Nov. 14 event offers help for aspiring entrepreneurs

Aspiring entrepreneurs are invited to a panel discussion at Cal State Monterey Bay to hear “tales from the trenches” from people who have successfully started, grown and ran a business. The free event will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., Nov. 14, in the University Center, located on Sixth Avenue at B Street. Driving directions and a campus map can be found at csumb.edu/map. Attendees will hear from entrepreneurs who have started one or more companies. Each panel member will give a short talk followed by questions from the audience. Panel members: • David Fritsch is the owner and lead developer at Webity (formally Fritsch Services) of Monterey. He started the company in 2009 to offer affordable website services to small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs. • Brigid McGrath Massie is a serial entrepreneur, having successfully launched a book publishing company, a recreational and classic vehicle storage facility and one of the most successful bingo halls in California. She is an award winning speaker, author and business consultant. ? • Jeff Munks started a public service 30 years ago, designed to make interpreters available to help newly arrived Vietnamese. Today, Language Line Services is the world's largest provider of over-the-phone interpretation services, employing approximately 6,000 people and covering over 175 languages. • Joe Opitz has been in the restaurant industry since 1987. In 2010, he and his wife, Luciana, opened Flanagan’s Irish-American Pub in Carmel. ?

• Deborah L. Walliser, a strong advocate of sustainability, is the CEO of Got Produce?, a global farm franchise company offering modular hydroponic greenhouse systems, and executive director of Solsustech Inc., a research and development company focusing on hydroponic technology. The Entrepreneurship Forum is one of a series, held each semester, sponsored by the university’s School of Business, the Institute for Innovation and Economic Development and the CSUMB Student Entrepreneurs.

For more information, contact Mary Jo Zenk at 582-3230.

Learn more about the Institute for Innovation and Economic Development.