ES Connections 2009
April 28, 2009 – 3:45 pm
ES Connections 2009 was a success! Over 15 companies and 70 students were in attendance. Stay tuned for our next event!

ES Connections 2009 was a success! Over 15 companies and 70 students were in attendance. Stay tuned for our next event!

Gary Marino (CEO of BillMeLater.com) came to Austin to speak to McCombs MBA’s about his experience selling his company to eBay for $1B.
Click here for more photos of this fantastic talk!
When: Tuesday, February 17th
Gary Marino will share his experience in launching BillMeLater.com, raising venture capital, surviving numerous near-death experiences, changing business plans on the fly, and ultimately selling the company to eBay for close to $1 BILLION. VentureBeat.com did a great Q&A on BillMeLater.com shortly after their acquisition by eBay.
Current students can RSVP on the Community Calendar.
Startup Tips for Moving to Profitability | CenterNetworks.
5 Tips for Startups and Entrepreneur’s - ReadWriteWeb.

ES held its elections for new officers this evening, and we had a great time listening to candidates speak about their passion for entrepreneurship and their visions for ES. We had 8 people vying for 5 spots (1 President and 4 VP’s) and after listening to some very spirited platforms and enthusiastic ideas, it was unfortunate that everyone couldn’t be an officer.
After double and triple-counting the ballots, we ended-up with a tie, thus giving us 1 President and 5 VP’s (instead of 4). Please join me in welcoming the new officers of the Entrepreneur Society!

Cast your vote to make sure that Startup Weekend comes to Austin in 2008!
ES has been selected to join the Microsoft BizSpark Program as a Network Partner! The BizSpark Program is a new global program designed to accelerate the success of early stage Startups by connecting them to Network Partners: active members of the global software ecosystem who can provide mentorship, guidance and resources to BizSpark Startups. BizSpark creates an ongoing, mutually beneficial ecosystem between Microsoft, Startups and Network Partners.
Microsoft is committed to helping entrepreneurs to transform their ambitions into sustainable, dynamic businesses and to foster innovation and entrepreneurialism. To this end, the BizSpark Program provides Startups with software, support and visibility at a time when they are most valuable and least affordable—during their first three years, with no upfront costs and minimal requirements.
You can find more detailed information on our Startup page.
The event was a rousing success! All the pieces fell into place perfectly, and we had a wonderful cocktail hour and followed it up with a frenetic clash of pitches over the next 45 minutes. When the dust settled we whittled 60+ pitchers down to 10, and got to hear some great pitchers defend their ideas against an onslaught of skeptical investors. In the end there could be only one, and a hearty congratulations to Randall Crowder for walking away first prize and a check for $1250!
Pitchers
1. Randall Crowder
2. Camilo Lopez
3. Michael Westgate
Investors
1. Christie Ariate
2. Harvey Ring
3. George Stephens
LSO Prize
Naruby Schlenker
Microsoft Prize
Morgan Moran