Author: Dileep Rao

Dr. Rao has extensive experience in both the business and academic arenas. From 1997-2010, he was a professor in new business formation and financing in the MBA and Executive MBA programs at the University of Minnesota (UM) and also has taught in Executive MBA programs in Lyon, Paris, Romania, South Korea, Vienna and Warsaw. Between 1973 and 1996, he was vice president of Impact Seven, Inc., one of the largest CD financial institutions in the United States. As vice president he financed and participated in the development of more than 450 businesses using equity, subordinated and senior debt, hybrids, leases and development financing from funds controlled by the firm. He currently is a director of the firm. He has consulted on new product development with Fortune 500 corporations, on community economic development with the U.S. government, and on venture development with entrepreneurs and venture development institutions. A nationally acclaimed author, Dr. Rao has written business reference books including Business Financing: 25 Keys to Raising Money, Finance Any Business Intelligently and Handbook of Business Finance & Capital Sources. His latest book, Bootstrap to Billions: How Entrepreneurs Build Great Companies from Scratch, shows how to build Fortune 500 companies without resources. He also is the entrepreneurial finance columnist for Forbes.com, one of the world’s largest online business sites.

How The Rest Of America Can Compete With Silicon Valley

Contributors January 21, 2016 Dileep Rao 1 Comment

Silicon Valley is a juggernaut. It is in the same category as some of the world’s great civilizations that changed the course of human history, including Athens, Rome, London, and New York, by being the center for the most aggressive, intelligent, and entrepreneurial people in the universe. It is the Goliath of new-business development. In […]

My View: Why both Gov. Scott and the Florida Legislature are right — and wrong

Contributors November 25, 2015 Dileep Rao 0 Comments

According to the Miami Herald (10/9/15, page 10A), Gov. Rick Scott and economist Amy Baker of the state Legislature disagree about the strategy to create jobs in Florida. Scott wants to offer financial incentives to recruit larger, out-of-state companies to Florida. Baker wants to focus on Florida’s small businesses based on the assumption that small […]