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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 24, 1986)
The Baby Warbucks Convene Young entrepreneurs gather in Los Angeles to establish contacts Mark David McKee, bigwig of « cus tomized Bermuda-shorts biz that grottoes $2 million annually, meet Jennifer Cherney. real-estate whiz who has just closed $100 million in deals. Steve Schaffer, computer-products magnate who expects to ring up $1.2 million in sales this year, say howdy to Kim Merritt, who hopes her Kim’s Khocolute, Inc., will make a bun dle. Do you all have business cards? Of course, you ull have business cards Can you say, "entrepreneur"'' Ofcourse, you cunsay entrepreneur You’re all here in Universal City, Calif., for the third international conference of the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs and Young Entrepreneurs Organization (ACE/YEO). They came They saw. They networked More than 200 emerging capitalists con verged on Los Angeles to meet budding millionaires and establish contacts with the well-heeled, under-30 set. During their two days together, they met for power breakfust, power lunch and power dinner, not to mention power drinks They pitched ideas in the corridors, and their wares from booths. From his display, Steve Schaffer, vice president of MacProducts in Austin, Texas, told people how his company under cuts the University of Texas's stores when selling supplies to Macintosh computer us ers. "University-owned stores are bureau cratic," Schaffer explained. "They have to make a certain percentage of profit on their sules .. They can't compete as we can " FlMst and but': Entrepreneurial spirit runs free in the economy, und no age group is immune The ACE/YEO estimates that the top 100 firms run by entrepreneurs under 30 gross an average of more than $21 million a year, and this economic clout has not gone unnoticed During the ACE/YEO conference, Ios Angeles Mayor Tom Brad ley declared an "Entrepreneur Day," and said, "What we see in this room represents the finest and best in our society .” And in a welcoming telegram Ronald Reagan en thused/'If we ever doubted thut the United PHOTOS BY ART STRKIBKR T»*» came, they saw, they networked: Pushing Bermuda shorts to budding capitalists States is a land of opportunity, the last two years have erased that doubt." But the Baby Warbucks in Los Angeles were more awed by a message from the godfather of young entrepreneurs—Steve Jobs The cofounder of Apple cautioned the assembly not to get carried away by greed. Observing wryly that he would have been too scruffy for this gray-suit-and-rep-tie crowd when he was starting out. Jobs preached: "Passion must drive entrepre neurs, not a longing for wealth. You must convince others to invest in your vision. When I think of entrepreneurs—which, in deed, 1 cannot even spell—this is what I think of.” The group was also uddressed by Brett Davis, 26, whose real-estate firm in Dallas grossed $790 million last year "So ciety shies away from risk," he warned. "We’re incapable of catching our second wind becuuse we're af raid to run the risk of losing our breath!" Russell Simmons heard all this, but also maintained his own agenda. "Networking is the name of the game,” said Simmons, president of ACE at Ohio State and presi dent of Oasis Spas, which sells spas in Columbus. "To be an entrepreneur,” Sim mons asserted, "you can do one of two things: break into a new industry—and that's very difficult—or offer a service that's already available and do it better.” Twootherconferees, Bill Medley and Micha Anderson, agreed that service opportuni ties could be most lucrative. University of Kentucky Student Agencies, which the two operate, runs a full-service copy center, a photocenter and a discount-coupon service, entirely staffed by students. Last year their agencies grossed $ 150,000. Selling advice: For those who wanted to experience the thrill of success without risking the agony of failure, Venture maga zine offered Business Simulator. This corn outer software "nuts vnu in thn So swoot: Kim Merritt (left) of Kim s Khocolate seat of the president of a new company and lets you try to run it,” says programmer Mark Goldstein. And for those who wanted more serious prepara tion for the world of venture capitalism, there were repre sentatives from graduate busi ness schools. "USC is the Harvard of entrepreneurial programs,” said Brigid Brahe, an M B A. candidate at USC who pitched her school, even though she was there to network on her own behalf: "You learn how to keep a business going, how to make a business plan, how to run a business." On the increasingly crowded fast track for college entrepreneurs, why shouldn't colleges themselves join the competition? Ron Givens with Karen Goi.dbkkg i/i Loe Angeles