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Our Mission

The core mission of New Enterprise Forum is to coach startups, help perfect their investor pitches and connect entrepreneurs with investors. Our hallmark offering is our showcase presentation pitch coaching, but we also have other tools and activities, including expert panel discussions, pitch pit competitions, business readiness assessments and pitch tune-ups. We are comprised of a team of all-volunteer business professionals with a passion for helping entrepreneurs succeed.

The NEF Program Committee is our coaching pool of professional expertise. Coaching teams are created from this group where the entrepreneur experiences our team-based presentation process through individualized and custom coaching. They are mentored by a senior NEF Board of Director member who keeps the team on track in coaching the entrepreneur to prepare a winning “pitch” culminating in a showcase presentation at a forum meeting. Coaches learn from one another and become experienced business coaches. It is a win-win benefit!

Helping entrepreneurs succeed

Is NEF For You?

NEF is for anyone interested in entrepreneurialism.

Entrepreneurs: If you are an entrepreneur seeking capital and feedback on your business opportunity, we have a coaching process that will train you to effectively communicate with investors.

Sponsors:  If you are a service provider or supporter of the entrepreneurial community we offer stakeholder opportunities to increase the awareness of your businesses or organization and it’s support for entrepreneurs. Visit our sponsors page for more details and a view of our sponsor community.

Investors: If you are an investor, we work with entrepreneurs you will want to get to know.

Results you can trust.

Since 1986, New Enterprise Forum has had over 400 companies go through our investor pitch coaching process and we have helped hundreds more in other ways. Read the story of how we started and what has happened over the years, including a year-by-year summary of companies coached, awards given, and rosters of NEF Board members.

Download a copy of our NEF 39-Year  PDF book to read about our history of coaching, perfecting, and connecting entrepreneurs.

About the NEF Program Committee

The NEF Program Committee is the heart of our coaching process. This group is comprised of professionals who volunteer their time to work with entrepreneurs to help them learn to more effectively communicate with potential investors. These professionals are typically service providers or consultants, with a background in business, who are committed to helping entrepreneurs succeed.

A team of four to seven Program Committee coaches is assigned to help the entrepreneur develop his/her ten-minute presentation - which includes both a slide deck and an oral presentation (the pitch) - and a business plan executive summary. Our unique team approach allows the entrepreneur to benefit from the wide-ranging expertise offered by the team – a benefit that is lacking with one-on-one coaching.

If you share an interest in helping entrepreneurs, we welcome you to attend Program Committee meetings and to volunteer for becoming a coach. Training is provided in a fun and interesting way to increase effectiveness.

Our coaching teams use:

  • The Ten Minute Investor Pitch Outline to effectively present the entrepreneur’s company to potential investors.
  • The Executive Summary Guidelines to effectively and concisely describe the business opportunity.
  • The coaches’ individual business expertise to give constructive feedback on the pitch, oral presentation and executive summary.

When:

The NEF Program Committee meets from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. ET on the fourth Thursday of each month, unless otherwise noted.

Where:

Currently, all NEF Program Committee meetings are being held online via Zoom.

Contact:

Program Committee Chair
Email: programchair@newenterpriseforum.org

NEF Officers

President

Wiebke Hagendorf-Schröter
whs-consult llc


Vice President

Anne Perigo
University of Michigan Zell Lurie Institute

Treasurer

Gary Hessenaur
Hessenaur & Associates,
CPA, P.C


Secretary

Lee Gorman
Barton Consulting Services LLC

NEF OPERATIONS

PrograM CHAIR

Greg Lavigne
Technology Executive

PITCH PIT COMPETITION DIRECTOR

Corey Elkins
Dualboot Partners

NEF Board Members


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Contact

New Enterprise Forum
330 E Liberty St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Email info@newenterpriseforum.org

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