Description
Entrepreneurial Finance Columnist
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DILEEP RAO, Ph. D.
Phone: 763-588-6067; Web site: www.dileeprao.com
Former Venture Financier: Financed over 450 businesses and real estate projects
Chairman and/or Executive: Four startups and five turnarounds
Advisor to Governments and Corporations in New Business Development
Entrepreneurship & Entrepreneurial Finance Columnist/Blogger: Forbes.com
Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship, Florida International University
Financier: Dileep Rao was the V.P. of financing and business development, and board member, of
one of the largest area venture development and finance institutions in the U.S. Between 1973 and
1996, Rao financed and assisted the growth of over 450 businesses and real estate projects.
Chairman and Executive: Rao has started four businesses (including corporate ventures) and
managed five turnaround businesses (four succeeded). He was the chairman of one corporation, and
a director of a number of emerging ventures and financial institutions.
Consultant: Rao is an advisor on building big businesses with lower investment. His clients have
included entrepreneurs; governments, including the U.S. government; Fortune 1000 corporations,
including Medtronic and General Mills; financial institutions, such as banks, and community
development financial institutions in MN, WI, GA, PR, CA, AZ, TN, etc.
Professor & Educator: From 1997-2010, Dr. Rao was a professor in New Business Formation &
Financing in the MBA and Executive MBA programs at the University of Minnesota (UM), where
he was a Three-Time Outstanding MBA Teacher of the Year. He has also taught in Executive MBA
programs at Warsaw, Vienna, Paris, Lyon, South Korea, and Rumania; and he teaches Corporate &
Venture Financing in the Management of Technology program at UM. He is currently the Clinical
Professor of Entrepreneurship at Florida International University, and teaches in Executive MBA
programs in Latin America. He also teaches “Linking Business & Finance Strategies” in the
Experiential Workshops for new Entrepreneurship Faculty at the University of Florida.
Nationally Acclaimed Author: Dr. Rao has written nationally acclaimed business books including
Business Financing: 25 Keys to Raising Money (NY Times Pocket MBA Series), Finance Any
Business Intelligently®, and Handbook of Business Finance & Capital Sources (Co-Publisher:
American Management Assn, NY). His latest book is Bootstrap to Billions, which shows how to
build giant companies without resources. Sample reviews include: “Business needs all the help it
can get. Like the U.S. Cavalry, (Rao’s) Handbook enters the scene just in time” ... Inc. magazine.
Entrepreneurial Finance Columnist for Forbes.com: Dr. Rao is the entrepreneurship and
entrepreneurial finance blogger for Forbes.com, one of the worlds’ largest online business sites.
Education: Dr. Rao has two engineering degrees and a doctorate in business administration from
the University of Minnesota.
doc_537187012.pdf
Entrepreneurial Finance Columnist
!"#$%
DILEEP RAO, Ph. D.
Phone: 763-588-6067; Web site: www.dileeprao.com
Former Venture Financier: Financed over 450 businesses and real estate projects
Chairman and/or Executive: Four startups and five turnarounds
Advisor to Governments and Corporations in New Business Development
Entrepreneurship & Entrepreneurial Finance Columnist/Blogger: Forbes.com
Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship, Florida International University
Financier: Dileep Rao was the V.P. of financing and business development, and board member, of
one of the largest area venture development and finance institutions in the U.S. Between 1973 and
1996, Rao financed and assisted the growth of over 450 businesses and real estate projects.
Chairman and Executive: Rao has started four businesses (including corporate ventures) and
managed five turnaround businesses (four succeeded). He was the chairman of one corporation, and
a director of a number of emerging ventures and financial institutions.
Consultant: Rao is an advisor on building big businesses with lower investment. His clients have
included entrepreneurs; governments, including the U.S. government; Fortune 1000 corporations,
including Medtronic and General Mills; financial institutions, such as banks, and community
development financial institutions in MN, WI, GA, PR, CA, AZ, TN, etc.
Professor & Educator: From 1997-2010, Dr. Rao was a professor in New Business Formation &
Financing in the MBA and Executive MBA programs at the University of Minnesota (UM), where
he was a Three-Time Outstanding MBA Teacher of the Year. He has also taught in Executive MBA
programs at Warsaw, Vienna, Paris, Lyon, South Korea, and Rumania; and he teaches Corporate &
Venture Financing in the Management of Technology program at UM. He is currently the Clinical
Professor of Entrepreneurship at Florida International University, and teaches in Executive MBA
programs in Latin America. He also teaches “Linking Business & Finance Strategies” in the
Experiential Workshops for new Entrepreneurship Faculty at the University of Florida.
Nationally Acclaimed Author: Dr. Rao has written nationally acclaimed business books including
Business Financing: 25 Keys to Raising Money (NY Times Pocket MBA Series), Finance Any
Business Intelligently®, and Handbook of Business Finance & Capital Sources (Co-Publisher:
American Management Assn, NY). His latest book is Bootstrap to Billions, which shows how to
build giant companies without resources. Sample reviews include: “Business needs all the help it
can get. Like the U.S. Cavalry, (Rao’s) Handbook enters the scene just in time” ... Inc. magazine.
Entrepreneurial Finance Columnist for Forbes.com: Dr. Rao is the entrepreneurship and
entrepreneurial finance blogger for Forbes.com, one of the worlds’ largest online business sites.
Education: Dr. Rao has two engineering degrees and a doctorate in business administration from
the University of Minnesota.
doc_537187012.pdf