This is part of my Series on University Entrepreneurship.
I gave a TEDx talk on student entrepreneurship in November of 2011. It sort of sums up how I feel about the extraordinary opportunity student entrepreneurs have at their disposal in this day and age. I contrasted the environment of 25+ years ago (when I was a college freshman) versus that of today for a fledgling student entrepreneur.
I've had the privilege of mentoring lots of student entrepreneurs over the past years and based on this experience I've decided to lay-out the roadmap I believe every student entrepreneur ought to have in place in the interest of increasing the chances of seeing their venture succeed.
The map above (which I shall be improving upon over time) lays out the major high-level ingredients required to maximize success for a student entrepreneur. In this mini-series of posts I'm going to flesh-out each step in more detail.
By way of preface to this deeper dive here are a few preliminary points having to do with awareness and perspective I'd like to make:
For a multitude of reasons student entrepreneurs are in the greatest position in the history of the world to launch new ventures. I have called this period University Entrepreneurship 2.0 :
Think about all this. Take it all in. And remember- there is something that actually hasn't changed that's greatly in your favor too:
Launching a company during your student years is the best time in your life to do so because there is no downside. You can only learn, meet people and sharpen your skills. You can't lose...
But actually, I want you win.
That's right- I said it here. Just win, baby.
For Part (2) of this Series click here
This is part of my Series on University Entrepreneurship.
In the first post in this series I encouraged you to take stock of where you are and to understand your unique position in world-history as a student entrepreneur. Your awareness of the surreal advantages you have over every student entrepreneur that has come before you is massively important. So let's assume that this has sunk-in. Now what?
Very simple. All the folks on the side-lines have been talking about startup bubbles these days. How about your own bubble? That's right- how about getting out of the bubble that you are in.
Steve Blank and Eric Ries and the whole lean-start-up crew tell you to "get out of the building". They're right...
But I'm telling you to actually get the heck off campus and go to where the startup action is. (If you're in New York that means downtown by the way.)
What do I mean? You need to dive into the startup community of your city or town wherever you live. Get a list of all the events each Monday morning and go to as many as you can possibly attend. Meet everyone, be friendly- have fun and get involved- don't be a wall flower. The best way to get to know people is to work with them and engage. So, I'm talking about you jumping all over the various meetups, hackathons, startup talks, startup weekends, lean startup competitions, entrepreneurship talks, conferences, cocktail parties, entrepreneurship weeks, breakfasts, dinners, societies, roundtables available.
When I tell students to do this, some say: "But what do I say to people when I'm there?", or "I don't really know anyone, it's a bit intimidating".
Actually- the reality is that the startup ecosystems are an incredibly welcoming and warm environment. People in the startup community aren't a bunch of uptight careerists decked-out in suits. For the most part it's comprised of people like you who want nothing to do with corporate personalities and environments. If you're a student they're typically extra-welcoming. Just be honest and tell folks you are a student and are diving-into the startup community. You'll typically get high-fives.
And remember- the key is this: Roll-up your sleeves and participate. Pull an all-nighter at a hackathon with a makeshift team, sign up for a leanstartup competition, present your un-baked ideas at incubation events. Before you know it you'll know everyone and they'll know you. You'll feel that team spirit and esprit de corps and it will change you forever.
You'll be out of the campus bubble now and will be part of the world you need to know intimately if you want to be an entrepreneur.
You'll be Connected