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Women and Their Purchasing Power
Did you know that our Growth Training Workshops/Seminars are open to the public?
Did you know that the Emerging Enterprise Center (EEC) hosts a series of business growth workshops that are open to the public and discounted to NCC Chamber of Commerce members?
The EEC began as an initiative that came out of the NCC Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Council (EDC). In 2008, the EDC saw a need for a place to help baby businesses from failing in the first 5 years. The EEC’s vision and mission is to develop business skills for early staged businesses so that they can grow and generate jobs with a sustainable and scalable business model. The EEC is a 501(c)3, separate entity from the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce. However, the two entities work hand and hand with each other to partner with resources, events, and making connections for its members. The EEC continues to expand its programs by leveraging the NCC Chamber of Commerce resources, facilities, and initiatives. One of the initiatives the EEC does is to create business growth workshops and seminars that are designed to focus on critical skills needed to develop value propositions, product and business marketing, and sales. Each workshop has a networking portion and hands on experiences so that each type of business can walk away with skills that they can apply to their business right away.
The beauty of these workshops, like in running your business, is that there is no set beginning, and no end. Based on the situation or opportunity, you jump right in and work towards a solution. And, nothing happens in a vacuum. Everything you do, every decision you make is connected to something else in the business. It’s all about consistency: consistency in your brand, in your message, in your execution. The key is the process you take. Each topic offers a strategic and hands-on context that allows business owners and their appropriate employees a chance to learn from business professionals, on how to work smarter, not harder, to grow the business.
There are two types of Business Growth Workshops/Seminars. Our interactive Growth Wheel Workshops use a variety of worksheets and tools that focus on making decisions and taking action. The Growth Wheel® is a toolbox built by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs and is available to Growth Wheel Certified Business Advisors and Educators. It was designed around the observation that all businesses, regardless of industry, size or life stage, have four common and consistent challenges: they must create and maintain an attractive Business Concept, build a strong Organization behind it, develop lasting Client Relations, and do so while maintaining profitable Operations. The Growth Wheel’s systematic approach helps entrepreneurs build their businesses through an action-oriented process that stays true to the way most entrepreneurs think and work.
Each Growth Wheel workshop is complemented by our “Learn with the Experts” Seminars led by industry and subject matter experts. Our Learn with the Experts Seminars are designed to bring together Growth Wheel® learning with real world practice. The EEC hosts experts that illustrate how lessons, strategies, decisions, and tactics discussed during Growth Wheel workshops are or can be applied in the entrepreneurial, business and corporate world. These experts range in backgrounds and expertise, including business, academic and professional.
Both workshop types are not accredited business education workshops. These workshops are business growth training workshops for business owners, managers, and all employees of small and mid-size businesses. Anyone can attend these workshops, however EEC and Chamber members receive discounted rates.
You can find information on these workshops on the NCC Chamber of Commerce calendar or on the EEC website under Business Growth Workshops.
Entrepreneur Profile: Q & A with Rishi Khan, Extreme Scale Solutions
Question: Tell us a little bit about your background and education.
Rishi Khan: I’ve been starting companies since I was in middle school. My first company was a lemonade stand with my brother and a friend. My dad financed the initial outlay but made us keep Excel spreadsheets of inventory, sales, P&L, and time spent. I think we broke even, but I learned a lot in the process. In high school I started a tutoring service and I also started two companies while in college.
I have a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Delaware and a PhD in Computational Biology from a joint program between the University of Delaware and Thomas Jefferson University. After my PhD, I started a company with one of my PhD advisors, Dr. James Schwaber, and spent one year as a post doctoral fellow building a proof of concept for a DNA sequencing device that would reduce the then technology cost 1000X. After my post-doc I joined ET International as the VP of Research and Development and led projects that brought $8M dollars to the firm over 5 years. I was a Principle Investigator on a number of Dept. of Energy (DOE) and Dept. of Defense (DOD) high performance computing projects and built a strong network in that field.
Q: How did the idea of Extreme Scale Solutions arise and develop?
RK: When I struck out on my own in 2014, the original focus of Extreme Scale Solutions was on the marriage of High Performance Computing and Big Data, a fusion predicted by Gartner and heavily funded by VCs and the US Government. We originally intended to focus on DOE and DOD Research but started on Enterprise Solutions following a contract from a large Fortune 100 bank. We standardized database configurations and automated for database provisioning reducing a 30 day process with 9 teams to a fully automated 30 minute process.
In 2015, leveraging that initial success, we were contracted by another Fortune 100 bank to build out “Database As a Service”. This included all steps to bring siloed processes from multiple lines of business together into a unified self-service portal for planning, provisioning, and operations. After this contract, we built a platform, Nubrado, which shortens the journey for large enterprises to move to public cloud, or a private cloud-like environment from years to months.
Additionally, in 2017 we began working with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Qualcomm on building next-generation computer architectures to speed up graph analytics by 1000X within the next five years. We believe these two tracks will converge as operational analytics becomes increasingly graph-oriented.
We often refer to our 3 pillars as R&D, software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, and advisory services. Our R&D keeps us on the forefront of analytics and automation. Our SaaS platform provides planning, automation, and analytics support for large enterprise clouds. Our advisory services supplement our platform by helping companies define process and procedures to align their people with the platform.
Q: So what services, in a nutshell, do you offer companies today?
RK: Today, we provide a platform that enables large enterprises to migrate from legacy bespoke silos to a public or private unified cloud environment. This involves planning (What do I need to buy? Where will all of the databases go? How will they be isolated? How will the share resources? What databases should I migrate first to minimize cost or risk?), automated migration, automated lifecycle management actions, and operational analytics.
Q: What advice would you give to startups seeking to start a business in the world of IT/big data?
RK: Work at a startup to gain experience, credibility, network, and a cash hoard on somebody else’s dime. Give yourself a one-year runway (either through bootstrap funding, grants, or VC funding) to see if you can start to make money. Exist in a network of other entrepreneurs such as the Emerging Enterprise Center, Small Business Development Center, and CEO Thinktank®. Fail fast and often, and stick with what sells.
Q: What’s next for Extreme Scale?
Our major effort is to bring our platform, Nubrado, to alpha customers. We are currently engaging with Oracle on a number of potential customers in banking, insurance, telecom, and other fields. Our goal is to make it easy for large companies to manage massive database landscapes through standardization, automation, manage-many-as-one, management through measured metrics.
In addition, our research arm is focusing on extending work on graph analytic processors to machine learning and other problems that can benefit from software-defined reconfigurable hardware.
Emerging Enterprise Center Announces Billy D. Productions, LLC as official videographer sponsor for all Finding Your Next Customer and Business Fundamentals workshops for 2017 at the EEC
The Emerging Enterprise Center (EEC) has officially announced that Billy D. Productions, LLC will be the official videographer sponsor for all Finding your Next Customer and Business Fundamentals workshops for 2017. One of the key missions of the EEC is to help businesses develop business skills to tackle not only the nuts and bolts aspects of running a business but also marketing, networking, and sales skills so that they can grow. Billy D. Productions has just recently joined the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce (affiliated with the EEC) and is looking forward to growing his business with the Chamber and the EEC. With this new sponsorship, the EEC can provide one more benefit to its businesses for attending the business education workshops.
The Emerging Enterprise Center wants you to join us for Educational Workshops and Networking! Find a workshop for you and your business at www.eecincubator.com. Register today at www.eecincubator.com. Contact Frank DeSantis at [email protected] or 302-737-4343 for more information on the Emerging Enterprise Center and its many programs that assist businesses in the community.
About Billy D. Productions, LLC:
Every video is a chance to tell a story and at Billy D. Productions I want to be the one to help you tell it. From eternalizing the love on a wedding day to introducing the world to your service or product, I aim to tell your story in a way that will captivate your audience and effectively grow your business.
Emerging Enterprise Center Announces Costco Wholesale has agreed to Once AGAIN be the official breakfast sponsor for business education events for 2017 at the EEC
Over 60 business education events have been scheduled so far for 2017.
New Castle, DE: The Emerging Enterprise Center (EEC) has officially announced that Costco Wholesale will once again be the breakfast sponsor for the business education workshops in 2017. One of the key missions of the EEC is to help businesses develop business skills to tackle not only the nuts and bolts aspects of running a business but also marketing, networking, and sales skills so that they can grow. Costco Wholesale has been a member of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce (affiliated with the EEC) since 2004 and sponsored over 20 business education events in 2016. The EEC is thrilled to continue this relationship with Costco and to continue providing more benefits to its businesses for attending the business education workshops.
The Emerging Enterprise Center wants you to join us for Educational Workshops and Networking! Find a workshop for you and your business at www.eecincubator.com and register today. Contact Frank DeSantis at [email protected] or 302-737-4343 for more information on the Emerging Enterprise Center and its many programs that assist businesses in the community.
About Costco Wholesale:
The number one warehouse club offering a wide array of the highest-quality products available from around the world. We offer our members an unconditional guarantee of satisfaction on every item we sell. New Castle County Chamber members receive up to $20 Costco Cash Card when joining at the Executive Membership Level or $10 Costco Cash Card when joining a the Basic Membership Level.
About the Emerging Enterprise Center:
The Incubator is designed to provide business support services to entrepreneurs and associated companies in New Castle County, Delaware. The incubator is not merely about a physical building offering lower rental rates, but rather is a program intended to help new businesses succeed to the point of “graduating” from the program within a defined time period.
Boost Your Spirit!
Nonprofit organizations are all around you. Each nonprofit has a specific cause that they are working to better. Today, there is a nonprofit for almost any possible cause you can imagine. These nonprofits function on your donations. Without your donations of money or time, some of these causes will never be confronted. Although it is hard to part with our hard, earned money, there are a number of benefits of donating to a nonprofit organization. There is nothing wrong with rewarding yourself with that money you earned but it might feel more satisfying to reward someone else with it. It’s about that proud feeling you get knowing that you have done something that may help others and support a cause you care abou
t it.
A recent study by Harvard Business School faculty and graduate students titled “Feeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested Charitable Behavior,” explores the ways in which charity donations can benefit your psychological, spiritual and emotional well-being. So do yourself a favor, boost your spirits, help a cause, give yourself a tax deduction, and donate.
Did you know that the Emerging Enterprise Center (EEC) is a nonprofit? We are looking for donors like you to help us support our local entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs in New Castle County will help our local economy grow and bring more business and jobs to the area.
The EEC is designed to provide business support services to entrepreneurs and associated companies in New Castle County, Delaware. The incubator is not merely about a physical building offering lower rental rates, but rather is a pro
gram intended to help new businesses succeed to the point of “graduating” from the program within a defined time period. The EEC provides mentoring, educational opportunities, networking events, shared office equipment, receptionist services, and other amenities that are vital to the success of a new business.
Participants have access to customized business and technical assistance geared toward the specialized needs of individual companies. The EEC provides an environment in which like-minded businesses accelerate their potential through interaction, partnerships, joint ventures, and other mutually beneficial collaborations.
Don’t you want to be a part of something that helps New Castle County and Delaware grow?
Donate to the EEC to keep the doors open, lights on, and programs going. Boost your spirit now by donating today.
The Emerging Enterprise Center Introduces Growth Wheel® Program with Funding by TD Bank, Through the TD Charitable Foundation
The Emerging Enterprise Center introduces Growth Wheel, a visual toolbox for decision-making and action planning for start-up and growth companies. “We are excited to be able to make the Growth Wheel tool available to our EEC companies, as part of their counseling in the incubation program,” says Frank DeSantis, Program Manager, EEC, “and also to the entire small business community, through workshops in our Business Education Program.”
Entrepreneurs learn pretty quickly that having a great idea, a great product or service, and perhaps some great customers are only a small part of the puzzle when starting a business. To be successful, a business owner needs to develop a lot of different skills and this can be somewhat overwhelming.
The Emerging Enterprise Center provides a comprehensive incubation program, in a nurturing environment for early stage businesses. “Support, Access to Resources and Advice” has always been the commitment that the EEC makes to the start-up companies in the incubator program. This approach has enabled the EEC to focus on the individual needs of each of its start-up companies so they could concentrate on growing their business, developing business skills and graduating from the program with a scalable business model.
Growth Wheel was designed around the observation that all businesses – in all industries and life stages – have four lasting challenges in common: They must create an attractive Business Concept, build a strong Organization behind it, develop lasting Client Relations, and do so while maintaining profitable Operations. Within each of those four quadrants are 5 Focus Areas, as indicated below, that contain the business skills necessary to implement a successful strategy.
According to Frank DeSantis, “Growth Wheel is the perfect tool for us to use with our EEC start-up companies. It helps our companies focus, set an agenda, make decisions and take action!” The process starts with a self-assessment by the entrepreneur, which gives them a 360 degree perspective on their capabilities within each focus area. It will provide structure and a framework with which to develop business skills.
Besides being a valuable tool used in the individual counseling of companies in the EEC, Growth Wheel will become an integral part of the overall 2016 Business Education Program that the Emerging Enterprise Centers presents. In addition to the longstanding series; Finding Your Next Customer and Business Fundamentals, 2016 will include a 5 session Growth Wheel Series, starting in January 2016 with an Overview and Briefing, followed by a quarterly workshop from a focus area from one of the four quadrants.
The Emerging Enterprise Center offers several types of Business Incubation Programs: Residential incubation, which includes affordable office space; Virtual incubation, for those not requiring office space; International Soft-Landings and a Pre-Incubation program for those serious, but not quite ready to commit. To find out more about the Emerging Enterprise Center, its Business Incubation or Business Education Programs, contact Frank DeSantis, Program Manager at [email protected], 302-294-2056 or visit us on the web at www.EECincubator.com.