By Eric Park

Staff Writer

“I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Those are the concluding words of Robert Frost’s “The Road not Taken,” which will be the theme for this year’s Entrepreneurs Conference hosted by the Ander-son School of Management, titled “The Entrepreneurial Road Less Traveled.” This is an annual, all day event to be held on May 8, 2009. The conference’s focus will be on entrepreneurial opportunities during the current downtrodden economy.

The conference’s audience ranges from current and future MBA students, alumni, faculty, entrepreneurs and professionals from a variety of career fields. Prominent individuals scheduled for this event include: Isaac Larian of MGA Entertainment; Claude Ruibal, CEO of Universal Sports; Mary Leslie, president of the Los Angeles Business Council, and many others. This event is designed to promote development in entrepreneurship, business prowess, and opportunities in today’s market.

Reasons for Success

The Anderson Entrepreneurs Conference is now in its 24th year and boasted over 400 attendees for its 2008 conference. Philippe Lavertu and Carlo Soracco are two of Anderson’s students who are heavily involved with the planning of this event. Soracco’s MBA focus is in Entrepreneurship and Technology Management, while Lavertu’s is in Entrepreneurship and Finance.

When the two graduate students were asked about what has made the event so successful and lasting, Lavertu and Soracco stated, “Attendees come to this event religiously, and the reasons range from the different and great keynote speakers, repeat attendance and support from alumni, and even good food.”

Another large part of the event’s annual success is its excellent management, which the two men credit that to “the handoff of transfer”. This is important to maintaining the success and atmosphere of past events as event managers pass on their experience to intern managers who will manage future events.

Event Speakers

Keynote speakers are critical to the event and this year’s speakers are Richard Rosenblatt, CEO of Demand Media, and Greg Waldorf, CEO of eHarmony. These men possess several vital entrepreneur skills such as innovation, intelligence, and business acumen. “Greg Waldorf was chosen because he created an innovative way to bring people together and he brought his own scientific method to his business application,” said Lavertu and Soracco. Waldorf has been with the company since its inception in 2000 and also had previous experience working with high growth companies in many different aspects ranging from investor to executive. “Richard Rosenblatt was the CEO of Intermix as well and started demand media, which has been the aggregator of social media such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. He helped sell this idea to Myspace, and engineered its sale to Newscorp,” said Lavertu and Soracco. Rosenblatt is deemed by many as an Internet entrepreneur and visionary as he has built, operated, and sold several Internet and media companies. The combined value of these companies exceeds the $1.3 billion thresh-old. These two men have been incredibly successful in brand development while using the experiences and skills they have learned from the field of business.

Reasons for Undergraduate Attendance

While this event may seem like it is focused on MBA students and individuals with professional experience, this is an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students as well. When asked why undergraduate students unsure of their career plans should attend this event, Lavertu and Soracco gave several intriguing reasons. “This event has professionals from many different fields and gives students instant access to the company they want to work for, exposure to various career fields, mentorship, creation of synergies with attendees from different schools, and even chances to net-work,” responded Lavertu and Soracco. With the current state of today’s economy and job market, Lavertu and Soracco state that the time immediately after graduation is the best time to pursue entrepreneurship. The two also go on to say, “It forces individuals into their passions, and allows them to brainstorm innovative and new methods to create revenue during these difficult economic times.” They conclude by saying the “current economy still has many opportunities available to aspiring entrepreneurs as many goods have experienced price reductions, and if entrepreneurs can stay afloat during the recession, they will be able to ride the ‘wave of success’ in the future.” Many undergraduate students pursue careers in various fields upon graduation but entrepreneurship is an interesting and different alternate route. The 2009 Anderson School of Business Entrepreneurs Conference provides insight into and encourages the development of business expertise and skills necessary to take the road less traveled.