Center for Entrepreneurship

The mission of the Madison College Center for Entrepreneurship is to strengthen communities through education, innovation and collaboration. We strive to plant the seeds of entrepreneurial thinking and to foster a culture of entrepreneurial action across all of Madison College. Our goals are to:

Assist in the creation of new businesses within our district.
Assist in the retention of businesses within our district.
Provide tools for startups to launch and for early stage businesses to improve planning and to achieve growth.
Focus on providing resources to underserved populations within our district such as women and minority entrepreneurs.

Our Center seeks to leverage the talents of our distinguished faculty and our world class campus infrastructure to add value to our regional entrepreneurship ecosystem while collaborating with existing organizations and promoting what others do best.

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Workshops
Chef Series
Resident Entrepreneurs
Resources

Workshops

The Center for Entrepreneurship provides a variety of workshops and events designed to provide hands-on information and planning tools for both novice and experienced entrepreneurs. This ongoing series covers topics from the exploratory stage of learning what entrepreneurship is, through the fundamental elements of putting together a business plan. Madison College students are eligible to enter the Madison College Challenge business plan competition and compete for cash and in-kind prizes, including a $5,000 grand prize.

Events are free to Madison College students and to the general public unless otherwise noted. Entrepreneurs from communities surrounding Madison, Wisconsin are encouraged to attend.

Attendees can park in any marked stall in the student parking lot. View our campus map.

Spring 2019 Schedule

Lunch & Learn: Social Media and Your Startup with Steve Noll

Friday, April 12

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Truax Campus, E1874

Social Media is a critical part of a Small Business Marketing plan. Learn how to integrate tools like Facebook into establishing and growing an online presence for your business. Getting new likes/fans, content creation, paid vs free advertising and using Social Media PR will be covered (and more) to help make sure your business can launch with customers on day one.

Register

Chef Series

The Madison College & Vollrath Chef Series focuses on the entrepreneurial journey that each chef has embarked on and the challenges they faced along the way. Events will also cover methods of food preparation, a cooking demonstration and a serving of appetizers prepared by the chefs.

Events will be hosted in our new Culinary Arts demonstration kitchen, located at the Truax campus in Madison, Wisconsin. The Chef Series is free to Madison College students and $35 for non-students.

Check out the Chef Series archive to see our past events.

2018 - 2019 Chef Series

Don't miss these exciting talks and culinary presentations for the 2018-19 Madison College Chef Series, presented by The Vollrath Company and hosted by Kyle Cherek, host of Wisconsin Public Televisions Emmy award-winning Wisconsin Foodie!

Gale GAND

Wednesday, May 8
5 - 8 p.m.

The Chicago-based pastry chef and host of Food Network’s Sweet Dreams, Gale won the 2001 James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef and has penned several cookbooks–notably Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs and Just a Bite.

Register

Resident Entrepreneurs

Meet with the experienced and knowledgeable Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs) and learn about our workshops and events that will prepare you for success as an entrepreneur in a rapidly evolving business world, or schedule a one-on-one consultation to talk about your business idea.

Deborah Biddle

With a calm, level-headed approach, keen listening, insightful questioning, and a passion for individual and organizational belonging and thriving, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, Certified Coach, Trainer and Professional Speaker Deborah Biddle has influenced individuals and teams to successfully rethink and redo the ways they engage with people and make decisions to improve their imprint and impact where they live and do business. To achieve real change, Deborah meets you where you are to customize and align her solutions-based approach with your organization’s strategy.

Email Deb to schedule an appointment.

Shana LaFore

Shana has been a mentor, advocate and teacher in the art and design world for over two decades. She incorporates her real-world experiences in sales, entrepreneurship, art and design into her seminars and workshops for a rare mix of multi-faceted, innovative content. Her area of specialization is career development for professionals in creative fields such as art, architecture and design with specific emphasis on sales and client relations.

Email Shana to schedule an appointment

Resources

Madison College Challenge

The Madison College Challenge is a three-phase business plan competition for registered Madison College students. Finalists who make it to the third and final phase have a chance to win up to $5,000 cash. This can be awarded to an aspiring entrepreneur (or team of entrepreneurs) designated for startup funding within the Madison College district.

Madison College Libraries

Resources on Entrepreneurship
Creator Studio The Madison College Libraries Creator Studio is a place that encourages innovative thinking and creative exploration for group and individual learners. It is designed to build community and self-discovery by providing tools that offer hands-on experiences and learning.

WiSys Technology Foundation

Madison College has a formal technology transfer agreement with the WiSys Technology Foundation. If you are a Madison College student, faculty or staff with an idea or product in development WiSys may be able to help you protect your intellectual property and/or commercialize your product. WiSys works with innovators with discoveries from all disciplines and stages of development.

For more information on how to access WiSys resources contact entrepreneurcenter@madisoncollege.edu

American Family Dream Bank

The American Family Dream bank offers valuable talks and events for entrepreneurs. View their current offerings.

FACES OF FOUNDERS

#Faces of Founders: A discussion of entrepreneurship, race, place and gender.

American Bar Association

ABA guide to starting a new business. This resources explains the fundamentals of funding a small business, typical laws and regulations that impact small businesses and issues that are unique to home-based businesses.

Contact

Madison College Center for Entrepreneurship