Stonyfield Farm launched the 2012 Entrepreneurship Institute, a “boot camp” for community-minded entrepreneurs.

Hosted by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire and the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire, the event will be held April 26-27 at the Courtyard Marriott Grappone Conference Center in Concord, N.H.

The Stonyfield Entrepreneurship Institute was conceived in 1998 by Stonyfield’s CEO Gary Hirshberg, based on his experience growing Stonyfield Farm from its humble start as a seven-cow operation in 1983 to its current $359 million annual sales level. In 2002, Hirshberg joined Michael Swack, and in 2008, formed a partnership with University of New Hampshire’s Carsey Institute and the Whittemore School of Business and Economics.

By offering a highly interactive, intimate venue for networking, storytelling and problem solving, the institute offers a safe, yet stimulating environment for hundreds of for-profit and not-for-profit entrepreneurs to learn about financing, marketing, finding personal balance, managing change, and more. The "case" method approach ensures a practical and grounded “real world” experience.

Speakers
Tom First, one of the co-founders of OWATER, a sports drink manufacturer located in Concord, Mass. First is also the former chief executive officer of Nantucket Nectars, a company he started with his friend and former business partner Tom Scott. First is an active investor in several start-up consumer and technology companies and has won several awards, including the Mercury Award for Advertising, Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award and several leadership and design awards.

Meg Cadoux Hirshberg (Gary Hirshberg’s wife) is a freelance non-fiction writer, whose work has appeared inYankee, New Hampshiremagazine and the Boston Globemagazine, among other publications. In 2009, she began writing a column forInc.magazine called “Balancing Acts” that explores work-life balance and the intersection of family and business in an entrepreneurial setting. Her book, For Better or For Work: A Survival Guide For Entrepreneurs and Their Families, expands on her column topics.  

Gary Hirshberg is co-founder and chairman of Stonyfield Farm, an organic yogurt producer based in Londonderry, N.H. He is also the author of Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World. He frequently speaks on topics such as sustainability, organic agriculture and the profitability of green business.

To register for the event, go to https://www.events.unh.edu/RegistrationForm.pm?event_id=9654, or to view the agenda schedule, please visit http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/SEI/Agenda.html.