The Enterprise Institute has relocated its Sioux Falls office to 201 S. Phillips Avenue after spending three years at the SD Technology Business Center.

Executive Director, Marcia Hendrickson , looks forward to being a part of the “dynamic business environment” of downtown Sioux Falls.

Although the organization has projects throughout the state they maintain offices in Sioux Falls, Brookings and Yankton. At each office, Enterprise Institute staff assist entrepreneurs, inventors and investors in commercializing innovation. They also facilitate investment from organizations such as Prairie Winds Capital.

“As Prairie Winds Capital, LLC continues to progress, a downtown presence of our headquarters is helpful exposure. The Enterprise Institute continues to support our fund’s administration and co-locating in their downtown Sioux Falls location is mutually beneficial.” Dale Froehlich, Chairman of PWC, LLC.

SDSU Foundation staff will also utilize the space to support the university’s mission.

The Chamber of Commerce is hosting a ribbon cutting and open house for the new office on Wednesday, February 20 at 4:30 pm.

The Enterprise Institute offers services including competitive analysis, market research, financial analysis, business plan development and capital sourcing. They also link clients to prototyping facilities, scientists, mentors and other professionals who can help along the way. Since operations started in 2001, Enterprise Institute has worked with more than 1000 projects.

To contact the Enterprise Institute at their new location, visit Suite 110 at 201 S. Phillips Avenue or call 605.275.2833.

The Enterprise Institute’s annual event, Innovation Expo™, brought together more than 400 inventors, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and policymakers on October 18 th at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

Opening guest speaker Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes magazine, discussed his vision of Sioux Falls as a city with a great future. Karlgaard listed factors such as technological advances, opportunities for higher education and lower costs of living and crime as reasons for its potential. He also stressed the importance of supporting entrepreneurs to grow business within a community.

Other speakers included John Calvert from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and nationally recognized angel investor William Payne.

Several awards highlighted the day’s events:

Steve Kirby, a founding partner of Bluestem Capital Co. in Sioux Falls and a member of the Foundation’s Council of Trustees, received the 2007 Spirit of Enterprise award at Innovation Expo™. This is an annual award given by the Enterprise Institute to an individual in recognition of personal commitment, dedication and achievement in entrepreneurship. Previous honorees include Daktronics founders Al Kurtenbach and Duane Sander and Don Endres of VeraSun Energy.

Pictured Left to Right: Steve Kirby, Al Kurtenbach, Rich Karlgaard, Don Endres, John Calvert

Kirby offers words of wisdom based on his experience: “My advice to entrepreneurs is pretty simple. That is, get a track record in whatever area (you) think looks interesting before life savings or formal fundraising efforts take place. Business from the outside looks easy most times but when in the ‘inner sanctum’ of making a profit and keeping the business alive, some days can be pretty tough. As one once said, ‘It is easy to be a business person most days, but it is tough to be a good one on all days.’ Finally, be honest and hard working. With that and a little luck, one can get far down the road to business prosperity.”

John Webster, founder of Sioux Falls-based software firm CRESH, received the Emerging Entrepreneur award. Webster started his company at Dakota State University in 1998, providing hosting and management services for colleges and universities in the US. In 2004, the technology was successfully transferred out of Dakota State. Its Enterprise Data Center Operations is currently located in Sioux Falls.

This year’s Whatchamacallit contest attracted 29 innovators from South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Inventions were judged on various factors related to innovativeness and commercial potential. Contest winners received cash prizes from the Enterprise Institute. The winners included:

• 1 st place: Multifarious Inc. of Maplewood, MN, for their “Wilcraft” ice fishing product.
• 2 nd place: M&B Products of Buffalo, MN, for their “Garden Guard,” a product applied to gardens that keeps rodents away.
• 3 rd place: CanDew Scientific of Lemmon, SD, for their solar power solutions.

Innovation Expo™ also featured an Elevator Pitch Contest, which gave entrepreneurs a chance to showcase their equity-ready, start-up company. Contest winners received cash prizes and valuable services from the Enterprise Institute. The winners included:

• 1 st place: NeuroStimulation Inc. of Minneapolis, MN
• 2 nd place: Wilcraft of Maplewood, MN
• 3 rd place: Dakota Ties of Yankton, SD

Innovation Expo also included breakout sessions, seminars, networking and a tradeshow area featuring over 70 inventors, researchers, sponsors and service providers.

Platinum level sponsors Results Radio, Sanford Health and Riverfront Event Center provided significant funding for the event.

In conjunction with Innovation Expo, the SD Biotech Association hosted their Second Annual Biotech Summit.

Mark your calendar. The 2008 Innovation Expo is scheduled for Wednesday, October 22 at the Sioux FallsConvention Center.

RAIN Source Capital, LLC, a regional angel investment network, recently announced the addition of Dale Froehlich from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to their board of directors.

Prairie Winds Capital, LLC, is a South Dakota Limited Liability Company, formed in 2006. Prairie Winds Capital is a RAIN ® (Regional Angel Investment Network) fund member of the Rain Source Capital group, headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The RAIN network has 24 funds and over 350 members across six upper Midwest states. Prairie Winds Capital is assisted in administration by the Enterprise Institute. Prairie Winds Capital, LLC, is comprised of 14 Sioux Falls area qualified investors, and currently has a portfolio book value of $750,000.

We continue to move around to reach our growing number of RAIN ® fund constituents. This year, we will move to late October and are venturing outside Minnesota to Sioux Falls , SD. The conference will take place October 22-24, 2008 at the Holiday Inn Downtown in Sioux Falls .

In Saint Cloud this past fall, we had over 150 attendees representing 13 states, 19 RAIN ® funds, and many Future RAIN Makers and Portfolio Companies.

The main goal of this conference is to bring together the RAIN fund members, their guests and those interested in forming or joining a RAIN Fund to discuss best practices and trends for angel investing and even more specifically the issues they face as a RAIN Fund group. The RAIN Source Capital team is there to present to the team and provide updates as well as to get feedback and suggestions from the members.

This conference continues to grow each year as do the RAIN funds around the country. There are now 23 RAIN funds in 6 states. You will learn from the insightful panel discussions, pointed keynote speakers as well as from your peers. We will provide plenty of networking time and opportunities to hear from the hottest portfolio companies – selected by each RAIN Group to present at the conference.

Stay tuned for a detailed agenda later this Spring.

The Enterprise Institute is proud to participate in the Second Annual National Entrepreneurship Week – February 23 to March 1, 2008 .  National Entrepreneurship Week is a celebration of entrepreneurship across the country first encouraged by the US House of Representatives in 2006.  Organizations throughout the nation host and coordinate events relating to entrepreneurship during the week.  We are again partnering with SDSU to coordinate and promote a variety of events on and near the campus of SDSU.  This year’s events include a keynote speaker, entrepreneur resource fair, idea competition, Enterprise Center open house, Tech Transfer Series seminar, and the Launch conference. See the ‘upcoming events’ section for more details on this year’s events.

Entrepreneurship Week ’08 Schedule:

February 25 th @ 5:30p in Union —Exclusive dinner with E-week keynote, (must sign up to attend- only 10 students accepted)

February 25 th @ 7:00p in Volstorff—keynote address

February 26 th @ 10:00a-2:00p in Volstorff Lounge—Entrepreneurship Resource Fair

February 26 th @ 11:00p in Union 103—Idea Competition Finalist (must pre-register by Feb 19)

February 27 th @ 1:00p-3:00p in Enterprise Center —Enterprise Institute Open House

February 27 th @ 3:00p in Enterprise Center —Tech Transfer Series – Gary Archambouldt, SBIR

February 28 th @ 8:30a in Mitchell—Launch ’08 Entrepreneurship Conference

2008 Tech Transfer Workshop Series to Launch

February 6 at 3-5 PM in SSU 262A – Overview of the Management of Intellectual Property and Pathways to Commercialization, presented by David Chicoine and Kevin Kephart
This workshop will address policies, procedures, and processes for actions associated with intellectual property and its commercialization and ranging from disclosures to execution of a license, whether to an established firm or start-up company. Topics include Bayh-Dole Act, Board of Regents policies, patents & licensing, confidentiality, royalty distribution and inventors typical equity position in a start-up company into which an invention is licensed for commercialization.   Conflicts of interest and conflict of commitment management will be discussed.

The Tech Transfer Series continues with Gary Archamboult and the Small Business Innovation Research program February 27 at 3:00 pm at the Enterprise Center.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs provide more than $2 billion each year to small businesses and partnering research institutions to assist entrepreneurs in taking their ideas from laboratory to market.  The SBIR and STTR programs fund projects at the earliest stages of development and assist firms who have not yet attracted funding through venture capital or other alternative financing to succeed in commercialization.  This session will provide an overview of the SBIR/STTR programs, nuances between the eleven agencies that participate, and ways industry and academia can develop mutually beneficial partnerships to commercialize technology innovations. This is a highly opportune time to consider funding through the SBIR/ STTR programs, particularly at a time when universities are creating a more robust climate for the commercialization of university intellectual property innovation and entrepreneurship.

The South Dakota Entrepreneurship Education Conference: Launch ’08 will be held on Thursday, February 28 on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell.

Launch ’08 is a one-day event advancing entrepreneurship education in South Dakota. The 2008 annual conference features two tracks.  The Educator Track is geared towards those who are interested in integrating innovative and creative thinking within their respective disciplines.  The Student Track is geared towards inspiring and supporting students that are entrepreneurial.  The conference will also feature networking opportunities and relevant resources for entrepreneurs. 

The Launch ’08 conference is presented in partnership by the Enterprise Institute, the Kelley Center for Entrepreneurship/Dakota Wesleyan University, South Dakota State University Entrepreneurship Program, EQUIP, South Dakota EPSCoR, South Dakota Small Business Development Center, and the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

For more information or to register for this event, please call 605-996-1140 or visit the website at www.dwu.edu/sdlaunchconference.