Learn To Be a Successful Entrepreneur in the Education Market
A Workshop by ASU’s Technology Based Learning and Research and Arc Capital Development
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. (February 9, 2009) — From the moment the light clicks on to the final step when a product or business is in the works may seem like the longest trek on the entrepreneurial path. But many come to a dead stop after going around the next blind turn — how to take that idea or business model and make it successful in the education market.
Making a product or business viable in modern education markets takes certain strategies and tactics that the leaders at Arc Capital Development have been perfecting for two decades. Now they are partnering with ASU Technology Based Learning and Research to share their expertise in a unique workshop: “Being an Entrepreneur in the Education Market – Marketing, selling and growing a successful enterprise in the U.S. school market.”
This interactive session will cover the practical strategies and tactical components needed to get a product to market, commercialize opportunity and maximize shareholder value. Using real-world examples from companies within the industry, they will show what works and what pitfalls to avoid.
Who will benefit from this workshop: any entrepreneur with an idea or business specifically for use in education and looking for the next step in how to take it to the markets.
What you will learn: how to get a product into the U.S. school market, how to find and understand the best opportunities for commercialization and maximizing the returns.
When: 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at the Skysong Innovation Center
RSVP: amanda.fruzynski@asu.edu, 602-502-3772
“Being an Entrepreneur in the Education Market” will be presented at ASU’s Skysong Scottsdale Innovation Center. Skysong is the premier incubation site for entrepreneurial ideas. The connection to ASU provides for a unique window into the world of education markets. Technology Based Learning and Research at Skysong offers instructional design, content and professional development, research and evaluation, and is an expert on current and emerging trends in educational technology. Arc Capital Development brings with it the understanding of the business side of innovation in education as a private equity and advisory firm that specializes in the education market. For more information contact Paul Skiera t 480-884-1700 or ps@asu.edu or Rita Ferrandino at 941-921-1663.
About the Presenters —
The Arc Principals draw upon their experience in starting, growing and successfully exiting the fifteen Education companies they have built which generated aggregated revenues of more than $500 million in the last 20 years. They have equity positions in nine portfolio companies and act as the strategic advisor to many of the market leading companies.
Kevin Custer is a Founding Principal in Arc Capital Development and has 20 years experience developing businesses in the fields of education and telecommunications. Kevin has launched six startups, whose products have been installed in more than 50 percent of K-12 schools in the United States, and are accessed by over 10 million users each week. He is currently CEO of Virtual Expert Clinics, creators of the online system AutismPro. Custer also serves as chairman of Kinderstreet, the nation's largest Internet-based management system for day care and before and after-school programs. Additionally, he serves on the board of Intagrade, FreshiFlix and MyPayment Network and was president and chief executive officer of Brainium Technologies. At Infonautics, he developed strategies for the school and library market for Electric Library, the Internet's leading online library service. Kevin is an international speaker on technology issues and served as chairman of the education and e-business sections of the Software & Information Industry Association.
Rita Ferrandino, is a Founding Principal in Arc Capital Development and offers more than 20 years of experience building strong revenue in the higher education and K-12 markets. She has led the sales, acquisition, alliance and marketing efforts for traditional print, technology, and online products for some of the industry’s largest publishers. Rita leads the team at Chicago Educational Publishing Company, which is the exclusive publisher and distributor of Science Companion. Career highlights include selling over $100 million of products to the higher education and K-12 markets, leading the acquisition effort for more than 50 titles, and forming revenue-producing alliances with over a dozen of the industry’s largest publishers and distributors. Rita has been responsible for double-digit sales growth for at least four years at two different major publishers. Rita also works to shape government policies and decision making at the federal, state and local level. As the Executive Director of the Elementary Science Coalition, Rita is building federal support for elementary science education. The Tampa media named Rita Ferrandino as one of “8 in 2008 to Watch.” Rita has an MBA and a BS in business management from Pennsylvania State University.
Paul Skiera, TBLR: Paul Skiera offers more than 15 years of industry experience in the field of educational technology. He has been committed to finding technology-driven solutions since the earliest stages of technology in education. He is currently Director of Technology Based Learning and Research, an educational technology research center at Arizona State University that offers instructional design, content and professional development, research and evaluation, and is an expert on current and emerging trends in educational technology. Skiera is also currently Business Development Manager at Sebit, LLC, an education technology innovation company that has spent a decade focusing on empowering learners and educators in the K-12 bracket by combining research-based pedagogy with state of the art visualization and interaction.
About Skysong: Technology Based Learning and Research is located at ASU SkySong, the Scottsdale Innovation Center. The center is currently home to more than 40 enterprises from 11 countries, with clusters of companies in e-learning, information communications technologies, and sustainability. ASU SkySong is an interactive business environment in which individual entrepreneurs, global and U.S. enterprises, ASU researchers, and community members connect to bring new services and technologies to the marketplace. For more information about ASU SkySong, go to http://skysong.asu.edu SkySong will ultimately consist of 1.2 million square feet of research, office, residential and retail space. Higgins Development Partners and Plaza Companies are co-developers of the project in partnership with Arizona State University Foundation and USAA Real Estate Company. Located at the intersection of Scottsdale and McDowell Road, two buildings totaling over 300,000 square feet are now open. For more information, visit www.skysongcenter.com
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For more information contact:
Paul Skiera
Technology Based Learning and Research
480-884-1700
ps@asu.edu
Rita Ferrandino
Arc Capital Development
941-921-1663
rita@arccd.com