The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship, part of the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics, will host three Lunch and Learn sessions in the near future. All faculty, staff, students and community entrepreneurs are invited to attend. The sessions are free, but advanced registration is required due to limited seating. The first two sessions will be held at the Venture Studio inside the Gatton College building in room 124, while the location of the third session is still being determined. Lunch will be served during every session from noon-1 p.m.

The first Lunch and Learn will be on Wednesday, Sept. 21, on the topic of "Understanding Your Consumer Market" with featured speaker David M. Hardesty. Hardesty is the Carol Martin Gatton Endowed Chair of Marketing and serves as the department chair for Marketing and Supply Chain. He also is the director of the Behavioral Research Lab at the University of Kentucky. Hardesty will discuss the elements of understanding your customer. This session will be very helpful to entrepreneurs launching a new product, or creating a product for the first time. Hardesty will give a real-time example of how consumers make purchasing decisions.

The second Lunch and Learn will be on Wednesday, Oct. 5, on the topic of "Fluent and their BlockChain Platform" with guest speakers Lamar Wilson and Lafe Taylor, co-founders of Fluent. Lamar Wilson and Lafe Taylor will discuss their rise in the startup world. Founded in 2014, Fluent is a blockchain-based financial network and payment platform startup aimed at providing a frictionless operating network for large enterprises and their global supply chains. The company unveiled their enterprise software platform, the Fluent Network, which enables real-time, low-cost, simple and secure invoicing and payments along global supply chains via blockchain technology for banks, financial institutions and global enterprises.

The third Lunch and Learn will be on Thursday, Nov. 17, on the topic of "How to Write a Business Plan" with guest speaker Alex Genadinik. For this Lunch and Learn event, Genadinik will discuss the key elements of business plan writing and how to create a solid package for your startup. His books are also being used as a key resource in the Entrepreneur's Bootcamp this fall.