Archive for September, 2009

By Robert Hisrich, Walker Center director

I am thrilled to be in Vienna serving as the keynote speaker at the commencement of the graduating class for the Technology University here in Austria. Given my long entrepreneurial and academic history in Austria and Hungary, I am honored by the request. The technologies being developed here are promising and among the leading new ideas in the technology world.

Rural supply chain entrepreneur Harsha Moily, a 1997 Thunderbird graduate, doesn’t run a charity. His company leverages on microfinance to build a supply chain that provides the poor with access to income-generating activities in hundreds of villages across southern India. But Moily does this without grants, subsidies or other gifts. “I view this purely as a business and not as a charity,” he says. “It’s wealth for all stakeholders — customers, employees, employers, investors.”
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Join more than 75 private equity professionals for a New York City forum on “Financing Trends in Clean Tech Venture: Risks & Opportunities.” Despite poor market conditions and a challenging exit environment, clean tech venture investment is happening. Who is investing in clean technology? What strategies should clean technology companies employ to attract capital? What technologies and sectors are attractive for venture capitalists? What role will government play in financing clean technology development? The Global Private Equity Forum will be 8 to 10:30 a.m. Sept. 23 at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP. Register at www.thunderbird.edu/TPEC.

Singles looking for love online often find dishonesty instead. Online daters fudge their weight, height, age, employment history and even marital status. Men who promote themselves as law-abiding citizens forget to mention felony convictions and restraining orders. Women forget to mention that the photograph they posted is 10 years old. Thunderbird Executive MBA graduate Christina Chow heard all the horror stories from friends and co-workers who used popular dating sites. “They talked about the problems they were facing,” she said. “They had no idea who they were meeting.”
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By Ernesto Poza, Clinical Professor of Global Entrepreneurship

As even the smallest companies become more global in their operations, many family-owned businesses are seizing opportunities to expand overseas. But others are resisting and, in turn, missing opportunities that could sustain their success. Much of their reluctance is due to the conservative fiscal management and risk avoidance that characterize many family businesses. Expanding overseas takes capital, often a loan with a long payback period. Currency fluctuations also are a hazard. So business owners find themselves looking hard for easier, faster domestic growth opportunities.
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