Forgoing B School for a Video Camera: Lessons Learned In Conversations with Entrepreneurs

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Excited to be here to tell you why talking with entrepreneurs about their advice for young women encouraged me not to take the GMAT

See a lot about what you don’t need to start a successful company, but I wanted to know w hat provides advantages in entrepreneurship Author teaches at Harvard

There are factors we’ve all heard about, but I wanted to delve into characteristics that make people quit their day jobs to kick off an idea

And where are the women? 1.5 year ago I couldn’t even name a female CEO of a major company—it seemed like we rarely hear about women founders and corporate execs amid stories of the Sergeys and Steves.

Thankfully I wasn’t alone—the local networking organization Women 2.0 works to increase the number of women entrepreneurs starting high-growth ventures, and they wanted to talk about this too. Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi

After a lot of brainstorming, other volunteers and I determined that one-on-one interviews with first time and accomplished company founders would begin to help us identify core characteristics

It started like summer camp on a Microsoft grant—this was a Friday night spent using a bit of sweat equity to practice our camera and lighting setup

Understand your strengths “ exactly me—it’s an art business that’s an Internet business and allows me to write everyday”

2. Partnerships overcome obstacles Didn’t work with the city enough or find the right partners; leverage to make sure space is up to code—do research on physical space

3. Don’t make assumptions “ Don’t assume you know something about the product, the market or the customer. Ask, seek clarification, research the idea.”

4. Divide and conquer Set clear responsibilities—”I love to work but need to be focused and need to know on what” 4 founders at Mashery for a reason

Support others, don’t stop being curious, and take chances at opportune times

5. Go your own way Trust your gut when it’s time to break out on your own: she’d edited tech books along with Seth Godin; don’t let opportunity to start your own endeavor pass you by Think of yourself as someone with a vision; if you really want to make something happen, you can trick yourself into doing something scary

6. Understand customer diversity Women make up the majority of consumers and Internet users: “Don’t put their interests in pink and purple silos; they can be interested in parenting one minute and politics the next”; don’t make assumptions about your customers

7. Keep it simple Game Developers Conference Years in the game industry: Don’t allow yourself to get intimidated by the technology—listen for tension and pain points Technology is only good if it’s doing something interesting

8. Be diligent Second endeavor: Diligence and dedication; you cannot be a slacker to succeed in a startup

Where do we go from here? Two core ideas have become clear in kicking off this dialogue: education and mentorship

This is just the beginning of the work we’re doing around this topic. To date there isn’t published data around factors that improve a woman’s likelihood of starting a successful venture, and that’s a gap Women 2.0 is looking to fill.

I might ask you to think about the people you know who have been there and can offer advice—if you think there’s a story you can learn from, there probably is.

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Forgoing B School for a Video Camera: Lessons Learned In Conversations with Entrepreneurs - Presentation Transcript

Forgoing B School for a Video Camera (Lessons I’ve Learned In Conversations with Entrepreneurs) Emily Goligoski TheSanFranista.com @emgollie
- “ An Ivy League degree may get you a job as an investment banker or VC, but it won’t increase your odds of becoming a successful entrepreneur .”
- -Vivek Wadhwa, “Got degree envy? No worries, you can still make it big”
- Then what does?
- Angel investment
- Experienced advisors
- Sand Hill Road address
- Caffeine
- Only 16% of Fortune 500 technology companies have women corporate officers.
In Conversation
Thank God for Basecamp.
Themes from Founders & CEOs
- Applaud others’ efforts
- Ask questions
- Know when to take a risk
Math & Mentorship
- Encourage young women to take science, economics and engineering classes
- 1-on-1 career guidance
Get Smart
- Long-term study with entrepreneurs
- Other resources:
- What questions should you be asking of the people you know ?
- Thanks to Saroj Yadav, Jazmin Hupp and Shahaherose Charania.
http://www.women2.org @women2