Drawing on Success: One entrepreneur is sketching his talents around the globe thanks to training from the Fox Valley Technical College Venture Center.

When Amy Pietsch, director of the Fox Valley Technical College Venture Center, asked Mick Walsh to do a visual recording of the Pro-Seed™ Business Model Design Workshop, she opened the door to a new career.

Walsh, a well-seasoned art/creative director and illustrator, had never really done visual recording before—the process of taking notes and drawing sketches on huge charts during an actual presentation or meeting. “I did the first project for the Venture Center and loved it,” he says. “I then decided to start my own business, and with Amy’s encouragement I enrolled in the E-seed™ Express Training Series.”

E-seed helped Walsh launch his new business, SketchBIZ, LLC. “I started putting numbers together for my business plan,” he says. “One big key was the research I had to do, which resulted in finding an international organization that already does visual recording.”

Today, business is booming. Walsh has traveled all over the country for such clients as the Smithsonian Institute, Dell Computers, Molson Coors Brewing Company, and the Canadian Legal Department. “I usually get an agenda and then draw, in real time, what’s being said at the actual meeting,” he states. “With my illustrations, the clients can literally see what’s being presented or discussed.”

Walsh heartily recommends the E-seed series. “The Venture Center is focused on helping you succeed,” he says. “I still keep in touch with several of my former classmates. We’ve become cheerleaders for each other and have built a network. They are like my own PR group.”

Spotlight on Global Entrepreneurship

The Fox Valley Technical College Venture Center showcased its exemplary approach to entrepreneurship during Global Entrepreneurship Week in November. “We highlighted the real impact that entrepreneur training within the Wisconsin Technical College System has on our economy,” states Amy Pietsch, director of the Venture Center.

Some of the activities during the week included:

• A Small Business Job Fair
• A Business Model Cup Challenge at FVTC’s Riverside campus in Oshkosh
• A look at rural entrepreneurship throughout Waupaca County