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Posts Tagged ‘Manchester Young Professionals Network’

Five Questions with Mike Cashion, Concord Young Professionals Network

Friday, February 27th, 2015

(Check back every Friday to meet someone we think you should know in our new series, Five Questions. -Ed.)

One of the most vital resources to businesses, the entrepreneurial environment, and the economy in general is the young professional workforce. Nationwide, young professionals hold 27 percent of professional jobs and often are motivated by a different set of values than the generations preceding them. They also have a different set of challenges.

Mike Cashion

Mike Cashion

To dig a little deeper into the young professional mindset, we spoke with Mike Cashion, a member of the Concord Young Professionals Network and an advocate for the growth and success of young professionals in New Hampshire.

What’s the state of the state for young professionals in New Hampshire these days?

Here are the positives: If you’re a young professional in New Hampshire who is willing to put the time and effort in, you’ll do well and be sought after, due to the comparatively low population of 20 and 30-somethings. The potential for a ‘seat at the table’ is decent. While New Hampshire is not as sought after as more popular cities for those in their 20s and 30s – like Boston, New York City, Denver and others – the future for New Hampshire could be great … it’s full of opportunity.

Here are the challenges: The largest concentration of young professionals is in southern New Hampshire, where the income potential is highest and the commute to Boston is easier, which can draw young professionals out of state. And it’s still very tough to be the only one at the table under the age of 40 and sometimes 50, because there is a resistance to new ideas and change. This is a challenge for young professionals everywhere.

Can you share a couple of examples of young professionals groups doing awesome things in the state recently?

The Concord Young Professionals Network has brought in anchor tenants to its events. Those are prominent people in the community who are advocates for young professionals, are successful in their careers and want to help facilitate change. CYPN is also heavily focusing on return on investment for its members.

The Manchester Young Professionals Network’s NH Startup Challenge and Corner Office Connections Program are top-notch and put young professionals in front of change-makers.

Fusion, in the Lakes Region, is fairly new to the young professionals realm and is doing a variety of cool events that are outside of the traditional networking activity, like kick boxing, snowboarding/skiing/tubing and more fun stuff that us young people really enjoy.

Finally, Catapult is bringing attention to 10 rising stars under the age of 40 out on the Seacoast with its “10 to Watch.”

What are a couple of the top challenges young professionals are facing right now? What’s keeping them up at night?

For those of us who want to work for other people, it’s finding the opportunities we’d like to have, with the right flexibility or pay grade. Those of us looking to start a new company have hurdles in regard to raising capital, and developing the talent pool is a priority, especially in regard to tech.

Education is extremely expensive in our country at this point and many young people are struggling to make enough to live comfortably without staying with mom and dad or rooming with multiple roommates.

A friend recently shared a very strong opinion that New Hampshire is welcoming to young professionals and yet there seems to be an important opportunity for the university system to offer more support for young professionals before they even enter the workforce.

Also, compared to more urban areas like Boston and New York, New Hampshire’s public transportation system isn’t as viable an option for young professionals.

“You must have a car to be successful here,” as others have told me, as I unlock my bicycle and put on my helmet.

How are young professionals and YP groups supporting the state’s economy?

As young people we want to support local as much as possible. We’re a very entrepreneurial generation. We know there’s no life-long employment moving forward. We’re all entrepreneurs in a sense, and need to support the local shops, restaurants, farmers markets, arts markets, local startups, etc. We’re starting businesses, paying taxes and doing our best to attract our talented friends to the area, and keep our friends from jumping ship and moving elsewhere.

If there’s one message that young professionals most want to get across to older (over 40) professionals, what would it be?

We understand that you have a large amount of experience, and we value your knowledge. Our lives at the ages between 20-40 are much different than yours were (extreme education costs, we’re always on, we have to look ahead or we will fail, we value a sharing economy). If we don’t see a future, we’ll struggle to stick around. Be open to change, mentor us, teach us your ways, and give us an opportunity to be a part of your succession planning.

$25,000 to be awarded to New Hampshire Start Up

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

On June 2nd the Manchester Young Professionals Network (MYPN) will award $25,000 in cash and in-kind services to the winner of the MYPN NH Start Up Challenge business plan competition. The event is being held at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College on June 2nd at 5:30pm and is free and open to the public.

The event will feature an exclusive opportunity for the two remaining finalists, TRX Sports and Nearby Registry, to deliver an elevator pitch to the audience. The winner will then be announced for the first time in front of the attendees. Guests are encouraged to pre-register at www.mypn.org.  

mypn2“The NH Start Up Challenge is emerging as New Hampshire’s signature business plan competition,” said E.J. Powers, Chairman of MYPN. “We were extremely impressed by the quality of business plans submitted and are hopeful that the assistance provided to the winner, courtesy of many generous sponsors, will go a long way in making their business a success.”

The finalists include TRX Sports which has created “FLEYE” a video and GPS products and systems that allow sports enthusiasts to capture their experiences and share them online. 

“Participating in the MYPN NH Start Up Challenge has been a tremendous opportunity to network with other successful entrepreneurs and experienced business professionals who can help us grow from a great idea into a great company,” said Cameron Miner, CEO of TRX Sports. “In addition to the great connections and media exposure that we have gained through the Challenge, winning the $25,000 award would be incredibly valuable for us right now. The prize money would enable us to install a FLEYE System at a NH resort this summer, allowing us to get some early exposure and do more testing in preparation for the full launch this winter.”

The other finalist is Nearby Registry, a provider of online gift registry service for independent retailers and service providers. “MYPN’s NH Start Up Challenge triggered me to transfer my long-time local gift registry idea into a tangible business plan that proves the benefit local registry sales will have for Nearby communities,” said Allison Grappone. “The $25,000 from the Challenge will make Nearby Gift Registry a reality, sooner.”

Over 50 entrepreneurs applied and five semi-finalists received scholarships and attended the Stonyfield Farm Entrepreneurial Institute.  Along with the scholarship, they also received guidance and support regarding important aspects of their business plan from SCORE mentors.  Two finalists, TRX Sports and Nearby Registry were then chosen to present their business plan to the challenge judges consisting of Phil Ryan, Merchants Automotive Group; Kathleen Cook, Bean Foundation; Graham Chynoweth, Dynamic Network Services; Richard (Dick) Kimball, Bigelow & Company; and Steve Webb, TD Bank. The winner will be unveiled the evening of June 2nd.

The 3rd annual MYPN NH Start Up Challenge is a statewide business plan competition designed to encourage entrepreneurship and social innovation. The competition was created in 2008 by MYPN, New Hampshire’s first and largest young professional networking organization with over 3,000 members.

In less than three years, MYPN has awarded over $50,000 to New Hampshire start-ups. The 2010 competition winner was Play @ Work. Their goal is to help busy parents balance family, work and life by providing office space while their young children enjoy a supervised playgroup in a welcoming, child-friendly atmosphere.

The 2009 Start Up Challenge winner was Float Left Labs, a non-profit that assists other non-profits with marketing and web design needs. Float Left Labs has been open for business for over a year and is achieving its goal of providing marketing services to non-profits such as New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility, Families in Transition and the Nashua Senior Center.

Public Service of New Hampshire is the presenting sponsor of the MYPN New Hampshire Start Up Challenge. Additional sponsors include FairPoint Communications, DYN Inc., abi Innovation Hub, Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green, Howe Riley and Howe, Business NH Magazine, Anagnost Companies, Montagne Communications, Wells Fargo Advisors, Northwestern Mutual, Merchants Automotive, McLane Law Firm, The Daymark Group, Wiggin & Nourie, Ogden Media and Z food & drink. Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available.

For more information please visit www.mypn.org.