Press Releases

When we have something noteworthy to tell you about -- our latest ebooklet, a new partnership, or a new service -- you'll find it here. A quick check of this section will let you know what we're up to and how we're growing.

• September 8, 2011 Ventureneer Names 25 Top Social Media for Social Good Blogs
• July 28, 2011 Ventureneer, Message Medium Partner to Uncover Best Online Practices For Segments of Small Business Sector
• May 26, 2011 Ventureneer To Host Blog/Tweet Central for 2011 Social Impact Exchange Conference
• April 15, 2011 What Every Nonprofit Needs to Know About Social Media
• February 18, 2011 Social Media for Social Good Info In One Place: Ventureneer’s New Library

2010

• October 7, 2010 Nonprofits Profit From Effective Use of Social Media as Seen in Ventureneer/Caliber Survey
• June 15, 2010 Ventureneer to Host Social Impact Exchange Conference Bloggers
• March 3, 2010 Ventureneer eBook Helps Small Businesses, Nonprofits, Social Enterprises Get Ready to Grow
• January 14, 2010 Research Shows That University Education Not as Important to Entrepreneurial Success as Peer Support

2009

• December 17, 2009 Users Agree: Ventureneer's Blog Helps Non Profit Leaders and Entrepreneurs with Their Bottom Lines
• December 16, 2009 Ventureneer Challenges Non Profit Leaders To Access Holiday Spirit Year-round
• December 14, 2009 Ventureneer Predicts the Must-Have Skill for the Next Decade for Entrepreneurs and Non Profit Execs: The Ability to Learn
• December 13, 2009 Ventureneer Finds the The World is Getting Better, One Audacious Social Entrepreneur at a Time 
• September 10, 2009 Small Business/ Nonprofit Leaders Value Peers in Changing Times
• September 3, 2009 Thriving Nonprofits Rely on Peers and Professionals
• September 1, 2009 Entrepreneurs Prefer In-person and Online Seminars Over Degree Courses for Ongoing Learning
• August 31, 2009 Research on Entrepreneurs: Membership in Business Networking Groups Proliferates
• August 27, 2009 Research Confirms Entrepreneurs Turn to Networking for Help
• August 3, 2009 Ventureneer Launches Webinar Library for Small Businesses and Nonprofits Leaders
• July 30, 2009 Ventureneer.com and Jump Start Social Media Partner to Understand Value of Resources to Small Business / Nonprofit Leaders
• July 8, 2009 Ventureneer Conducts Viral Survey Among Small Business and Nonprofit Leaders
• July 1, 2009 Ventureneer Launches Online Education for Small Business/Nonprofit Leaders
• May 4, 2009 Ventureneer Launches Blog, "Vistas": Multi-disciplinary E-learning for Entrepreneurs and Nonprofit Leaders

Ventureneer Launches Blog, “Vistas”: 
Multi-disciplinary E-learning for Entrepreneurs and Nonprofit Leaders

Vistas: Practical Insights From a Serial Entrepreneur, Nonprofit Leader and Educator

New York, New York – May 4, 2009 – Vistas is a blog, the first offering from e-learning website, Ventureneer. It delivers a fresh approach to entrepreneurial learning, blending traditional formal instruction with informal learning derived from peers using Web 2.0 technology. Entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders use Ventureneer to assess a situation, plan a course of action, request resources or information, seek guidance from others. It has a unique focus on “social impact” organizations – those for-profit and nonprofits that look to make a measurable difference in the lives of others.

The World Economic Forum recently released “Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs” highlighting the importance of ongoing education for developing the skills, attitudes and behaviors entrepreneurs need to create jobs, generate economic growth, advance human welfare and stimulate innovation.

• To be successful, entrepreneurs need a vast array of know-how including expertise in finance, networking, negotiating, critical thinking, opportunity assessment, selling, communicating and leadership.
• The report recommends cross-disciplinary approaches, interactive teaching methods, building an entrepreneurial support system, and leveraging technology as an enabler of entrepreneurial education.

Geri Stengel, president of Ventureneer, harnessed the power of Web 2.0 technology to build an online education and peer support network by utilizing unique features of the medium that advance entrepreneurial education, including:

• virtual classes (crash courses on crucial topics such as team building, strategy, nonprofit board development, marketing and financing for for-profit companies, fundraising for nonprofits)
• leader profiles, case studies, news stories, trends, analyses, etc. ripped from today’s headlines
• how to’s, tips, advice and best practices from small business and nonprofit experts
• wiki database of member’s lessons learned and case studies
• matched coaching from a peer
• discussion areas for set topics or issues of immediate concern. Content is rated by members so the best information bubbles up to a position of prominence

In her blog, serial entrepreneur and consultant, Geri Stengel, combines solid information – with a dose of humor – to the leaders of small businesses, social enterprises and nonprofits. Blogging twice a week, Geri Stengel’s posts will include insights, strategies, techniques and solutions to help leaders make their goals a reality. Upcoming posts include:

• A Tale of Two Toddlers or How We Learn What it Takes to Be Successful
• Problem Solving: A Little Help From My Friends
• Social Enterprise 101: Lessons Learned From a Bunch of Jerks
• We Can All Use a Little Support Now and Then
• The Money’s Coming…If You Can Hold on

Any leader of a small business, social enterprise or nonprofit will benefit from reading Vistas and becoming a Ventureneer member, but “social impact” organizations may have the most to gain. These organizations are nonprofits and for-profits that make a meaningful difference in the lives of others by taking on the challenges of poverty, education, health, climate change, etc. For some that means growing a nonprofit, a social enterprise, or a profit-making business with a social mission at the core. For others, it is not based on organizational purpose, but in the ways in which they do business such as valuing and fostering employee satisfaction, sourcing ethical suppliers and maintaining sustainability practices.

Quotes Attributable to Geri Stengel, President, Ventureneer

Bio: Geri Stengel is currently an adjunct professor at The New School, has served as a mentor for social enterprises entered in business plan competitions at Columbia Business School and New York University (NYU), Stern School of Business, and has served as a nonprofit board member. She honed her online experience at companies such as Dow Jones and Physicians’ Online. She cofounded Women’s Leadership Exchange, an online and conference resource for women-led businesses, and founded consulting practice Stengel Solutions.

“It’s never a straight line to launching, growing and sustaining a successful and vibrant organization. Realizing your small business, social enterprise or nonprofit’s vision is a journey with many twists and turns. Vistas: Ventureneer’s blog, helps leaders of these organizations find their way with practical insights and advice.”

“Web 2.0 made it possible to merge two of my passions – improving enterprise performance and teaching entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders. I’m delighted to be able to launch an affordable service for small business and nonprofit leaders, especially those making a social impact. Ventureneer: Building Successful Enterprises with Heart will provide a very different online education and peer support experience – definitely not your typical e-learning website.”

“There has never been a time where entrepreneurs were more vital to the American economy or entrepreneurial education and peer support more necessary to ensure those businesses are successful. Web 2.0 makes this the right time to provide entrepreneurs what they need to grow and prosper: education and peer support online. Vistas, Ventureneer’s blog, is the first offering of an all-encompassing, e-learning website for entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders to solve problems, request resources or information, seek guidance from others and, most important, how to have the greatest impact on society.”

Links to Background Resources

• Alex Wong, Head of Global Education Initiative of the World Economic Forum comments on the findings of the Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs Report  Video
• Entrepreneurship Education
• Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs (Part 1)
• Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs (Part 2)
• Impact of Entrepreneurship Education
• Buidling Entrepreneurial Communities: Entrepreneurship Support Organizations
• Developing the Field of Social Entrepreneurship: A Report from the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) Duke University The Fuqua School of Business
• Learning On-Demand: A New Role for Enterprise Learning
  Collaborative Learning: Formalizing Informal Learning
• In Search of Learning Agility

About Ventureneer 
Ventureneer provides a new approach to learning that blends traditional formal instruction with informal learning derived from peers using Web 2.0 technology to capture and share this knowledge. Ventureneer’s customized Web 2.0 learning environment – blogs, virtual classes, peer-to-peer learning, coaching, web events and articles – provide the necessary support to make faster, better organizational decisions. Vistas, a thought-provoking new blog written by Geri Stengel is the first product released on the Ventureneer website.

Contact Geri Stengel

President

Ventureneer

Phone: 212-362-3088

Contact: www.ventureneer.com/contact

URL: www.ventureneer.com