Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers Conference
At the 2016 GCEC conference, I heard Erin Draper speak about the entrepreneurship programs at Clarkson University. Some great questions were raised during that sessions – and some wonderful ideas were shared.
“Are you raising Zuckerburgs? or building Facebooks?”
This is a particularly interesting question for me. I’ve worked with entrepreneurs at Georgia Tech for almost 10 years. A few unicorns have Georgia Tech listed some where on their “About Us” page – but few Georgia Tech-born startups are a household name so far. I’m happy to say GT startups often solve big problems: public health, clean energy, and other important challenges. But very few are consumer products with recognizable logos. Maybe it’s silly of me, but I’d love to have a GT startup known around the world, by millions (or billions!) of consumers.
Still, I see the importance of raising founders not just building startups. And not just founders, but serial entrepreneurs. Often, I talk with student founders during office hours, and they are discouraged by the challenges of building a startup. The body language tells the story: slumped shoulders, chin down, low energy.
I admit, I’m not fluent with the ABCs of Generation X, Y, and Z, but I can tell you that many people struggle to maintain enthusiasm when faced with disappointment and failure. My response to the founder is often a variation of this:
“I know it’s hard. This is your first startup. Keep at it.”
The only line steeper than the typical startup’s 5-year revenue projection is the founders’ learning curve.