By Penny Hulbert, President of Links Financial LLC
Ask successful entrepreneurs about business financing, and it's likely they will tell some interesting stories about how they got the business off the ground.  The stories aren't always pretty, but what's important is they got the job done.

It's always been tough to get financing, particularly for a new business, and it's even more challenging now.  But even though the news may seem full of gloom and doom, that doesn't mean business financing is impossible in today's economic climate.  As is often the case, what's important is to understand the options, prepare the company and make the right contacts.

TEC Talk is a monthly breakfast, networking and education event specifically tailored for Tampa Bay's technology entrepreneurship community. 

This month's program will be held at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 13, at Microsoft, 5426 Bay Center Dr., 7th floor, Tampa 33607.

Featured speaker Charles Armstrong, founder and CEO of

For more information and to register to attend, click here.

Alakai Defense Systems  has come a long way since its outgrowth as a successor to Alaka'i Consulting & Engineering, Inc. in Hawaii by Ed Dottery and Guy Ontai, two West Point graduates, physicists, and former U.S. Army officers.
Wanting to take advantage of the favorable business climate, the company moved its headquarters to Florida, becoming one of STAR TEC's earliest clients in 2006.  Since that time, Alakai and its extensive network of affiliated partners have grown to provide next generation sensor and technology solutions to challenges facing the Defense and Security market place, with a particular specialty in laser and electro-optic remote sensing and systems integration to detect trace molecules of military significance, such as found in explosives, Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), and CBRNE threats.