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Newsletter
Issue No. 10
August 2012
Well, another season has passed, and CEL continues to prosper, due to the commitment of its
students, staff and faculty. In the summer term we were fortunate to have two great instructors for
the students: Roger Bryan, Managing Partner, KPMG for the business consulting students and
Wissam Aoun, CEL IP Director for the law interns . This summer had CEL students working on an
array of exciting and interesting projects, including market research and technology landscape
analysis pertaining to an innovative University of Windsor faculty development, providing local entre-
preneurs with market analysis for their fledgling businesses and assisting student entrepreneurs with
business and legal advice pertaining to their start-up companies. CEL students provided these
individuals with feasibility analyses, cost analyses, market research, trade-mark use and registration
opinions and conducted novelty searches pertaining to technological innovations.
In April we attended the Ontario Centres of Excellence Discovery Conference. For the first time CEL sponsored two
entrants in the business plan competitions: LiquidWild (founders: Sean Davidson, Paul Peladeau and Steve Nicodemo)
was one of eight finalists in the OCE Discovery ELIP Business Plan Competition, and The Food Stop (founder: Sandra
Gonzalez). Both had great showings, and we look forward to next year’s competition.
We have been building our research capabilities over the past term. In May, Profs Myra Tawfik, Wissam Aoun and I
were invited to present our SSHRC-funded research titled, “Strategies and Practices for Overcoming Obstacles to the
Effective Commercialization of Student Innovation on University Campuses” to the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council and Industry Canada Panel on Knowledge-Synthesis on Leveraging Investments in Higher Education
and Research Development. The full report can be found at www.uwindsor.ca/cel.
Additionally, Prof Tawfik and I had a paper on the topic of designing entrepreneurial mentoring programs for immi-
grants accepted for publication in the Journal of Entrepreneurship. This study was based on our immigrant outreach
program a few years ago. Wissam Aoun is presenting research on campus intellectual property at and intellectual prop-
erty clinical activities at the Canadian Clinical Legal Education Conference (CCLEC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba on October
19, 2012. Nicole Sleiman will present a business teaching case written by CEL Alumnus Kim Forrest, Nicole Sleiman,
and I at the North American Case Research Association Annual Meeting in Boston in October 2012. This case is based
upon CEL student consulting experiences with an entrepreneurial student’s new venture. Summaries of these talks will
be posted on the CEL website over the next month. On the website, you will also find a new report researched by MBA
candidate Anthony Eyebeloria that will help international students as they start new ventures in Windsor Essex.
I’m also pleased to announce that Paul Foster has agreed to be our CEL and Odette Entrepreneur-in-Residence for
another year (2012-2013). He has been a wonderful professional and entrepreneurial mentor for the CEL students
over the past year! In other news, Professor Myra Tawfik is currently spending her sabbatical researching in Montreal,
but will return in the new year.
Our upcoming term includes matching CEL business and law student teams with Dr. Pasek’s 2nd year Engineering class, and
Dr. Urbanic’s 4th year Engineering class. Activities include helping the engineering students with market and feasibility analyses,
novelty/patent searches, and business plans, activities that integrate videos, a business plan competition and mentoring. The CEL
students are also working with Prof Gervais’ English Publishing class, and will help with business and legal issues related to publishing
books by 2 Canadian authors. Ontario Centres of Excellence has provided support funding for aspects of these projects. We are also
working with a number of young entrepreneurs, and with the University of Windsor tech transfer office.
In this issue you will find more information on our OCE Business of Innovation program entrepreneur interns , along with the special
achievements of some of our CEL alumni and read about upcoming events.
Where Are
They Now
Entrepreneur in
Residence
2
2
CEL Students’
Special
Achievements
3
Meet Our
Mentors
4
Business of
Innovation
5
Students
Compete
Guest
Speakers
Upcoming
Events
Bits & Pieces
Contact
Information
Class Photo
6
6
7
8
9
9
Inside this issue:
Dr. Francine Schlosser
CEL Director (Business)
Where Are
They Now
Jim Gorski is a
Commerce and
Technology
Specialist at TMW
Systems
Lyle Block Collins
is a student-at-law
for the Canada
Film Capital Corp.
Navi Grewal is
Licensinig
Coordinator at
Mattel
Jason Brown is an
Associate at Strype
Barristers LLP,
Toronto
Gianfranco
Scipione is an
Associate at
Belmore Neidrauer
LLP, Toronto, and
is also the proud
dad of 2-year old
Luca
Page 2
By Caia Wojnarowicz, J.D. Candidate 2012
Pivoting, Perseverance and Epiphanies - The Latest in Startup Methods and Models
By Paul Foster, Entrepreneur-in-Residence
This article introduces some great tools and resources for scalable startups and commercialization
projects. The concepts also apply to any business that is serious about innovation.
The popularity of the book The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, has led to a growing effort to reduce the
risks of failure in new business startups. Ries and other thought leaders have created a number of
very helpful resources on the subject. I describe a few of the more valuable guidebooks below.
Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur: This book provides a
methodology for developing or updating a powerful new business model. It describes ways to get
everyone in the organization involved in generating the model, and offers a fantastic visualization
framework called the ‘Business Model Canvas’.
h t t p : / / w w w . a m a z o n . c a / B u s i n e s s - M o d e l - G e n e r a t i o n - V i s i o n a r i e s -
Challengers/dp/0470876417/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345124882&sr=1-1
The 4 Steps to the Epiphany
By Steven Gary Blank: Steve Blank met Eric Reis while Steve was consulting at a Silicon Valley
startup that Eric was involved in. Steve observed that there is a true and repeatable path to suc-
cess for startups. In his book, Steve expertly outlines the of defining all of your product and mar-
ket hypotheses (assumptions) for success and then validating them with early adopting customers
that don’t mind investing in an unpolished product.
h t t p : / / w w w . a m a z o n . c a / F o u r - S t e p s - E p i p h a n y - S u c c e s s f u l -
Strategies/dp/0976470705/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1345124364&sr=8-2
The Lean Startup, by Eric Reis builds on some of Steve Blanks’ concepts. It takes the defining of a
hypothesis concept to the next step and more firmly establishes the idea of an MVP – minimum
viable product. This prototype is tested by marketplace early adopters and helps start-ups validate
their hypotheses. The startup can then ‘persevere’ if their hypotheses are correct, and if not, the
startup knows quickly that they must ‘pivot’ in another direction.
h t t p : / / w w w . a m a z o n . c a / L e a n - S t a r t u p - E n t r e p r e n e u r s - C o n t i n u o u s -
Innovation/dp/0307887898/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345124446&sr=8-1
And finally, to simplify life for startups, Steve Blank joined up with Bob Dorf to publish The Startup
Owner’s Manual earlier this year. This is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to starting a compa-
ny right. If you want to buy just one resource for creating the next startup that will change the
world, this is the one I recommend.
http://www.amazon.ca/Startup-Owners-Manual-Step---
Step/dp/0984999302/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345125049&sr=1-1
http://thebusinesstherapist.com/blog/
Page 3
CEL STUDENTS’ SPECIAL RECOGNITION
CEL Graduate Ashley Routliffe and Mike
Rizzo, of the Odette School of Business, are
recent winners of a contest run by
Turnaround Management Association that
requires participants to prepare a paper
about the failure, and subsequent
turnaround, of a prominent company.
Enrolled in Prof. Pete Mateja’s turnaround management
course at the Odette School of Business, Ashley and Mike
chose Algoma Steel for their award-winning paper.
“We quickly realized how much the economy impacts the
steel industry, and that made it even more applicable
today,” said Ashley.
The two students combed through books and periodicals
seeking out the history of Algoma, and its problems,
including its competitors, union environment, and its
decision to declare bankruptcy. Ashley and Mike elected
to use original materials for their research rather than
relying on web-based content which often doesn’t tell the
entire story.
The 20 page report encompassed an analysis of the steel
industry, Algoma’s history, the lead-up to the crisis, the
implemented restructuring plan, and a financial analysis,
plus an epilogue outlining Algoma’s current situation.
The pair’s winning paper rewarded them with an invitation
to attend the association’s April conference in Toronto
where their paper was distributed to delegates.
“It was exciting to be around so much high-end talent and
to get an opportunity to network,” said Ashley, who is now
seeking employment. “It was also a great opportunity to
get our school’s name in front of a great many people”.
Reprinted from The Windsor Star
CEL Graduate Emilie Cushman is a member
of The Next 36, whose goal is to increase
Canadian prosperity by developing Cana-
da’s next generation of high impact entre-
preneurs. Recently, many of Canada’s big-
gest names in venture capital and angel
investing met the young co-founders of 7
new ventures launched this year by The Next 36. These
businesses pitched solutions to major challenges in
healthcare, human resources, retail, and education.
Supported by more than 50 Canadian business leaders,
including Galen Weston, Paul Desmarais Sr., and Jim
Pattison as founding patrons, The Next 36 aims to
transform the country’s most promising undergraduates
into high-impact entrepreneurs and nation builders.
The team Kira, of which Emilie is a member, won the
Outstanding Venture Award. Kira is an online platform
that accelerates the interview process using video.
Kira’s co-founders come from the University of Windsor
and the University of Waterloo.
The unstoppable Emilie Cushman has also been award-
ed the HSBC Woman Leader of Tomorrow award at the
Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) National
Exposition held in Calgary.
CEL Graduate Fabio Costante is a recent recipient of the Rising Star of the Year award sponsored by
Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone, LLP.
The award was based on Fabio’s many achievements, some of which are: the creation of Fidelis Sports
Management, which helped local athletes market themselves to college coaches and recruiters; founder
and first President of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) at the University of Windsor, an entrepreneurial
organization committed to creating economic opportunities for residents of Windsor-Essex through entre-
preneurship and small business; his extensive involvement in the improvement and promotion of
Windsor’s west end.
Fabio is the recipient of numerous awards; has served as the co-chair of Pathway to Potential; is a licensed soccer coach;
sits on the Friends of Atkinson Committee; is a board member of the Downtown Windsor Business Accelerator; is a case-
work at Community Legal Aid, and is a Project Manager with the Centre for Enterprise and Law.
Fabio is currently pursuing a Juris Doctor in Law degree at the University of Windsor.
Page 4
CEL Internship and Mentorship
Nicole Sleiman, CEL Program Manager
The Summer 2012 term marked our second round of internships/mentorships at the CEL. This internship is significant
in the pre-incubation stage of a business; CEL internships have helped interns attain further support from many other
organizations. The interns recently graduated from our program include:
Lois Li: Establishing a biodiesel processing facility
Lois is now working with WEtech Alliance on further funding, and has received $3000 from the Small Business Centre for her business
Anthony Giglio: Opening a post-production studio
Anthony has expanded and has been the A/V technician for many events, such as Balloonapalooza 2012
Brandon Borrelli & Fabio Costante: Developing a recruitment website
The duo is now a CEL client, gaining business help in conducting focus groups and developing a prototype
Shalini (Shally) Lakshminarayan: Designing an online counseling service
Shally is in WEtech Alliance’s DeskUP program, and has grown her business significantly from the program
Our excellent mentors for this term were:
Ed Roach, www.thebrandingexperts.ca
Adriano Ciotoli, www.windsoreats.com
Jennifer Jones, www.mediastreet.ca
Chintan Virani, www.architectchintanvirani.com
Jeremy Berger, www.green-processing.com
Stuart Sutton, www.sylectus.com
Charlie Regan, www.thecoffeeoffice.com
For more information about the program and to learn how to become involved, please see our “Venture Forward” Mentorship/Internship
bulletin posted on our website http://www.uwindsor.ca/cel/internshipmentorship.
Congratulations Fall 2012 Interns!
The Centre for Enterprise and Law is pleased to announce its Fall 2012 Interns! This term, our interns include:
Chris Anderson: Developing his business as a marketing strategist
Ryan Regan: Designing an online retail business
James Taylor: Establishing a creative new television show
Michael Faul: Growing an artistic website
Brad Colthurst: Developing a smartphone application
A new semester means new activities for this program! All five interns will be set up with local, successful entrepreneurs within the
Windsor-Essex community who will act as mentors for the next four months. While in the program, the interns will take advantage of such
programs as Dining Etiquette, as well as a lesson on proper networking. They will also have the opportunity to network with students at a
mid-term networking event. Finally, they will receive $5000 to help start and grow their business! Good luck to our interns and
mentors! For more information, please visit http://www.uwindsor.ca/cel/internshipmentorship.
L to R:
Joshua Rummage
Lois Li
Anthony Giglio
Shally Lakshminarayan
Fabio Costante
Page 5
The Centre for Enterprise and Law hosted their second Business of Innovation Program Workshop of the year
on July 12th. The Business of Innovation Program (BIP) workshop is a seminar put on every semester by
business and legal consultants of the CEL. The event covers the basics of starting a business from a legal
perspective (trademarks, intellectual property and patents) and from a business perspective (sources of financing, for
example).
Speakers during the workshop included business students Jennifer Seedu and Jacob McCourt, Wissam Aoun, LL.B., Sabrina
Demarco (Executive Director, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Development, Small Business Centre), Veronica Samek
(Director of Communications, Workforce Windsor Essex), Irek Kusmierczyk (Project Manager, WEtech Alliance) and Nicole
Sleiman (Program Manager, Centre for Enterprise and Law).
Irek Kusmierczyk of WEtech Alliance commented that “…CEL provides an invaluable service by providing a platform where
eager young entrepreneurial minds can partner with organizations like WEtech and the Small Business Centre that provide
the kind of support necessary to launch and grow their startups.”
Jennifer Seedu, one of the business consultants, gave her two cents as well: “I found the Business of Innovation (BIP)
Workshop to be a great experience for up-and-coming entrepreneurs. It presented the fundamental tools in a “nutshell”
about the key legal and commerce matters when starting a business venture, plus the local organizations that assist
entrepreneurs. When speaking with a few of the attendees after the workshop, they informed me that this was one of the
best and most informative workshops they’ve been to throughout their years at the University. This was definitely a great way
to communicate these details on developing and commercializing innovations. Based on the feedback received, the
workshop further inspired the audience to pursue their dreams and ideas, while thinking in a realistic, critical, and practical
manner.”
Watch for the next semester BIP Workshop in October or November!
BUSINESS OF INNOVATION PROGRAM
Jacob McCourt, Hon. BComm.
Prof. Roger Bryan instructs CEL students Guest Speakers: Irek Kusmierczyk,, Sabrina DeMarco,
and Veronica Samek.
Page 6
STUDENTS COMPETE AT
PROVINCIAL BUSINESS PLAN
COMPETITION
CEL graduate Steve Nicodemo, Paul
Peladeau and Sean Davidson, are
partners in the Windsor based media
company, LiquidWild which present-
ed recently in the business plan
competition at the Ontario Centres of
Excellence’s 2012 Discovery
Conference.
The creative trio entered their
business plan through the Centre for
Enterprise and Law where they
enjoyed an OCE-sponsored intern-
ship and mentorship to help launch
their business to its fullest potential.
Competing against eight other appli-
cants for a chance to win $25,000,
LiquidWild performed admirably. The
event garnered over 2600 attendees
and 330 exhibitors bringing together
key players from industry, academia,
government, the investment
community, as well as entrepreneurs
and students to pursue collaboration
opportunities.
Although LiquidWild did not win the
$25,000 award, the opportunity to
present to this audience was a
valuable experience for the
LiquidWild team.
www.liquidwild.com
GUEST SPEAKERS INVITED TO ADDRESS CEL CLASS
BECKY PARENT, Director of Leadership Windsor-Essex, was a recent guest
at CEL where she addressed the students on the importance of developing
leadership skills to augment their academic achievements.
Becky described the course offered by Leadership Windsor-Essex and
discussed the various ways in which the course graduates volunteer for the
benefit of our community.
MARTY GERVAIS, Resident Writing Professional in the English Department
at the University of Windsor, and owner/publisher of Black Moss Press,
addressed the CEL class on the topic The Art of the Interview.
A natural and interesting presenter, Marty entertained the students with
anecdotes from his life to illustrate the points he wanted to convey.
RESEARCH REPORTS ON-LINE
CEL has added two new research reports to
its web-site. Please feel free to read these
reports.
Report on Entrepreneurship for Recent Immi-
grants and International Students
Strategies and Practices for Overcoming Obsta-
cles to the Effective Commercialization of Stu-
dent Innovation on University Campuses
What: CEL 2012 Program Launch When: September 25th, 2012. Time: 3:00-5:00pm
Who: Open to the public! Guest speakers: Adriano Ciotoli (windsoreats.com) and Paul Foster
(thebusinesstherapist.com).
Where: Katzman Lounge, Vanier Hall
Details: Learn about CEL programs and resources that help students and local entrepreneurs start and grow
their businesses! Listen to two successful entrepreneurs speak about their experience starting their
companies and the importance and advantages of starting your own business.
What: Business of Innovation Program Workshop When: November 1st, 2012. Time: 6:00-7:30pm.
Who: Open to University of Windsor students and alumni, faculty and staff.
Where: McPherson Lounge
Details: Learn various business and legal concepts dealing with starting and growing your business. Hear from
guest speakers regarding funding opportunities!
What: Panel on Commercialization When: October 15th, 2012. Time: TBD
Who: Open to the public!
Where: TBD
Details: Listen as a panel of commercialization experts discuss relevant areas to consider when bringing your
idea or product to market.
What: Panel on Family Business When: November 13th, 2012. Time: TBD
Who: Open to the public!
Where: TBD
Details: Learn what it takes to run a family business; ask questions to local entrepreneurs who have managed
to successfully start and grow their business with family members.
Please visit our website, join our mailing
list, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter
to stay informed!
www.uwindsor.ca/cel
Page 7
Page 8
Congratulations to CEL founding student member
JAMES MESSINA on his marriage to NATALIE PLANTE
Be Happy!!
Congratulations to CEL Graduate
ViICKNESH RAMACHANDRAN on his
engagement to JANE DJIVRE
Congratulations
go out to CEL
Graduates:
ANDREW
GEORGE and Amy
Riberdy on the
birth of their son
Theodore; SHAN
TAO and Cong
Wu on the birth
of their son
Kaelen; and
BYRON and
Elissa PASCOE
on the birth of
their
son
JAKE.
We encourage alumni, clients and community partners
to send us comments and suggestions, regarding our
Newsletter, and to friend us on LinkedIn and Facebook.
We would also like to hear from other readers. If you would
like to become involved in our programs, whether as a client
or as a mentor, please contact
Mentors: Nicole Sleiman at [email protected]
Clients: Jeanne Deslippe at [email protected]
or at the phone number on the left.
We will notify you of upcoming events and future
programs on our website at
www.uwindsor.ca/cel and in future newsletters.
360 Sunset Ave.
Windsor, ON
CENTRE FOR
ENTERPRISE &
LAW
Phone: (519) 253-3000
Ext. 4627
Fax: (519) 971-3684
Email: [email protected]
For More Information on
our programs, please go
to:
www.uwindsor.ca/cel
www.uwindsor.ca/Odette
www.uwindsor.ca/law
LinkedIn: CEL
Facebook: CEL UWindsor
Twitter: @celwindsor
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR
CEL CLASS OF SUMMER 2012