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Three students are organizing CIRCLE 2002, “Business and Business Operations in the New Economy,” Lafayette’s second annual business conference, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 20, in the auditorium of the William E. Simon Center.
Speakers will include Edward Sager ’69 of Mentor Capital Partners, David Leyrer ’89 of Nexus Group, Kevin Sheridan ’77 of ACTV, Anna Dime ’86 of JBL Trinity Group, and Olya Khomenko ’97 of Harvard Business School.
Free and open to the public, the conference is supported by the Hunsicker Fund, which promotes the study of entrepreneurship at Lafayette.
Conference organizers are Saad Rasool ’02, an economics and business major from Multan, Pakistan; Tim Maroz ’02, an economics and business major from Minsk, Belarus; and Robert Murray ’02, a double major in International Affairs and German from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Jerome Heavey, professor and head of economics and business, is coordinating the event.
This year’s event will focus primarily on entrepreneurship, venture capital, and the financial industry in the new economy that has evolved in the aftermath of the technology bubble, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the accounting scandals, and ensuing political and economic changes.
Lafayette alumni and other professionals from industries most affected by last year’s events will talk about the changes experienced by their companies in recent months. Besides venture capital and entrepreneurship, other industries such as international business and capital markets, and the insurance, airline, and hotel sectors will also be represented. Panelists will discuss various strategies for raising capital and starting a business under the new economic and political conditions as well as how their specific professions have changed over the past few months to adapt.
The aim of the conference is to inspire students to start their own ventures, identify business fields where opportunities exist, and use the network of Lafayette alumni for guidance and advice in the process.
The tentative agenda:
9-9:45 a.m.: Introduction by keynote speaker
10-10:45 a.m.: Panel 1, “International Business and Finance: Changes in the Industry Structure”
11-11:45 a.m: Panel 2, “Entrepreneurship: Business Plan and How to Approach a Venture Capitalist”
12-1 p.m.: Lunch at Faculty Dining Room, Marquis Hall
1:15-2 p.m.: Panel 3, “Venture Capital: How Do You Decide What to Invest in? What is Attractive in a New Business Idea Today?”
2:15-3 p.m.: Panel 4, “Airlines, Entertainment/Hotels, Insurance: Effects of 9-11”
3:15 – 4 p.m.: Panel 5, “Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital: Creating a Successful Business and Keeping it Afloat in Today’s Economy”