Santa Clara University

Business Today

• 'Personal Brand Management' for B-school Frosh

  Saturday, Sep. 15, 2012 10:55 AM

  In a new twist on the “Brand You” trend of personal brand marketing, Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business is offering all its incoming freshmen classes, workshops, and guidance in their own personal brand management, to start their college and professional lives off on the right foot.

  Dubbed “SCUBrand4U,” the program involves reaching out to all freshmen business students to help them successfully transition from high school to college to career, by cultivating a positive “personal brand.”  The goal is to assure that they’ll wind up with great references, internships, and job offers down the road.

  “This personal branding initiative is a natural extension of our business curriculum and commitment to educating our students as whole people,” said Leavey School of Business Dean S. Andrew Starbird. “We believe it will give Santa Clara students a definite advantage when they graduate and begin their life after college.”

  Led by longtime business and communication professor Buford Barr, the program aims to keep students focused all four years of college on those elements that make up a positive personal brand – their reputation, images they post of themselves on Facebook, how they conduct themselves in class.

  The program arose out of a new-student orientation workshop given by Barr that is extremely popular with both parents and students.

  “My 30 years in the corporate world convinced me that students who excel in these ‘softer’ facets of their lives are going to be far more competitive in the job market, even than students with better GPAs,” said Barr.  “And while establishing your personal brand can be pretty simple, if you start early, in this Facebook/Twitter age, it’s shockingly easy to degrade your personal brand as well. That’s why we are focused on students just out of high school.”

  The new program starts with Transitioning from High School to College and will include an initial Personal Brand Exercise, based on the work of the late Silicon Valley PR icon Fred Hoar. During the exercise, students will be asked to create a “value statement” for themselves, answering what qualities, accomplishments and strengths differentiate them from others, and what they have to offer employers.  Faculty and Career Center personnel will also provide advice and counsel to students during their stay at SCU.

  The first workshop, being held in the Dunne student residence hall Oct. 18,  asks students to consider “Are you Apple or Zynga?” They will work on understanding personal branding, and how to evolve their brand value as they progress through college, to internships, to finding the right job.

  The new program is expected to  include seminars for the transition from College to Career, job search techniques, creating a resume that gets attention, and interview preparation and techniques.

  Media Contact
  Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121
   
   

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• Boomer Venture Summit Spotlights Business Opportunities in the Aging Population

  Thursday, May. 31, 2012 12:00 AM

  The aging population is more than a looming drain on the U.S. economy; it’s also a booming opportunity for entrepreneurs who can seize on trends like the demand for quality caregiving; affordable disease-management tools; and less-clunky medical aids.

  Entrepreneurs and experts on this exploding baby boomer marketplace and the “longevity economy” will convene June 20 at Santa Clara University for the ninth annual Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit, presented by Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business and Mary Furlong & Associates. It takes place from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the University’s Recital Hall building, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, Calif.

  The Summit event, which also features two competitions for boomer-focused businesses, is a venue for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to share information about serving or investing in companies catering to consumers age 50 and older.  Investors will discuss why and where they are putting their investment dollars; company executives will discuss their business plans; and analysts will explain how they segment the market and evaluate business opportunities.

  Among the trends and entrepreneurial opportunities that are expected to be discussed are:

  • The increased need for caregiving for aging boomers and senior care as one of the top job-growth opportunities for the coming years. 
  • The need for improved, better-designed equipment for aging bodies.
  • Baby boomers as entrepreneurs: the “encore career” phenomenon and how many such older entrepreneurs are starting businesses to serve other boomers.
  • The trend toward “incubators” and venture capital in the boomer marketplace.
  • The impact of declining state and federal dollars for senior care in the U.S.
  • Hot segments for investors in the boomer marketplace.
  • Consumer and online protections for aging boomers.
  • The increase in corporate investment in the boomer and longevity marketplace.

  Speakers on these topics will include Mark Yi, managing director of Intel Capital; Jody Holtzman and Jeff Makowka, executives in “thought leadership” at AARP; and Laurie Orlov, founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch, a boomer and senior market research firm.  John Feather, CEO of an association of grant-making foundations benefiting the elderly, Grantmakers in Aging, will also speak. Steve Shaw, director of business development from Double Down Interactive will speak about using Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter To Build Your Business.

  The theme for the conference is “Investments and Distribution in the Longevity Economy.” At 2:10 p.m. there will be a competition among five finalists for a $10,000 prize for best boomer-focused startup business in the areas of biodesign, medical devices, geriatrics and gerontology, or "aging in place" technology. Later that day judges will also pick one company from among five vying for a chance to present their existing business to a large health-care chain for distribution.

  The Summit is sponsored by AARP, UnitedHealthCare, Linkage, FaceTime Strategy, Caring.com, Lotsa Helping Hands, GreatCall, CareLinx, First Republic Bank, and SilverRide.

  For information on the summit, speakers, agenda and competition judges and conditions, please see http://scuboomerventure.com
  

  About Mary Furlong & Associates
  Mary Furlong & Associates is the nation’s foremost consultancy to organizations seeking to capitalize on new business and investment opportunities in the boomer market. The company provides business development, financing strategy and integrated marketing solutions to entrepreneurs, corporations and non-profit organizations serving the 50+ market. Mary Furlong is the Dean's Executive Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Leavey School of Business. For more information, visit www.maryfurlong.com.

  Media Contact
  Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121
  
   
  
   

   

  
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