Interested in start-ups and entrepreneurship? |
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Regardless of the economic environment, entrepreneurship can be one of the most rewarding and challenging paths during and after business school. This week's topic covers resources that will help if you're thinking of entrepreneurship, have concrete plans to become one, or even thinking of bringing an entrepreneur's mindset to your current role.
The 100 Week Sprint team
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Got 5 minutes? Browse three of the online resources that we've recommended below.
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Got 30 minutes? Check out the course offerings at your school on entrepreneurship.
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Begin due diligence, including testing your own motivation
This summer, consider diving into your idea. Remember, your idea will move as fast as you push it (or delegate others to push it…see below), so if you need to pause to give extra attention to school or other pursuits, that is ok. The most important thing is to dive in and begin learning and doing. Some resources to use when pursuing your idea include the following:
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Test your motivation: Begin reading Mark Mason’s “The Hard Thing About Hard Things”. It will test whether you really want to be an entrepreneur and love the entrepreneurial process, or are just in love with the successful outcome. One of our clients currently at HBS noted they loved it, “…because it’s refreshing after hearing a lot of the entrepreneur “hero worship” on campus.” Use ProValues to further test what motivates you. There is nothing wrong with working for someone else; it is better to realize that now than spend years pursuing something that won’t make you happy.
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Take a first pass at your business plan: we are big fans of Guy Kawasaki's startup deck.
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Consider who to connect with: having early conversations before school starts may help tailor your efforts. In particular, the "Networker" and "Heavy Hitter" from your Advisory Board may be helpful people to get in touch with about your startup plans.
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Practice elements of your plan: this may involve attending formal entrepreneurial pitch sessions through local organizations, joining Startup School, or just informal conversations with key advisors. Whatever path you choose, make sure it is deliberate practice, setting goals throughout the process about what you want to learn and develop, and assessing lessons learned each step of the way.
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Share your ideas
Great businesses are built on solving problems, few if any of which can be solved in isolation. Find industry blogs to start writing for (albeit for free). Find like-minded peers and build a Board of Advisors. Connect with people, and start sharing ideas. Nothing has to be whiteboarded or documented. Just explore the problem, the industries it addresses, and what potential solutions might look like. Those amorphous conversations will lay the foundation for prototypes you can use to test your solutions. And they’re fun too!
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Do you need to learn coding?
Coding bootcamps have grown in popularity over the past few years, driven by rising computer programming salaries, and a growing appreciation for the power of coding logic in many elements of our lives. Clients have taken coding bootcamps for several reasons; some wanted to code their business ideas themselves, others wanted to be able to track progress and quality of people they hire, still others just wanted to avoid the intimidation that sometimes comes with not knowing code. Several clients have noted that tech companies prefer hiring product managers with coding experience, regardless of whether it is needed day-to-day in that particular role.
I've personally found computer coding helpful. My kids do it, and members of our team learned it to manage the coding of several of our online tools. That being said, it is an easier skill to hire for than learn yourself; Upwork, Freelancer, Workhoppers and other platforms offer access to tens of thousands of reputable coding professionals around the world. Before diving into learning coding, define your goal, and invest only the time needed to reach it. Otherwise, learning coding could distract you for weeks, months, even years, from actually running your business.
As a starting point, here are some bootcamps that our clients have recommended.
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Learn from failures (starting with other people’s)
The #1 reason that startups fail is not knowing the market. So, if you have an idea this summer, start testing out the market page for a pitch deck. Do a preliminary sizing and review with others, particularly those with startup experience.
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Autopsy.io is a new resource that tracks startup failures. It's a great place to look for lessons from others who have pursued the startup route.
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TechCrunch's Deadpool and CB Insights' 101 Startup Failure Post Mortems also provide more stories about the challenges that startups have faced.
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Harvard Business Review case studies provide valuable insight on critical business issues facing startups. Not free, but content is vetted and designed for retention by busy business professionals.
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Additional podcasts, courses, and books
First a note of caution; do not use these in-lieu of actually working on your startup. Startups aren’t academic…the bulk of learning occurs by actually working on it! However, if you don't want to go all-in on your entrepreneurial plans today, or want to supplement your entrepreneurial education during the “down time” from working on your idea, podcasts and online courses can help. The following resources recommended by our clients can help you move forward at your own pace:
Podcasts
Online courses
Reading
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