GRAND CHUTE - More than 500 students from nearly 20 high schools attended the fourth annual Youth Entrepreneurship Summit at Fox Valley Technical College.
Students interacted with successful area entrepreneurs, like David Lindenstruth, who has opened four HuHot Mongolian Grill restaurants in the state.
"Especially since this is my hometown and all, hopefully you can spark an interest in these kids so in the years to come they're creating new jobs for this are," said Lindenstruth.
Kimberly junior, Marc Busko has gotten a head start. He is working patenting his nutritional "Busko Bars," targeted toward teens.
"After a workout for track one day I bit into a protein bar, a generic one, and I was like 'I don't like the taste,' I could make something better for teens," said Busko.
The envent also included break-out lessons in business strategies with representatives from more than a dozen area companies.
"Obviously there's a big link between large corporations and entrepreneurial spirit, which is why we're here today," said Tom Lyga, with Oshkosh Corporation.
The Director of Fox Valley Tech's Venture Center says it is important to plant seeds and instill lessons early, as the nature of the business world is changing.
"Since the year 2000, Wisconsin has lost more than 140,000 manufacturing jobs, even though it continues to be the strongest industry in our state," said Amy Pietsch.
Pietsch says while past statistics have shown the majority of small business have failed in the first year, there has been a positive trend, even in the tough economy.
"The latest information by the Small Business Administration shows that 80 percent of businesses make it now two years," said Amy Pietsch. "And that's good, but we could definitely increase that."
The event has grown from 185 students four years ago, to the more than 500 now.
GRAND CHUTE — Tori Roesler is nearly finished with one stage of her life and is about to embark on the next.
The Hortonville High School senior has her sights set on becoming an accountant after earning a degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
"I've always liked working with numbers and math," Roesler said.
While she'd be fine landing a job with an established company, Roesler also is open to starting her own business.
She hoped to get some pointers from professionals at Wednesday's annual Youth Entrepreneur Summit, hosted by Fox Valley Technical College. The event featured representatives from 16 companies, ranging from small businesses to major corporations including Kimberly-Clark Corp., Oshkosh Corp., Miron Construction, Plexus and Community First Credit Union.
By talking to the business owners, I got an idea about how many years it may take to get into a business and what else I needed to do to be on my own," Roesler said.
That's exactly what organizers hoped the more than 500 high school students, representing 15 high schools, including one near Milwaukee and three near Fond du Lac, would take away from the session.
"We want to help educate the people who will be working and living in our community in the future," said Amy Pietsch, director of the Venture Center, a program for entrepreneurs which operates at FVTC. "If we can help these students … maybe they will start a business (in the Fox Cities) or decide to find a job here someday."
Pietsch was impressed with the students' questions about business startups. She said research she has done recently suggests the current generation of high school students will produce a high volume of entrepreneurs.
"They have a good understanding of problem-solving and they are very savvy when it comes to marketing," Pietsch said. "There didn't seem to be a shortage of ideas for businesses … but there were questions like, 'How do I get startup funding?'"
Yvonne Kehl, one of the presenters and the business development director for Autumn Hill Creative, an advertising and marketing firm in Kimberly, was inspired by the students who were interested in starting their own businesses. She fielded an assortment of questions ranging from what it's like to work with her daughter, Autumn Hill, to the path she personally followed to entrepreneurship.
"I wanted to be able to share with these students that entrepreneurship is a viable career option," Kehl said. "I wanted to get across that if they were looking to start a business, they should do it while they're young and much sooner than I did."
Scott Challoner, owner of Riverbend Engraving in Neenah, enjoyed sharing his experience in starting his business. He had worked for many years as a manufacturing engineer and then entered the Venture Center's E-seed program in 2005 where he learned how to start a company.
GRAND CHUTE — The local branch of HuHot Mongolian Grill started out like many franchises. A local family pooled its funds to bring a branch of a popular restaurant to the area, believing that the formula of healthy food and an exotic, all-you-can eat format could be a hit.
It was not just a hit — it was a massive hit.
Just four years after opening the first HuHot at 3456 W. College Ave., operating partner David Lindenstruth, 32, has opened three more Wisconsin branches in Green Bay, Kenosha and Madison. He’s contemplating opening more locations in Oshkosh and Eau Claire.
Lindenstruth, a former Plexus engineer, owns the overall restaurant group called Appetize with wife Tracy, brother Fred and sister Heidi Carlson. Together they started the first HuHot with an investment of $800,000.
Annual volume for the four restaurants this year will be in the neighborhood of $8 million. The growth of Lindenstruth’s company is among the chief reasons it was selected The Post-Crescent’s Small Business of the Year.
“The business pays its original investment multiple times over every year at this point,” Lindenstruth said.
From the perspective of the HuHot corporation, which is a 30-branch chain based in Missoula, Montana, Lindenstruth is one of the hot franchisees.
“He’s growing faster than any of the other franchisees,” said Andy Vap, HuHot’s founder and CEO. “He runs efficient stores. They’re certainly some of the most profitable. He’s the perfect franchisee.”
GRAND CHUTE — With the state's jobless rate still hovering around 8 percent, lawmakers are seeking ways to encourage private business investment to get people back to work.
The state Assembly last week approved a bill that would provide state tax credits to businesses or individuals that invested in ventures that created jobs in economically distressed rural and urban areas. The measure, which passed unanimously in the Assembly, moves on to the Senate for its consideration.
It's possible communities that have experienced major plant closures could benefit from these tax credits, said Amy Pietsch, director of the Venture Center at Fox Valley Technical College. Paper making company NewPage put 600 people out of work after it closed its mill in Kimberly in 2008.
"If you look at the region, those hardest hit (by a closure) would benefit from this," Pietsch said. "Our job at the Venture Center, would be to understand how the program works, so we can direct people to it."
Assembly Majority Leader Tom Nelson, D-Kaukauna, is confident his colleagues in the Senate would back the legislation.
"It has bipartisan support and it provides a practical solution to the economic crisis we're confronting today," he said.
The state tax credits would be offered in addition to the Federal New Markets Tax Credits, which has generated more than $8.3 billion in investments across the country.
The proposed state tax credit would spread the incentive over a seven-year period, Nelson said.
"This is a targeted tax credit that will incentivize job creation not just in the Fox Valley about around the state," he said. "The whole point of spreading the credits out is that we want the jobs here beyond 2010."
Pietsch said the state program also would provide a means for start-ups to apply for working capital, though the funds are not guaranteed.
"It's not a silver bullet," she said. "But it is another option and strategy for possible investors to consider."
Anything to encourage business investment also may incent existing businesses to expand, said State Rep. Ted Zigmunt, D-Francis Creek, who represents northern Manitowoc County and parts of Brown County.
"A bill like this can help a business bring in new employees or purchase new equipment," he said. "I think this will make Wisconsin more attractive to investors."
GRAND CHUTE — With the state's jobless rate still hovering around 8 percent, lawmakers are seeking ways to encourage private business investment to get people back to work.
The state Assembly last week approved a bill that would provide state tax credits to businesses or individuals that invested in ventures that created jobs in economically distressed rural and urban areas. The measure, which passed unanimously in the Assembly, moves on to the Senate.
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It's possible communities that have experienced major plant closures, including Kimberly, could benefit from these tax credits, said Amy Pietsch, director of the Venture Center at Fox Valley Technical College. Papermaking company NewPage put 600 people out of work after it closed its Kimberly mill in September 2008.
"If you look at the region, those hardest hit (by a closure) would benefit from this," Pietsch said. "Our job at the Venture Center would be to understand how the program works, so we can direct people to it."
Assembly Majority Leader Tom Nelson, D-Kaukauna, is confident his Senate colleagues would back the legislation.
"It has bipartisan support and it provides a practical solution to the economic crisis we're confronting today," he said.
The state tax credits would be offered in addition to the Federal New Markets Tax Credits, which has generated more than $8.3 billion in investments across the country.
The proposed state tax credit would spread the incentive over a seven-year period, Nelson said.
"This is a targeted tax credit that will incentivize job creation not just in the Fox Valley about around the state," he said. "The whole point of spreading the credits out is that we want the jobs here beyond 2010."
Pietsch said the state program also would provide a means for start-ups to apply for working capital, though the funds are not guaranteed.
"It's not a silver bullet," she said. "But it is another option and strategy for possible investors to consider."
Anything to encourage business investment also may incent existing businesses to expand, said state Rep. Ted Zigmunt, D-Francis Creek, who represents northern Manitowoc County and parts of Brown County.
"A bill like this can help a business bring in new employees or purchase new equipment," he said. "I think this will make Wisconsin more attractive to investors."