Innovation & Entrepreneurship

David Smallman
Consultant and Writer, Pathfinder Team Consulting

David Smallman has over 50 years of experience, gained living, working and doing business in 59 countries across a variety of industry sectors – hospitality, leisure, construction and economic development. This experience brings a wealth of knowledge to his many interests.

David has lived in and worked in the USA since 1978 where his extensive contact list has helped many clients, both American and those from overseas to further their ambitions in this vast market. In addition to the USA he also lived in Canada, France and the Middle East.

He is a regular writer on business being published in US as well as European media and broadcast a weekly show "Smallman making sense of business™ for many years. This was on a UK based commercial station which reached listeners, via the website, registered on all 5 continents.

David’s paper written for Inderscience “Without instructions or orders there is no business” has become a benchmark for straight forward thinking on the importance of sales in any market. He has also written a series of short articles called “150 words that should make sense in your business”. Examples of his writings and an archive of radio shows are available on www.smallmanonbusiness.com

David’s consulting firm, Pathfinder Team Consulting, was founded in 1990 and provided advice and guidance to a wide spectrum of clients both commercial and governmental, in over 100 countries. For 10 years David advised the state government of Louisiana on economic development issues in Europe.

For 5 years he Chaired PTCI Ltd which sourced business opportunities for individuals and companies to invest in; primarily in the engineering sector related to energy.

David still uses his entrepreneurial skills, business understanding and innumerable contacts in business across the World to help companies expand their market position through “making sense of business™.

He takes a straight forward approach to his public speaking to audiences of business leaders, students and others on both sides of the Atlantic where he is known for his extempore style.

This can be seen on various YouTube clips.

Further details on David are available on:
www.smallmanonbusiness.com
LinkedIn

Heidi Neck
Babson College Professor and Jeffry A. Timmons Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies

Heidi Neck, Ph.D., is a Babson College Professor and the Jeffry A. Timmons Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies. She teaches entrepreneurship at the MBA and executive levels. Her research interests include entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship inside organizations, and creative thinking. Neck is the lead author of Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach—a book written to help educators teach entrepreneurship in more experiential and engaging ways. Additionally, she has published 40+ book chapters, research monographs, and refereed articles in such journals as Journal of Small Business Management, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, and International Journal of Entrepreneurship Education. She is on the editorial board of the Academy of Management Learning & Education journal.

Neck is Faculty Director of Babson’s Symposia for Entrepreneurship Educators (SEE)—programs designed to further develop faculty from around the world in the art and craft of teaching entrepreneurship and building entrepreneurship programs. An award-winning teacher, Neck has been recognized for teaching excellence at Babson for both undergraduate and executive education. She has also been recognized by international organizations, the Academy of Management and the United States Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship, for excellence in pedagogy and course design. She passionately works to improve the pedagogy of entrepreneurship education because new venture creation is the economic engine of society. Given the integrated and multidisciplinary nature of entrepreneurship, teaching entrepreneurship requires an entrepreneurial approach. In her own words:

“I demand that my students think and act entrepreneurially, which requires creative problem-solving, calculated risk-taking, and improvisation. From a pedagogical perspective, I have to do the same. Teaching entrepreneurship requires continual innovation, fearless experimentation, and structured chaos. There is absolutely nothing more fun to teach than entrepreneurship! Yet I have a significant responsibility. Given the chaotic and nonlinear nature of entrepreneurship I must develop the discovery, thinking, reasoning, and implementation skills of my students so they may lead, manage, and excel in highly uncertain, entrepreneurial environments. I want my students to identify and capture the right opportunity at the right time for the right reason.”

Neck is also the Director of the Babson Entrepreneur Experience Lab—a national applied research project, in partnership with the Business Innovation Factory, that seeks to better understand the experience of entrepreneurs of all kinds in order to design and develop better support program for today’s entrepreneur. Research monographs on the experience of startup entrepreneurs and “entrepreneurs inside” (organizations) have been published.

Neck speaks and teaches internationally on cultivating the entrepreneurial mindset and espousing the positive force of entrepreneurship as a societal change agent. She consults and trains organizations of all sizes on building entrepreneurial capacity. She is the co-owner of FlowDog, a canine aquatic fitness and rehabilitation center located just outside of Boston, and VentureBlocks, an emerging company in education technology space. Heidi earned her Ph.D. in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She holds a B.S. in Marketing from Louisiana State University and an MBA from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Jeff Hoffman
Entrepreneur, speaker, author, film producer, and Grammy-winning jazz album producer
Priceline.com, uBid.com, ColorJar

Jeff Hoffman is a successful entrepreneur, proven CEO, worldwide motivational speaker, published author, film producer, and a producer of a Grammy-winning jazz album in 2015. He has been the founder of multiple startups, has been the CEO of both public and private companies, and has served as a senior executive in many capacities. Jeff has been part of a number of well-known companies, including Priceline.com. uBid.com, ColorJar, and more.

Jeff serves on the boards of companies in the US, Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia, supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses in more than 150 countries. He also serves on the boards of the Global Entrepreneurship Network, Unreasonable Group, and Global 1000. He supports the White House, the US State Department, the United Nations, and foreign governments on economic growth initiatives and entrepreneurship.

Jeff is a frequent keynote speaker, having been invited to speak in over 50 countries, on the topics of innovation, entrepreneurship, and business leadership. He is the co-author of the book SCALE, a how-to guide for growing your business. Jeff also teaches innovation workshops to major corporations on a regular basis.

Jeff is a featured business expert seen on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, CNN International, Bloomberg News, CNBC, ABC, and NPR, and in publications including Forbes, Inc., Time, Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal, and more.

Jeff received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the national CEO council for his contributions to the field of entrepreneurship, and he received the Champion of Entrepreneurship Award from JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, and Rising Tide Capital, as well as receiving the George Brown Award for International Cooperation.

Outside of the world of technology, Jeff has produced movies, has produced musical events including concerts, tours, and charity events with such artists as Elton John, Britney Spears, NSYNC, and others, and serves on numerous charity and non-profit boards.