it’s not about the code: what is - stanford...
TRANSCRIPT
It’s not about the code:
What is
the Spirit of
Entrepreneurship?
Heidi Roizen, Stanford Technology Ventures
Program
Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Speaker Series
weekly seminar
available worldwide at http://ecorner.stanford.edu
300-400 students
speakers: diversity in
sector, age, gender,
ethnicity, business
model...
ETL Speakers 2011-2012 Reid Hoffman, Aaron Levie, Jessica Mah, Sukhinder singh, guy Kawasaki, Sandy
Kurtzig
What is Spirit of Entrepreneurship?
ETL speakers as
fodder for discussion
near-real-time
curriculum
50 students, all ages
discussion and online
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM EACH ENTREPRENEUR WHO VISITS?
Students’ initial view how entrepreneurship works
therefore, they think they need to learn
coding
Excel
Powerpoint
venture capital dynamics
but a funny thing happens on the way to fame and fortune... They start hearing from real entrepreneurs, and
thinking and talking about what they hear
How we prepare for the speakers
THINK ABOUT THE PERSON’S CAREER: Silicon Valley is known for career mobility. What are the advantages of staying in one place and growing your career, vs. moving around? Why is a lot of career mobility sometimes too much?
THINK ABOUT DIFFERENT FUNDING MODELS: Eric Ries and Steve Blank, among others, are proponents of the "lean start-up", arguing that leanness and scarcity create more capital efficient and better companies. Others argue that raising a lot of capital creates a barrier to entry for other companies. What are the advantages of the “lean start-up” model? In what situations would you use this model over raising a lot of capital?
THINK ABOUT GENDER: Sukhinder believes that Silicon Valley is a pure meritocracy and that there is no systematic gender bias in venture capital. Do you agree or disagree with this? Give examples to support your argument.
THINK ABOUT THE PERSON’S LIFE OUTSIDE WORK: Work-life balance is a consistent challenge in Silicon Valley. How, if at all, does being a parent factor into being able to achieve a balance? Can a truly successful leader who is a parent achieve balance, and if so, how?
AIM FOR A MIX OF BUSINESS AND PERSONAL TOPICS
SAMPLE OF RECENT HOMEWORK:
First, the questions are tactical...
how do I structure a company?
how do I fund it?
how do I recruit people?
how do I attract customers?
what is the right business model?
as the weeks progress, so do the questions
should I work with my best friend?
what happens when we disagree?
how do we create a culture?
what if someone else does it better?
Then, it gets personal... what will my parents think?
am I passionate enough about this to make it through the tough times?
what if I fail?
what if my idea isn’t any good?
should I get some experience first?
can I afford to do this?
is this what I really want to do?
can I really do it?
What they say they learn
entrepreneurship is hard
failure is part of the process
there is no clear or straight path to success
companies rarely end up doing what they set out to do
better love what you do (because you’ll be doing a lot of it)
for some... maybe I should get a job instead
but for others...people ‘like me’ have done it, so maybe I can too!
And... what I’ve learned
there’s nothing like hearing a story first-hand
near-real-time curriculum hard but worth it
start with the tactical, end with the personal
age and field of study does not matter
it’s not about the code, and it’s not even about
business -- it is about how to live a meaningful and
fulfilling life
Thank you!
http://ecorner.stanford.edu
http://www.heidiroizen.com