal sections II.1.3. BURTWALKER.COM will document a model of education using IT as its principal focus. It should be noted this model should be adaptable to other forms of education that does not include IT as its focus. This model should include elements of the Introductory and Advanced Education and include the functional areas that are important to client companies that are IT based or use of IT is a primary function of the product or service. This should include a set of educational classes (SQL Server, HTML, XML, Networking, etc.), certification classes, and other related technical courses of study that will contribute to the overall success of IT focused client companies.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Serve as an educational track for client companies pursuing IT related businesses.
BENEFIT TO THE ENTREPRENEUR: Introduces potential clients to possibilities in IT related fields.
DELIVERABLE 16: FACILITIES PLAN
Reference proposal, Project Overview, paragraph 1. BURTWALKER.COM will determine and document a functional office layout and prepare an office growth plan with respect to office layout. It should include a design for administrative offices, technology installation and maintenance, furniture styles and usages, client office spaces, common areas such as conference facilities, eating areas, and restroom facilities. It should also include designs that allow for potential for clients to expand their offices as they grow. The final deliverable should also include a blueprint style layout.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Required function to properly operate a business accelerator.
BENEFIT TO THE ENTREPRENEUR: Allows the client/tenants to most effectively use the business accelerator.
DELIVERABLE 17: OPERATIONAL MODELS
Reference proposal sections II.1.2 and II.1.3. BURTWALKER.COM will prepare a document that shows the portability, scalability, and sustainability of the DBA. It will specifically address how the model can be duplicated in other areas of the same region or in other regions. It will also address scalability issues to show how the model can be expanded or contracted as the need arises, depending upon the location. Finally, it will address issues of sustainability with respect to the DBA and finally a full fledged operational business accelerator.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Sustainability is of major importance to a business accelerator. Without a roadmap toward sustainability, success cannot be achieved.
BENEFIT TO THE ENTREPRENEUR: Illustrates to the community how an accelerator can be established and sustained, therefore allowing for the continuation of services.
DELIVERABLE 18: INVESTOR RELATIONS
Reference proposal sections II.1.6. BURTWALKER.COM set up a relationship network among various investment groups. This should include venture firms, venture groups, seed capital providers, government organizations, etc. A process under which clients can access these organizations should be clearly documented. Care should be taken to ensure that a boilerplate process is not established. Each of the groups should have a defined set of criteria that clients should meet prior to introduction of the clients tot the groups.
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LINK: Direct function of the accelerator.
BENEFIT TO THE ENTREPRENEUR: Provides access to capital.
