I had the pleasure of attending a recent reception for Ross Bay Area Alums involved in all aspects of entrepreneurship hosted by Ravi Mohan UM Ross '96 MBA and co-founder of Shasta Ventures.

Tom Porter, Executive in Residence Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, General Partner for Trillium Ventures, and Michigan MBA spoke to the crowd regarding the state of the entrepreneurship program at Ross and the success Ross grads have had forming and starting startups.

Attendees included
Jason Hekl, Ross '02 MBA - VP of Marketing Coupa Software:
Coupa Software develops on-demand e-procurement software that helps companies control spending and generate savings. Coupa recently closed on a C Round of funding and is actively acquiring new customers.

Todd Sullivan Ross '05 MBA - Founder and CEO Chyngle
Chyngle is a B2B mobile application platform which enables any venue to create a branded, custom mobile application to enhance the customer experience during events, increase venue and vendor revenue and communicate directly to attendees through their own interactive in-pocket marketing channel. Chyngle received the DemoPit Award at the recent TechCrunch 09 Show. An NFL football team and a MLB baseball team have expressed interest in the service and are evaluating Chyngle. Chnygle is looking to secure an initial angel funding round.

Thomas Savage Ross '96 MBA - Valence Energy
Valence Energy is an early stage company that delivers innovative energy management solutions and services that empower organizations and communities to reduce energy costs and carbon footprint by developing and deploying a "smart microgrid". The Valence solution monitors, analyzes and controls distributed energy generation as well as power consumption devices to optimize usage, reliability and costs.

Upcoming Events:
Worldwide Club Day - Thursday October 29 2009
RSVP now for Ross Bay Area Worldwide Club Day Thursday, 10/29/09 at 7:00pm

Join Dean Dolan and the Ross Bay Area Alumni Club at a reception celebrating Worldwide Club Day '09 together with the West Coast Forum. Speaker: Alum John Denniston (AB '80, JD '83), a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers will be the guest speaker.

Tonight: "Creating & Managing Successful Tech Alliances with VCs and Start-Ups - Wednesday October 7, 2009"
by Microsoft's Dan'l Lewin
Click here for more details and RSVP info
This event includes a "develop your personal elevator pitch workshop" plus a speed networking exercise during the final hour. This event is produced by the Bay Area Kellogg Alumni Club

New Job postings:
See the Ross Bay Area Job Directory for 3 new job postings:
- Senior Rates Trader
- Senior Fixed Income PM
- Canadian Fixed Income Portfolio Manager
- Assistant Controller


Go Blue!,
Dan McLean
President Ross Bay Area
RossBayArea.org

What is Worldwide Club Day? What is West Coast Forum?



Ross Worldwide Club Day is the premier celebration for Ross Alumni and guests. Held on the same day worldwide and co-sponsored by the Ross School of Business and the local Ross Alumni Club, this annual event brings together Ross Alumni, Ross Faculty and Ross Administrators at venues all across the world. School representatives share the latest news from Ann Arbor and Alumni have a unique opportunity to interact with them as well as fellow Alums.

Click here to RSVP - this event is for all Ross Bay Area Alums!

West Coast Forum (WCF) is an annual student led event formed by University of Michigan Business School students in 1995. WCF provides important educational and networking opportunities for students, alumni, and leading companies located on the west coast.

This year's WCF is scheduled for Thursday October 29th and Friday October 30th. The combined reception will be held the evening of the 29th. Last year Dean Dolan spoke at West Coast Forum

Click here for more info on WCF 2009

Ross Bay Area Alumni Database - Goggle Maps Mashup

If you thought all Ross Bay Area Alums live and work in San Francisco, then you're in for a surprise. There are approximately 2000 graduates of the UM Ross School of Business living and working the San Francisco Bay Area.

That's right -- 2000 UM Ross business school graduates that live and work near you. Click here to discover just how many fellow Ross B-School Alum there are in the Bay Area.

Click here to view an interactive San Francisco Bay Area map showing where Ross Bay Area Alum live and work.