A professor, a geek, an entrepreneur, and a president
Previously on Roommates, classes, and perfect ramen:
I was six weeks into school, growing up, and doing laundry for the first time at school (not ever, but it might as well have been).
Wow, what a week to be an entrepreneur! This week started off with a lecture from one of the coolest guys I have ever met. His name is Jeff Smith, and he has three personas. At least, those are the only ones he showed to us.
His presentation started with Dr. Smith the professor, and consisted of a really interesting look at the current state of the world and what needs our (as budding entrepreneurs) attention. He talked about his experience in academia, Web 3.0, and even ants, yeah those ants, insects! While some of his presentation was a little bit sophisticated and went over my head, I really enjoyed how genuinely interested he was in the material, us, and our success.
Next he went behind the white board for a quick costume change and emerged as Jeff the geek. Jeff the geek, unlike Dr. Smith the professor, was more interested in talking about really really cool technology. All the way from when he first started playing with computers to now and how he had even dabbled in technology (more on that in a minute). Overall, Jeff the geek was funny and extremely intelligent (but really every persona was insanely smart).
Finally we were introduced to Jeff the entrepreneur. Jeff the entrepreneur wore a backwards cap, sunglasses, carried a Starbucks cup and multiple energy drinks; so basically, it was pretty spot on. After emerging from behind the board once again, he finally told us all about his experience in the world on entrepreneurship. He told us about his experience working in high tech, working with venture capitalists, social entrepreneurship, and more. He even left us with the three things you need to do to create a successful start-up:
1. Make good people decisions
2. Make something customers want
3. Make money
After his lecture Smith stayed for two whole hours to answer student questions that varied from where did you get your start to what was your biggest success/biggest failure and everything in between? All in all, this was one of the best learning moments I have had all semester. To hear from such an experienced entrepreneur was absolutely priceless.
And that was just how the week started!
Then on Thursday the entire entrepreneurship hall and last year's hall were invited to a reception at President Ahlburg's home. So after enjoying some yummy scones and getting to sit next to President Ahlburg and pitch my idea, we got to hear from older students and what they had accomplished after their first year. Following the sophomores, we also got to hear from President Ahlburg and his opinion on the entrepreneurship program and the entrepreneurial mindset (spoiler alert, he loves it!).
So, not a bad week. Truly, this was something I never would have expected, but I am so glad I was able to take part in all of it. Stay tuned for more TU happenings!
- Grace
I was six weeks into school, growing up, and doing laundry for the first time at school (not ever, but it might as well have been).
Wow, what a week to be an entrepreneur! This week started off with a lecture from one of the coolest guys I have ever met. His name is Jeff Smith, and he has three personas. At least, those are the only ones he showed to us.
Next he went behind the white board for a quick costume change and emerged as Jeff the geek. Jeff the geek, unlike Dr. Smith the professor, was more interested in talking about really really cool technology. All the way from when he first started playing with computers to now and how he had even dabbled in technology (more on that in a minute). Overall, Jeff the geek was funny and extremely intelligent (but really every persona was insanely smart).
Finally we were introduced to Jeff the entrepreneur. Jeff the entrepreneur wore a backwards cap, sunglasses, carried a Starbucks cup and multiple energy drinks; so basically, it was pretty spot on. After emerging from behind the board once again, he finally told us all about his experience in the world on entrepreneurship. He told us about his experience working in high tech, working with venture capitalists, social entrepreneurship, and more. He even left us with the three things you need to do to create a successful start-up:
1. Make good people decisions
2. Make something customers want
3. Make money
After his lecture Smith stayed for two whole hours to answer student questions that varied from where did you get your start to what was your biggest success/biggest failure and everything in between? All in all, this was one of the best learning moments I have had all semester. To hear from such an experienced entrepreneur was absolutely priceless.
And that was just how the week started!
Then on Thursday the entire entrepreneurship hall and last year's hall were invited to a reception at President Ahlburg's home. So after enjoying some yummy scones and getting to sit next to President Ahlburg and pitch my idea, we got to hear from older students and what they had accomplished after their first year. Following the sophomores, we also got to hear from President Ahlburg and his opinion on the entrepreneurship program and the entrepreneurial mindset (spoiler alert, he loves it!).
So, not a bad week. Truly, this was something I never would have expected, but I am so glad I was able to take part in all of it. Stay tuned for more TU happenings!
- Grace
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