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December 2007 News

E Newsletter December 2007

The Entrepreneurs Network provides area entrepreneurs with hands-on training and access to resources critical for building successful new ventures

Since inception in 2006, Rochester-based TEN has accepted almost 70 new members, all founders or senior executives of early stage high tech companies.

Within the first year, TEN member companies have created approximately 50 new jobs and raised $7.2 million in angel or venture capital financing, says Debora LaBudde, Executive Director and Co-founder of the program.

TEN is set up with six-month classes that meet bi-monthly and include a boot camp, work shops, and panel events designed to help build successful businesses. The program provides interaction with representatives from leading national venture capital funds, corporations, law firms and successful serial entrepreneurs. Class topics include securing venture capital, forming strategic alliances, defining market strategies and sales effectiveness.

TEN is helping these entrepreneurs with exposure, LaBudde says. One TEN member Les Fritzemeier, CEO of Wakonda Technologies Inc., in November won the "Clean Energy Entrepreneur of the Year" award sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Additionally startup Techrigy Inc.
was recently named among "25 Websites to Watch" by PC World Magazine.

TEN is the first program of its kind in Upstate New York covering Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse and Ithaca.

December 2007