Automation Alley and CompanyCrafters Launch Seminars for Startups PONTIAC, Mich., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Automation Alley, a consortium of technology-driven companies located in Southeast Michigan, today announced an alliance with venture consultant CompanyCrafters LLC to launch a year-long series of seminars aimed at helping entrepreneurs and early-stage companies. These entrepreneurial breakfast seminars, sponsored by the Automation Alley Technology Center (AATC) and Oakland University, will be comprised of several interrelated, two-hour instructional sessions addressing the various challenges associated with planning, launching and growing a successful new technology business. Conducted on a monthly basis over breakfast with an informal, highly interactive format, the seminars are being developed and hosted by CompanyCrafters president James D. Price, a veteran entrepreneur, technology industry executive, and current lecturer in entrepreneurial studies at the University of Michigan Business School. "To nurture new startups and help our area's many existing tech businesses prosper and grow," said AATC Director Dr. Thomas E. Anderson, "we feel it's crucial to offer our membership best-in-class guidance on the ins and outs of the business-creation and business-building processes. Jim Price and CompanyCrafters bring the all-important 'been there, done that' perspective and thought leadership necessary for coaching entrepreneurs and startup teams." The new series kicks off on Tuesday, November 11, 2003 from 7:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., with a seminar entitled, "The Venture Value Chain." Targeted toward entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs as well as executives of established growth businesses, this initial session will provide an overview of the venture formation and growth process, and a "roadmap" to make the often-mysterious venturing process more predictable and straightforward to navigate. Future seminars in the series will cover topics ranging from marketing and strategy to finance and team-building. Seminars in the CompanyCrafters/Automation Alley Series will be held at Oakland University and will cost $25 for Automation Alley members, faculty or students and $50 for non-members. Fees include the two-hour seminar, breakfast, and hand-out materials. About Automation Alley Automation Alley, a consortium of high-tech businesses and organizations in Southeast Michigan, is widely recognized as one of the most dynamic and affluent technology regions in the United States. Conceived in 1998, the Automation Alley consortium helps member companies gain competitive advantages in productivity, innovation and growth. This consortium is the first public/private partnership driven to develop Automation Alley as one of the country's premier technology corridors. Visit at http://www.automationalley.com/ . The Automation Alley Technology Center provides businesses, academia and government with the tools and resources necessary to transform technologies into solutions, and ensure that innovative products are delivered to the marketplace. By establishing a world-class acceleration process for technology product commercialization, the Technology Center is working to raise the technology profile of Southeast Michigan on a national level. About CompanyCrafters CompanyCrafters LLC (http://www.companycrafters.com/ ) is a venture consulting firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 2000 by veteran technology entrepreneur and Michigan Business School lecturer James D. Price, the firm helps clients to identify and refine high-potential new business opportunities, and to actually launch and accelerate the growth of startup businesses. CompanyCrafters has developed a range of value-added tools and proprietary approaches all focused on crafting and growing new business ventures more rapidly and with significantly improved chances of success. The firm counts among its clients a number of early-stage ventures, business accelerators, university tech transfer groups, and corporate venture groups ranging from Altarum Institute to Dow Chemical. DATASOURCE: Automation Alley CONTACT: Kim Zitny of Eisbrenner Public Relations, +1-248-641-1446, or , for Automation Alley Web site: http://www.automationalley.com/ http://www.companycrafters.com/

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