February 22, 2013

Legal Issues for Start-ups: Five Things Every Entrepreneur Needs to Address When Launching a Company

Panel discussion led by Mark Sundahl, Associate Dean and Professor, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

Launching a successful company requires the alignment of the stars – a good product, a market need, a viable business plan, and the human and financial capital to make it work. When bringing all of these pieces together, the entrepreneur sometimes neglects to give proper attention to the legal issues that are integral to the long-term success of the company. This discussion will review the five legal issues that need to be addressed by every entrepreneur when launching operations in order to avoid unnecessary problems down the road.

March 22, 2013

What a Small Business Needs to Know about IP:

Insights into Patents, Trademarks,

Trade Secrets and Copyrights, for the U.S. and Beyond

Panel discussion with Tom Adams, Chris Jacobs, and Luis Carrion, attorneys, Renner Otto

Intellectual property may be your company’s most valuable asset. Are you sure you’re doing what is necessary to protect it? Three lawyers from the law firm of Renner Otto will provide an overview of IP law and then lead a discussion of what small businesses need to do to guard their intellectual property in the United States and when doing business abroad.

April 26, 2013

Going Global: How to Enter Foreign Markets, Minimize Risks, and Comply with the Law When Doing Business Abroad

Jon Yormick, Yormick & Associates and Nate Ward, Director, International Trade Assistance Center

Now that the world is flat, businesses of all sizes can go global by selling their products and services abroad. The National Export Initiative launched by the White House in 2010 further opened the door to international business by creating new opportunities for U.S. companies to export their goods. Businesses can significantly grow their customer base by penetrating foreign markets, but doing business abroad also poses certain risks and challenges that must be managed. Attorney Jon Yormick will join Nate Ward to describe how best to enter foreign markets and minimize the legal and business risks that may arise.

May 31, 2013

Crowd Funding/Traditional Lending

Mike Hawkins , Chief Technology Officer, SoMoLend

This dynamic presentation will give an overview of the current state of traditional lending and crowd funding for small business as well as the different types of funding available, how it works and small business success stories.