The alumni network represents one of the most valuable assets flowing from your Carleton education. Carleton alums are smart, generous, and passionate about helping young Carls. Here are some ways the network can be useful to you as you learn about social or for-profit entrepreneurship.

Visiting Alumni Entrepreneurs

From October 17 through the end of fall term, meet with visiting alumni entrepreneurs in the CLIC on Fridays, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. (See bios). Use the following links to make an appointment no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday before their visit. [Note: When you click the link below, it will take you to the Handshake page. Choose to “Register” link which will take you the relevant Google calendar. Go to the appropriate data and pick a time-slot.] (Drop-ins also welcome if open slots remain.)

Alumni entrepreneurs will also talk about their experience moving from their liberal arts education at Carleton to a career in social or for-profit entrepreneurship (3:30-4:30 in Leighton 305). Talks are open to all students .

Alumni

Informational Interviews

Learning more about being an innovation leader is as easy as having a conversation–literally! Search the Alumni Directory by location, job field, and job title to quickly lead you to alums who can share what life is like as an entrepreneur–the rewards and the challenges–and how you might best get started on that path yourself. But before you make contact, do a little homework: The Career Center offers invaluable, step-by-step guidance on how to arrange, prepare for, conduct, and follow-up on an alumni informational interview.

Technical Consultations

Alumni consults

As your venture matures from an idea into a reality, a host of questions naturally arise: What’s the best way for us to incorporate? Do we need to get a patent? How do we comply with state and federal safety regulations? What are the tax implications of our business? Do I need to get a license to do this? What are the best choices for marketing?

As you run into questions like these, start by educating yourself. For example, the Small Business Administration offers tutorials on the most common problems faced by new ventures. The secretaries of state also offer useful guidance.

But even after doing your homework, you may have questions. Some generous Carleton alumni with experience in business, law, accounting, marketing, and more have offered themselves as resources. Email Nathan Grawe to learn more.