Immigrant's success spurs him to help others start in business

The Buffalo News Business Today - by Melissa Repko

After living his own American Dream, businessman Laszalo Meszaros decided the best way to spend retirement was to give back.
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Entrepreneurship Training for High School Students

University at Buffalo School of Management

The University at Buffalo School of Management and the Meszaros International Center of Entrepreneurship (MICE) are partnering to give students from Western New York high schools the opportunity to explore the realm of self-employment and its complexities.
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Positive Program Helps Students Build Their Own Business

In the very near future, Buffalo Public Schools student Patrick Anhalt is seriously considering opening his own business: selling corn snakes.

Believe it or not, there's a big demand in the farming community to use corn snakes to keep critters like mice and other animals from eating valuable crops.

While the Emerson student wants to keep mice away from farmers' fields, he can certainly thank the MICE Foundation for planting the seeds of how to start and operate a successful business.

"I want to be my own business owner," said Anhalt. In the long term, the 18-year-old junior at Emerson High School would like to translate his culinary skills into opening his own restaurant.

The MICE Foundation, short for the Meszaros International Center for Entrepreneurship sponsors a popular business program for Juniors and Seniors from school districts across Western New York.

Funded by a grant from the Oishei Foundation, students from urban, suburban, and rural districts spend Saturday mornings learning extensive business lessons, including ethical entrepreneurship training.

The MICE Foundation itself was created by Mr. Laszlo (Les) Meszaros in a partnership with the School of Management of the State University of New York at Buffalo. Mr. Meszaros, chairman of the foundation, owned and operated several successful local high-tech companies, and served as Vice-President of Business Development with Intel Corp. The program was developed by Professor Joseph Salamone, a thirty year veteran with UB and now partner in the MICE foundation.

Students attend classes at Jacobs Hall at U.B.'s North Campus. More than 50 students from across the area participate every Saturday.

Students are asked for a minimal monetary payment to cover tuition and class costs, but thanks to Oishei Foundation, no child is ever turned away because of financial hardship.

The MICE foundation's ETP (ethical Entrepreneurship Training Program) has been organized and run by business professionals who know the need of educating young people with the goal of keeping them and their expanded business skills in Western New York.

"We need to keep our students local and stop the so called "brain drain." It's my mission and dream to give young adults the tools to start their own businesses which in turn will boost local economic growth. These are some of the benefits that the MICE Foundation offers the local economy," said Meszaros.

"Young people have the greatest potential and opportunity to develop positive attitudes and business behaviors. Entrepreneur skills can be easily translated to daily life. The training helps young people develop effective work behaviors, personal management talents, and critical thinking skills: all these abilities help an individual become a high quality human asset," said Salamone.

This year's Entrepreneurship Training Program started in October, 2007 and will continue until graduation March 8, 2008.

Buffalo Schools Superintendent Dr. James A. Williams visited Buffalo Public Schools students during the first week of classes in October of 2007.

"I was impressed with the structure of this program and delighted to see so many students up very early in the morning to expand their education. Students are busy. And it's a wonderful testament to our District that so many children wake up early on a Saturday and enthusiastically come to this program," said Dr. Williams.

As for Anhalt, the Emerson student, he is confident the valuable lessons learned every Saturday morning through the MICE Foundation will help him start that business, and keep it right here in Western New York.

"This program is a tremendous opportunity for me to be able to build a business. I don't want to leave my family in Buffalo. Hopefully completion of the ETP experience will keep me here in Western New York," added Anhalt.

Students interested in participating next year may download an application at the link below.

Students wake up very early on Saturday mornings to learn about creating and managing their own businesses. These pictures were taken during a class full of students from urban and suburban districts across Western New York.

Click here for pictures from the business class at U.B.

Competition Fosters Entrepreneurial Spirit in High Schools

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Six students from area high schools won first place in an entrepreneurship competition on March 8 for their business proposal, a high-tech gaming center.

The competition was the culmination of a 19-week Entrepreneurship Training Program conducted by the University at Buffalo School of Management and the Meszaros International Center of Entrepreneurship (MICE).

Members of the winning team were George Alexander of City Honors High School, Patrick Anhalt of Emerson School of Hospitality, Charles Beardsley of Burgard Vocational High School, Michael Cheaib of St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, Craig Nicpon of Burgard Vocational High School and Wes Richter of City Honors High School. Each team members was awarded a leather embossed attaché case.

Seven teams presented business plans in the competition, which was held at Hutchinson Central Technical High School. Entries ranged from a proposal to provide microfinance funding in Ghana, to a unique restaurant concept to a fashion design business.

Judges for the competition were Louis P. Ciminelli, chair and CEO of LPCiminelli Inc.; Cynthia M. Shore, assistant dean of corporate and community relations, UB School of Management; and Chris Meszaros, product manager, Synacor.

Beginning in October, nearly 50 students from18 urban, suburban and rural area high schools attended the Entrepreneurship Training Program on Saturday mornings at the UB School of Management, where they explored the possibilities and complexities of self employment.

Funded by a grant from the Oishei Foundation, the program focuses on ethical entrepreneurship training and features class exercises that encourage team skills and critical thinking, a number of area entrepreneurs as guest speakers and a business plan workshop.

"Young people have the greatest potential to develop positive attitudes and business behaviors," said Joseph Salamone, co-founder of MICE; author of the Entrepreneurship Training Program and associate professor of organization and human resources in the UB School of Management.

"The entrepreneurship skills that students learned in this program -- effective work habits, personal management and critical thinking -- all transfer well into everyday life, and will help them to become high quality human assets," he added.

The Meszaros International Center for Entrepreneurship is a not-for-profit foundation that develops and delivers entrepreneurship training products and programs. MICE has successfully completed programs in Central Europe. MICE was founded and originally funded by Laszlo (Les) Meszaros, a former entrepreneur who successfully started companies, most notably Voice Technologies Group, which he sold to Intel Corporation. For more information, visit http://mice-us-foundation.com.

The Wall Street Journal ranks the UB School of Management No. 9 in the nation among schools with strong regional recruiting bases. In addition, BusinessWeek ranks the school as one of the country's top 5 business schools for the fastest return on MBA investment, and Forbes cites it as one of the best business schools in the U.S. for the return on investment it provides MBA graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit http://mgt.buffalo.edu.