Immersion Round Up #5: Entrepreneurship & Private Equity

Good morning! Today, Adam Conderman talks about his unique background and his semester in the Entrepreneurship and Private Equity Immersion (EPE).

I worked on political campaigns before coming to business school. I really enjoyed all the aspects (and the excitement) around beginning a new organization, raising money, and turning an idea into a living and breathing campaign. I came to Johnson to learn how I could do this in the business world.

I am part of the Entrepreneurship and Private Equity Immersion (EPE). So far, I couldn’t be happier. Our coursework focuses around Prof. David BenDaniel and Prof. Steve Gal’s Business Plan class where you are asked to create either: a) a business plan for a new company or b) a buyout plan for a current company. So far in the class we have discussed how to create a start-up, distressed companies, and leveraged buyouts. Our other coursework is a mix of finance and strategy classes – including “Strategic Alliances” and “Financial Modeling.” I’m taking a brand new course also taught by Prof. Gal titled “Entrepreneurial Marketing.” And I am also taking a class called “Entrepreneurial Executives” with former Johnson alum, Jason Hogg, who recently sold his business to American Express for $300 million.

There is a wealth of opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship at Johnson. Entrepreneurship@Cornell is a campus-wide initiative that in many ways is headquartered in Sage Hall and at the Johnson School. Prof. Zach Shulman is leading a series of 10 lectures this spring focused on how to start a business -- “The Start-up Series” – that breaks down the different components of beginning a business into smaller lectures. Some of the lectures are focused on Idea Generation and Validation or on Intellectual Property issues or on "10 Things That Kill A New Company. It is a practical and hands-on series of classes. Beyond coursework there is: Big Red Ventures (a venture capital fund run by Johnson students), Big Red Incubator (a small business consulting shop run by Johnson students), the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club, trips to local start-ups including Kionix, CCTEC mixers (Cornell Center for Technology, Enterprise, and Commercialization), and the Entrepreneurship@Johnson symposium in April. Whatever you are looking for, you can find it at Johnson and at Cornell. I look forward to meeting you at Destination Johnson!

-Adam Conderman
Class of 2011