What are KVC’s financial/accounting controls?
KVC has an elected treasurer that works with the KVC president, Vice President, and board members to define an operating budget. The actual financial expenditures against this budget are reviewed by the board at each board meeting, on a quarterly basis. All the roles, responsibilities, and empowerments are defined in the KVC Bylaws.
With the addition of grant funding, a financial audit committee would be elected by the board of directors and be tasked with reviewing ongoing expenses (every three months) and making corrective action recommendations to the treasurer and the board. The responsibility for proper accounting and good stewardship of entrusted funds is ultimately the responsibility of the president who is elected by the board of directors.
How is KVC classified as an organization?
Community Improvement & Capacity Building | Business & Industry | Small Business Development
What are the problems KVC focuses on and what is KVC’s approach to addressing these issues?
At the macro-level, too many good business ideas fail to develop into new businesses, while an even greater number of new ventures, both in the United States and abroad, fail before they have a chance at achieving true sustainability and growth. Both problems have a common cause; there are very few existing resources that help entrepreneurs develop and refine their ideas before they begin raising capital. This results in:
- Many viable business ideas dying on the vine, prematurely
- A reduced number of successful start-ups as compared to what could be possible with adequate support
- An overall risk aversion within the entrepreneurial context
KVC meets this challenge by:
- Providing mentoring and material support to entrepreneurs to guide new entrepreneurs through the minefield of launching a new venture
- Partnering with equally successful Kellogg Alumni and Professional Executives who compliment this work by donating their time and expertise to helping launch new businesses
- Supporting only new ventures that serve a legitimate market or social need and have Kellogg leadership involved. This ensures that the new venture has competent, experienced management, with the KVC backing up the venture with able managers and staff
What is the population of KVC including geography and demographics?
KVC serves all entrepreneurs regardless of their education, social or ethnic heritage, or income level. These men and women come from all walks of life but to be supported by KVC, the entrepreneur must agree to have KVC leadership involved with their management team to ensure the resources provided are put to good use.
KVC entrepreneurs are supported by an equally diverse network of Kellogg alumni, mentors, and academic leaders. Scattered across the country and the world, the organization predominantly capitalizes on mentor alumni in the Chicagoland area due to close proximity to Kellogg School of Management resources. However, KVC founders were once students in Kellogg Executive MBA North American Program and provide KVC with a national (if not global) footprint which other organizations don’t typically have. The following table displays the diversity of our support network as well as the resources the average community member has to bring to bear in supporting entrepreneurs.
| Minority | 13% |
| Woman | 23% |
| International | 26% |
| Average Age | 38 |
| Average Salary | $173,894 |
| Avg. Years Work Experience | 12 |
What are the current programs/activities of KVC?
KVC provides entrepreneurs with an established educational, material, and mentoring infrastructure to support the establishment of new businesses. The KVC accepts applications for business support, provides resources to entrepreneurs developing new businesses, and matches new ventures with any external resources or connections that may be needed beyond the core KVC service offerings.
The KVC website provides educational resources to entrepreneurs including:
- Do-it-yourself business development and funding resources
- Videos on everything from how to write an effective mission statement to lectures on innovation
- Audio podcasts with innovation and entrepreneurial thought leaders
- Event announcements such as our recent seminar on writing effective business plans
How does KVC differ from other organizations working to meet similar needs?
Our first question to entrepreneurs is “if you had $50K to do a proof of concept, what would you spend it on?” Whatever the answer is, that’s what KVC helps to provide. Other organizations working in the entrepreneurial space primarily focus on providing fully developed business ideas and technology with seed and venture funding. In contrast, KVC primarily works with entrepreneurs in the early stages of business development, applying the localized knowledge of our staff and volunteers which, in most cases, is more useful in accelerating commercialization than is seed funding.
KVC is modeled after the successful San Diego CONNECT, a venture accelerator based in and serving San Diego, California, and with which one of KVC’s cofounders is closely involved. However, while CONNECT serves a geographic region, KVC serves a widely distributed demographic group; Kellogg alumni and entrepreneurs sponsored by alumni, allowing the organization to work with businesses all across the country.
What is the management structure of KVC?
KVC is currently led by 4 board members; the two co-founders, legal counsel, and a leader in business process innovation from the faculty of the Kellogg School of Management have filled the first four Director Seats. With the organization’s expansion, the board will be expanded to 11 over the next twelve months. The board is complemented by nine volunteers who assisted with the launch of KVC as well as twelve business mentors who have actively assisted new business ventures.
BOARD
- Kenneth Jones – Strategy consultant, entrepreneur, Kellogg MBA alumni
- David Schonthal – Venture development expert, Kellogg MBA alumni
- Carlos Del Carpio – legal counsel and Kellogg MBA alumni
- Robert Wolcott – Kellogg faculty, innovation consultant, and founder of the Kellogg Innovation Network
KVC START-UP VOLUNTEERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS
- Tracey Moon – Co-Chair of the KVC Marketing Committee (Senior Account Executive, Cognizant)
- Julie Buxton – Co-Chair of the KVC Marketing Committee (Director of Operations, Global Corporate Services, CB Richard Ellis)
- Henry Hwangbo – Co-chair of the KVC Portfolio Management Committee (Principal, Diamond Management and Technology Consultants)
- Sri Navalpakkam – Co-chair of the KVC Portfolio Management Committee (President, Enterprise Architects, Inc.)
- Patrick Smith – Co-chair of the KVC Strategic Partnerships Committee (Founder and President, Amalgamerger, LLC)
- Bill Taranowski – Co-chair of the KVC Strategic Partnerships Committee (Director of Engineering, Motorola)
- Tucker H. Marshall – Co-Chair of the KVC Finance Committee (Vice President, The Reserve Group)
- Vaughn Moore – Co-chair of the KVC Fund Raising Committee (Vice President of Sales and Marketing, AIT Worldwide Logistics)
- Tina L. Frattaroli – Co-chair of the KVC Fund Raising Committee (Global Platform Manager, Stepan Company)
MENTORS
- Claire Farber (Founder, FBC New Products Consultancy)
- Michael Stanley (Principal, Elk Grove Graphics)
- Sri Navalpakkam (President, Enterprise Architects, Inc.)
- Patrick Smith (Founder and President, Amalgamerger, LLC)
- Allen Martin (VPGM Americas, Power Solutions, Johnson Controls, Inc.)
- Charles Beto (Chief Financial Officer, MacLean Vehicle Systems)
- Venkata Ganesh Tayi (Director, Global Business Planning, Motorola)
- Len Bland (CEO & Capital Matchmaker, Concept Equity Group, Inc.)
- Richard Park (Director, Global Business Development, ADP)
- Colby Cox (Principal, Convergence Investments)
- Manpreet Singh (Product Manager, Motorola)
- Gil Horsky (Marketing Manager, PepsiCo, Inc.)
Who are KVC’s key partners?
The KVC works closely with the Executive Education Office of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. It is through the Executive Education program that the KVC has access to meeting space, event planning, and educational content. This partnership is also how the community grows in size, by introducing new executive-level students to KVC (with new classes entering on a biannual basis). As important, the office has allowed KVC to utilize the James L. Allen Center, a facility owned and operated by the school, free of charge for all business concept review meetings and educational seminars.
In addition, the Kellogg Innovation Network, an organization that brings together business, government, and academic leaders to focus on new and collaborative solutions to the myriad global issues that are facing our world, is a trusted partner and sponsor as KVC helps launch innovative business ideas that are envisioned and discussed by the KIN Global Delegates. KIN provided KVC with $5K in seed money, and continues to supply valuable human resources to aid in KVC’s mission.
KVC also works closely with:
- The Larry and Carol Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice
- The Social Enterprise at Kellogg (SEEK) program
- The Farley Center for Entrepreneurialism
- The McCormick School of Engineering
- The Feinberg School of Medicine
- San Diego CONNECT
- The Northwestern University Technology Transfer Office
