Youth Entrepreneurship Service (YES) 2.0
Class 4: Sales and Marketing

Time and Place

8:30am - 12:00pm, 3/24/2007, Saturday, Room E51-345, 3rd floor, MIT Tang Center, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA (Map). There is a parking lot next to the building.

Agenda

  • 08:30 - 09:00 Get Ready
  • 09:00 - 09:15 Program Updates
  • 09:15 - 10:15 First Session by Instructor Kitty Li
  • 10:15 - 10:25 Break, Student Networking
  • 10:25 - 11:30 Second Session by Instructor Kitty Li
  • 11:30 - 12:00 Speech from Speaker Dr. Kedar Gupta

Instructor

Kitty Li is the President of LIK Group which she founded in 2003. Her company serves real estate developers and architectural design firms. Prior to her pursuit as an entrepreneur, Ms. Li worked as a commercial real estate developer in China and Canada for over 10 years. She was one of the founding members in a real estate development firm which built the first shopping center in China in the early 1990s.

Ms. Li holds MBA and BA degrees. She is a native Chinese, lived in Switzerland and Canada, now settles in Massachusetts with her husband. In her spare time, she spends many volunteering hours at Boston Society of Architects (BSA) and the Commonwealth Institute and serves as the General Manager of New England Chinese Information and Networking Association (NECINA).

Speaker

Dr. Kedar P. Gupta is a cofounder of GT Equipment Technologies, Inc., now called GT Solar. He served as its CEO and Chairman till December 31, 2006 when he retired to pursue his other personal dreams. GT Solar is one of the fastest growing small businesses in New England. The company designs, manufactures, and installs complete turnkey photovoltaic lines to customers all over the world.

GT Solar started with a mere $1,000 investment from personal savings. Most of the funds for the working capital as well as for the growth have been acquired through customer advances, a very unique way to run a company. The company exceeded growth expectations from the start averaging over a 40% growth rate per year and continues to prosper even in a down turned economy because of its ability to expand into the global marketplace. A well respected, global leader, GTi won the SBA’s Award for Exporter of the Year for 2002, and it is projected that over 80% of GT Solar business will continue to be exported.

Dr. Gupta is well recognized for his entrepreneurship. He has authored many technical publications and has been awarded numerous patents. In 1998 he received both the New Hampshire High Tech Council Entrepreneur of the Year Award and was a New England finalist for the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In addition, under the leadership of Dr. Gupta, GTi was ranked by Business NH Magazine in 1998 as the fastest growing privately held company in New Hampshire. In 2000 GTi won awards in both the New England Technology Fast 50 and the Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technologies in New England and the 500 fastest growing technologies in the U.S., respectively. Vastly increased sales to Europe and Asia have earned GTi its two latest awards -- NH Exporter of the Year, given by the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2002, and the National Small Business Environmental Exporter of the Year awarded to GTi in April 2005 by the Export-Import Bank of the United States. His most recent recognition was given by Mass High Tech as “Star Business Person” for the Energy Area. His new dream involves helping small NH companies especially with the export of their products.

Lecture Slides/Abstract

Download lecture slides here (to be uploaded soon).

References

Homework

  • Download and browse through Business Plan Homework Template or a simplified version here
  • Prepare questions for next class "Sale and Marketing"
  • Finalize the business entity type and roles in the company -- what qualifications of people are needed for your company

Contact Us

Send your questions to daryl.luk@necina.org or erika@whizkidsfoundation.org.