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.
research interests
Evaluating New Business Opportunities; Building High-Growth and New Businesses with Little Capital; Debt Capital and Flow-Capital Financing New and Emerging Ventures through Venture Capital; Corporate New Product Development and High-Potential Manager Training; Building Areas by Developing Community Financiers, Community and Entrepreneurs; Linking Business and Finance; Using Finance as a Strategic Weapon
