Dominican University is on the hunt for business experts to serve as mentors for budding entrepreneurs as part of its Venture Greenhouse business incubator program, the school announced this week.
The program, targeted for the fall of 2012, will begin with an invitation-only Mentor and Adviser Lunch on Wednesday, August 22, at VG headquarters at 30 Castro Avenue in San Rafael. It will be held in conjunction with a Professional Service Providers Lunch a week later on August 29.
“We are looking for talented entrepreneurial experts -- seasoned business people who have run companies or are experts in green business or clean technology -- who have been there and can lend their expertise and experience,” Paul Bozzo, a startup specialist who is VG’s co-founder and director of client services, said in a statement. “We want people to know when it comes to Venture Greenhouse, we have an expansive and diverse team of experts that can help them succeed.”
Venture Greenhouse, which opened in October of 2011, is a business incubator providing an intensive acceleration process for scalable companies that have the potential for significant environmental benefits. VG’s 5,000-square-foot “innovation engine” has graduated six clients and currently has seven resident companies with the goal of graduating within one year.
Venture Greenhouse also is launching a Marin County-funded affiliate program serving another 10 companies, having completed a successful pilot in June.
Inspired by Dominican’ s Green MBA program, Venture Greenhouse is a learning laboratory for the University’s business students, and a community resource for innovators, investors, sustainability advocates and new ventures.
The team mentoring program is designed to pull more resources and experts into VG and provide an opportunity for experienced business people and professionals to help create future business ventures for current and future VG entrepreneurs.
The program will rely on a core leadership team to coordinate lead advisers and a new rotating series of between 15-20 top quality volunteer mentors and coaches who can work with VG entrepreneurial clients on a weekly or monthly basis up to a year.
Interested team mentoring program candidates should contact Matthew Gaulding, VG Operations Manager, at 415-497-3308 or email him at matthew@venturegreenhouse.com by Aug. 20.
Potential mentors will be categorized by specific skill and knowledge “to begin a process to provide a vertical team of expertise,” said VG Senior Advisor Ashwin Gulati, President of Match Point Ventures.
For more information, visit the Venture Greenhouse website at www.venturegreenhouse.org or call 415-497-3308.
