Dileep Rao

Clinical Professor
Department of Management & International Business

College of Business
Florida International University

Modesto A. Maidique Campus
11200 S.W. 8th St, RB 310
Miami, FL 33199

(305) 348-2791

drao@fiu.edu

Education

• Ph.D. in Business Administration
  University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota


• Master of Science in Industrial Engineering
  University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota


• Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering
  University of Bombay, Bombay, India

Areas of Expertise

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

Professional Activities

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.

Courses Taught

• Entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurship: New Business Development
• International Entrepreneurship
• Managing Innovation
• Master's Project in International Business
• Master's Seminar in Management
• Writing the Business Plan

Peer Reviewed Proceedings

Rao, D.  (2013, April). • Why Low-Income Communities should Value Smart Entrepreneurs over Smart Capital? (Federal Reserve Bank Community Development Conference, April 2013, Washington, DC).  Federal Reserve Bank Community Development Conference, Washington D.C., District of Columbia. 

Recent Presentations

Rao, D.  (2013, March-May). How to Identify and Secure Traditional and Non-Traditional Sources of Capital.  ICABA World Conference, Miami, Florida.

Rao, D.  (2012, November). How to Build a Giant Company without Capital.  FIU Workshop, Miami, Florida.

Rao, D.  (2012, August-September). The Numbers Matter.  The Experiential Workshop, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Rao, D.  (2012, August-September). Leadership Before Capital.  International Small Business Conference, Johanneburg, South Africa.

Rao, D.  (2012, April-June). Six barriers to grow without capital.  Woodland Bank Conference, Grand Rapids.

Rao, D.  (2011, September). Rethink the Fundamentals to stop our national agony.  Democratic Party Senior Caucus, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Rao, D.  (2011, September). The Numbers Matter:Helping Faculty Teach &Coach Students on the Financials.  Experiential Classroom, Oklahoma State University, Tulsa, Oklahoma.