Why do some entrepreneurs, after having lived the highs and lows, uncertainty, and sleepless nights of business ownership, do it again? Why do other entrepreneurs start another business after having failed miserably? Moreover, why do even other entrepreneurs continue to launch companies after successfully harvesting one, earning them the financial independence that many people dream of?

At this panel discussion, we will explore these questions with a panel of serial entrepreneurs who are “addicted to entrepreneurship”. You’ll hear what drives these unique personalities, why they refuse to take the “easy way out”, and how they got to be that way. Come to what promises to be a provocative, insightful, and fascinating look inside the mind of people who are addicted to the “drug” of entrepreneurship.

PANELISTS

Jim Deters(COM ‘98)
Jim is co-founder and President of Ascendant Technology, an Austin, Texas-based technology firm that was ranked #13 on the 2007 Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. He is a serial entrepreneur who has spent the last decade building organizations that deliver elegant web applications with IBM technology. Prior to Ascendant Technology, he founded Portal Interactive, Inc., and subsequently CONET’s U.S. division. Jim earned his bachelor’s degree from DePaul University.

Dave Dingott
David is President & Founder of Sword Diagnostics, and is a Fortune-100 trained business leader with 25 years experience identifying, creating and leading business opportunities from concept to market. He was president and co-founder of award winning OpenReach (now part of Corente) named to Fortune Magazine’s 2001 “Top 100 New Companies to Watch” list. Dave received his master’s in engineering from Columbia University and bachelor’s in engineering and computer science from Polytechnic Institute of New York.

David Gamperl
David is an entrepreneur, real estate developer, and investor who has launched, acquired or invested in numerous ventures. Most recently, he is a founding partner of Blueleaf Lending, a lending institution for residential construction and development. Prior to that, he founded M37, LLC, a marketing firm providing big agency thinking to small, entrepreneurial companies. As a real estate developer, David has had several successful projects and is currently building a 32-story high rise in the West Loop, a $100 million project.

Keith Schacht
Keith is the founder of Chicago-based 42 Friends LLC, the company behind leading Facebook applications such as Growing Gifts and Hatching Eggs. Prior to 42 Friends, Schacht co-founded and sold two technology companies. In 2005, BusinessWeek named him one of the top 20 entrepreneurs under 25. He has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, BusinessWeek, and Business 2.0 and served the world’s top consumer product companies including Nike, Proctor & Gamble, Motorola, BMW, Kraft, and many others. Schacht attended University of Illinois where he studied computer science and psychology.