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EVENTS/DEADLINES

CMU-CIE EVENTS


10/9 - 10/12

Cèilidh Weekend

10/11
Project Olympus Tour Cèilidh Weekend

10/23
AlphaLab Office Hours

11/17 - 11/22
Global Entrepreneurship Week at CMU

11/21 - 11/23
Startup Weekend Pittsburgh




LinkedIn re-ranks CMU as one of top ten business schools producing startup jobs. Read more.

Free spending by startups stir memories of Dot-Com Era. Read more.
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Have questions about the Carnegie Mellon CIE Weekly Bulletin?
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Send news, opportunities or questions to Sonya Ford, Special Projects Manager
                                                   
October 10, 2014

Check Out All of the Exciting CMU and Local Events! 
IN THE NEWS:
Robots Returned to LaunchCMU
The recent LaunchCMU event, Roboburgh, the Sequel, invited attendees to experience the many ways in which robotics technology originating at CMU is transforming our economy and the world. CMU startups, venture capitalists, investment experts, faculty and alumni attended the biannual showcase of cutting-edge technology, research and innovation. Read more.
CMU Startup Acquired by Turnitin
As reported in a recent Pittsburgh Business Times, CMU startup LightSide Labs has been acquired by California-based Turnitin in a deal that will keep the company's office in Pittsburgh and lead to more hiring. Cofounded by CMU alumnus Elijah Mayfield, the company employs machine learning algorithms developed by researchers at CMU's Language Technologies Institute to help instructors assess student writing and provide real-time, automated feedback. Read the full story.
LifeShel Launches Kickstarter

In the last half year, LifeShel CEO and CMU alumnus Jayon Wang and his team have taken a bold idea of preventing sexual assault to preparing for production and shipment in July 2015. The Whistl is now capable of emitting a 120dB alarm, strobing a 90lumen light and connecting to the police and your friends with the click of a button. The Pittsburgh startup has launched a kickstarter campaign.
Portuguese Entrepreneurial Teams in Pittsburgh

The 2014 inRes teams arrived in Pittsburgh this month with a packed agenda including workshops, participation in multiple events and programs such as the I-Corps Site program, and meetings with stakeholders of the CMU Portugal Program. Two highlights so far have been the unexpected participation and first place win for one of the teams, WeTruck, in the Techstars/Sprint Accelerator elevator pitch competition as well as participation by the teams in the LaunchCMU Demo and Poster session, both held at CMU last week.
The Winners of the Techstars/Sprint Elevator Pitch Competition

On October 2, 2014 John Fein, Managing Director at Techstars, the renowned startup accelerator and Doug Dresslaer, CMu alumnus and Program Manager at Sprint, visited CMU to talk about their program. Participants then had the opportunity to watch CMU students compete in an elevator pitch competition. The winners were Ricardo Soares and Bruno Azevedo of the inRes team WeTruck, James Frederick Marschner, The Scoring Factory and Matt Cantele and his team for Infant Ease. 
New Innovation Works Fund to Invest in Pittsburgh Tech Companies

Pittsburgh's Innovation Works announced a nearly $24 million fund called Riverfront Ventures to fuel local, early-stage companies, according to a recent Pittsburgh Business Times article. Investments made into Pittsburgh technology companies are increasing due to an uptick in investment from existing, local venture capital, an influx of out-of-town investment and now the new IW fund. 
FEATURED EVENTS

Startup Tour #2

Date: TODAY! Friday, October 10, 2014
Time: 1:30 pm to 6:00 pm

Startup Tour is a one-day event, hosted by ScottyLabs and Project Olympus, during which you get a unique peek into a few of Pittsburgh’s startups. Each startup will show off their products and offices and share details about their personal journeys. An added bonus is a resume drop for startups looking for interns or full-time employees!
Tour stops include: AlphaLab Gear, a startup accelerator focusing on hardware, and Duolingo, one of CMU's startups that focuses on language learning. 

CONNECTS: Splitting the Equity Pie


Date: Wednesday, October 15
Time: 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Location: Gates Hillman Center, 6115
Register
Equity compensation can be a mysterious concept for first time entrepreneurs. From the division of the Founders' Pie through stock option grants, critical decisions must be made with an appreciation of their importance. This workshop is led by Frank Demmler, Vice President of the Entrepreneurial Services Team at Innovation Works. Frank has more than 25 years of experience advising entrepreneurs and angel investors, and is also an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Tepper School of Business.
*NSF I-Corps Site Program Required to Attend*

START SMART: Raising Capital

Date: Thursday, October 16
Time: 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm
Location: Gates Hillman Center, 4405
Register
Learn about the legal issues associated with raising capital from friends and family. The presenter, David Lehman, Partner at K&L Gates, will discuss the following:
  • Structuring investments to maximize growth
  • Finding opportunities available because of the new JOBS Act
  • Crowd sourcing and proposed SEC regulation
  • Securing funding from incubators/accelerators, government and foundations
*NSF I-Corps Site Program Required to Attend*

CONNECTS: Agile Product Development

Date: Wednesday, October 29
Time: 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Location: Gates Hillman Center, 6115
Register

Learn an iterative and interactive framework to manage the process of building your startup's technology solution from Sean Ammirati, partner at Birchmere Labs and Birchmere Ventures. Learn specific tips for implementing this process in your venture and hear case studies from local Pittsburgh companies who have taken advantage of these techniques. Sean was previously the COO of ReadWriteWeb and the co-founder and CEO of mSpoke.
*NSF I-Corps Site Program Required to Attend* 
The 2014-15 James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows
The 2014-15 James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows are starting their internship search in Silicon Valley during the first Trek later this month. This prestigious group of entrepreneurially-minded CMU students represents Tepper, SCS, CIT, MCS and CMU Silicon Valley. Read more about the cohort.

ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES



ALPHA LAB INFO NIGHT AND OFFICE HOURS

AlphaLab is a nationally ranked startup accelerator that helps innovative technology companies launch quickly and successfully.  Many high-growth startup companies that originated in AlphaLab include NoWait, Shoefitr, BlackLocus and Sole Power. Find out more about AlphaLab, Pittsburgh's nationally ranked startup accelerator during their Info Night and office hours. The AlphaLab Winter ’15 application cycle is currently underway. 

AlphaLab Info Night
Date: 
October 15, 2014 
Time: 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Register


AlphaLab Office Hours
Date: October 21, 2014
Location: Project Olympus


JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT LOCAL STARTUP

Next Gauge, creators of a smartphone app for truck drivers, is adding some tech-savvy folks to its Pittsburgh team. They are looking for a senior software engineer, mobile developer (iOS or Android) and a design technologist . For more information and to apply, email jruiz@nextgauge.com or visit www.cdlwarrior.com/careers/.

Carnegie Mellon University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
5000 Forbes Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890