• Wednesday, May 23, 2007

"Failure is a harsh teacher, but the best." - Ervin J. Glaspy

Failure. The thought of it keeps entrepreneurs awake at night and motivates them through the day. But entrepreneurial failure does not have to be something you live in fear of. Many entrepreneurs have failed in one venture, and then gone on to great success in future ventures. They take what they learned from the failure and put it into practice in their next start-up. In fact, many successful entrepreneurs say sometimes you must fail to succeed.

At this seminar, join us for a candid conversation with three such entrepreneurs who have experienced failure, and a turn-around consultant. They'll discuss the financial, practical, psychological, and emotional effects of enduring failure. Now that they have the value of hindsight, they will share what they learned from the experience, including:

• The warning signs of the business' struggle
• The steps undertaken to turn the business around
• What they did differently in their next entrepreneurial venture

This seminar is appropriate for new and experienced entrepreneurs who are seeking information to avoid failures, inspiration to start-up and keep going, and reassurance that there is life after failure.

PANELISTS

Dan Ehrmann is the founder and President of ClubExpress, an Internet ASP that helps membership-based organizations run their operations. Dan has more than 20 years of experience developing custom software solutions designed to fit client needs. ClubExpress is his fourth venture; of the previous three, one was successful and two were not and he learned as much from the latter as from the former.

David Gamperl is an entrepreneur, real estate developer, and investor who has launched, acquired or invested in numerous ventures. As a developer, David has had several successful projects and is currently building a 32-story high rise in the West Loop, a $65 million project. David has invested in several Chicago-area start-ups and is one of the founding members of the DePaul Blue Angel Network. David began his entrepreneurial career at the age of 27, when he launched and was president of America's Finest Pasta Sauces, a manufacturer, distributor and marketer of famous Italian restaurant pasta sauces. He shares his business acumen and vision as an instructor for Start Up! Chicago, and serves on the board of advisors for the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center.

David Weinstein is president of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) and oversees all operations of the organization. Since its inception, clients of the CEC's advisory services secured contracts in excess of $80 million and 50 clients secured financing valued at $40 million. Previously, he was president of David Weinstein & Associates, LLC. (DW&A) a Chicago-based consulting and advisory service firm specializing in assisting businesses extend their technology services and products to the public sector. David also was president and chief executive officer of BlueMeteor from 2000 to 2001 and was responsible for developing and implementing the company's strategic vision and corporate growth to $5 million in annual revenues with 110 employees. David led the technology firm in successfully raising over $30 million of venture capital and executing strategic alliances with major technology providers and equipment manufacturers that included: Oracle Corporation, TIBCO Software, Sun Microsystems, Exodus Communications, Storage Networks and EMC.

Michael Barto has been a Partner at the Turnaround Consulting firm Promontory Point Partners, LLC since January of 2002. Prior to that, Mr. Barto spent the majority of his career at Fortune 500 companies, including 4 at Newell-Rubbermaid and 7 at the Sherwin Williams Company. He has an outstanding track record of improving profitability through sales growth, strategy development, cost reductions, and operational change. Additionally, he has extensive experience internationally, integrating an acquisition in Brazil, global sourcing, and developing sales management and distribution in Europe. Mr. Barto has spent extensive time in Asia, sourcing products, tooling and assembly operations for his clients. Most recently, Mike was interim CEO for a refractory company in bankruptcy due to asbestos litigation. The company produced record profitability under his leadership in both 2004 and 2005, and successfully emerged from bankruptcy in March of 2006. He has an undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois University and a MBA from DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business in Chicago. Mr. Barto was awarded the 2002-2003 Turnaround of the Year by the Chicago/Midwest division of the TMA for his work on Martin Engineering.