When I'd last written about the team of 10-graders that I'm mentoring on entrepreneurship through BUILD (read my posts here and here), they were re-visiting their business plan as their world-view and team had changed over the summer. They were frantically re-doing their presentation as they had to pitch to a VC (a real one!) in order to get the few hundred dollars of 'seed funds' they would need to get their idea off the ground.
There was a bunch of writing to do - presentations, business plan, even team bios, and these students were stressed as they had to do it all on top of their regular school work (remember, they are in this program because they need all the help they can get to stay in school). My co-mentor and I were dismayed by their lack of enthusiasm - it seemed that they were just going through the motions and had lost their excitement, and we were hoping it would come back.
It sure did! All it took was practicing their 'elevator pitch' while meeting and greeting at a 'mock-tail' party and pitching to a VC who showed real interest and asked relevant questions. The team was floating after the presentation - they were thrilled that they could field questions on pricing and market surveys entirely on their own. And yes, they got their seed funds - this is modeled after the real world, but is a much more sheltered one after all, propped by generous donations.
Now that they're getting down to business, not just creating PowerPoints, the excitement is palpable, and they're very much fired up as in my 'fire in the belly' post. They're nervous, they have tons of questions, but they don't think they can fail - in fact, they believe they have already won, which is the most empowering feeling a teenager could have.
As someone who's cares about education, I'm happy to see how starting a business brings so much to these under-resourced teens: they're motivated to stay in school, they experience supportive relationships with successful adults who care, and they build the confidence they need to aspire to college and get there. As an entrepreneur, I'm thrilled that they're learning the fundamentals of business now and know that they will not be scared to start one if they had a mind to do so in the future. And the fact that I get to participate in this, however minor my role, is the scrumptious icing on the proverbial cake.
Channeling the inner entrepreneur who views life as a startup. Musings about people, their spirit, the startup ethos and the entrepreneurial attitude, with an emphasis on education and social ventures. The 'how-to'? Not so much. But definitely the why, the what and the whatever.
Dream of sea turtles
Last week I attended a cool gathering - a smallish group of people gathering over wine and munchies not just to network or socialize (that happens anyway), but to hear and discuss stuff outside of the regular work milieu. Kind of like the salons of a past century, but more oriented to ideas and trends than art and philosophy, though that would be cool too.
Last week's topic was 'Strategic Philanthropy' and there was a panel of leaders of different kinds of local successful non-profits. Each of them talked about what they do, why and how they do it, and how they're managing in the bog of the Great Recession. They were all very engaging, and provided fodder for some very interesting post-panel discussions, but I felt that one speech in particular had a strong entrepreneurial appeal and it's message was transferable to just about any endeavor.
Wallace J. Nichols, ('J'), is the director of Ocean Revolution, an international program using creative techniques to preserve our oceans. His was a very well-constructed pitch with high impact - started with a story, outlined a few key take-aways that he elaborated, and ended with audience participation and a very simple call to action with strong emotional appeal. Anyone looking for funds (for or non-profit) could learn from him. What I liked about his speech, was not just the delivery or the message of saving the oceans (a biggie), but his four guidelines for making things happen:
All of these are excellent reminders for any entrepreneur, and I believe the turtle story would be a great one for any young person wondering how to hold on to a dream. The closer was memorable too - J gave a blue marble to everyone in the room and told us that it was a symbol of the earth and to cherish it and pass it on to the next person who would benefit from it. To really understand the spirit behind the blue marbles, I recommend checking out his post here - it's an awesomely simple way to get across a big idea.
Last week's topic was 'Strategic Philanthropy' and there was a panel of leaders of different kinds of local successful non-profits. Each of them talked about what they do, why and how they do it, and how they're managing in the bog of the Great Recession. They were all very engaging, and provided fodder for some very interesting post-panel discussions, but I felt that one speech in particular had a strong entrepreneurial appeal and it's message was transferable to just about any endeavor.
Wallace J. Nichols, ('J'), is the director of Ocean Revolution, an international program using creative techniques to preserve our oceans. His was a very well-constructed pitch with high impact - started with a story, outlined a few key take-aways that he elaborated, and ended with audience participation and a very simple call to action with strong emotional appeal. Anyone looking for funds (for or non-profit) could learn from him. What I liked about his speech, was not just the delivery or the message of saving the oceans (a biggie), but his four guidelines for making things happen:
- Don't be afraid of the unconventional/radical/revolutionary
- Collaborate with others to make things happen
- Build networks actively
- Use networks to spread the word/do the work
All of these are excellent reminders for any entrepreneur, and I believe the turtle story would be a great one for any young person wondering how to hold on to a dream. The closer was memorable too - J gave a blue marble to everyone in the room and told us that it was a symbol of the earth and to cherish it and pass it on to the next person who would benefit from it. To really understand the spirit behind the blue marbles, I recommend checking out his post here - it's an awesomely simple way to get across a big idea.
Opportunities everywhere
This post has two parts: first a really messed up situation where rules collide with reality resulting in an unacceptable outcome and the second is about the opportunity this provides.
Last week there was an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about schools that have had their federal lunch funding withheld due to 'egregious' violations. You can read the whole story here, but here are some of the examples of what appear to be clueless bureaucracy:
The bureaucrats are not evil. They are trying to make sure that there are no abuses like kids being marked as having lunch when they didn't, or being forced in their food choices. All valid goals. And they have chosen the standard method of letting the 'consumer' make the choices and confirm the transaction - except that they forgot that the consumer here could be a distracted and overwhelmed six-year old. It appears that whole school lunch program, especially the free lunches, could be ineffective for older students too. As I have been mentoring teens recently, I learned that the ones who qualify for free lunches often do not want to get them as doing so requires 'special' handling, like picking up cards after an announcement on the PA system. High school is hard enough, and teenagers would rather starve than make their straitened circumstances visible to their peers.
Which brings me to the second part. This is a situation where the solution may benefit from some classic design focus, the kind many entrepreneurs bring to their products. There are many stakeholders here, federal agencies, state agencies, school districts, schools, staff etc., but ultimately there's only one goal - children need to given a healthy lunch. It needs to be such that it's easy and appropriate for the children first, and then one can add on all the accountability, auditability and other requirements to ensure fiscal and operational integrity.
Maybe this is an opportunity for a startup. It is entirely possible, with today's technology, to build something user (read 'kid') friendly, discreet (for the teens) and providing instantaneous and accurate reporting on usage. It could be a money-maker, given the number of schools that need to be served. Of course, it would help if VCs could be persuaded to invest in ventures outside the beaten path, or if someone would step up to some strategic philanthropy or mission-related investing. Most of all, it needs a passionate entrepreneur and a socially-minded one who'd love the idea of making it easier for kids to get lunch. Maybe the solution is already there - that would make a great follow up story.
Last week there was an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about schools that have had their federal lunch funding withheld due to 'egregious' violations. You can read the whole story here, but here are some of the examples of what appear to be clueless bureaucracy:
- No adult is allowed to hand a tray of food to a child, no matter how young the child.
- Teachers cannot handle the students lunch cards, or if they are more wired and have touch screens, they cannot touch the screen for a child, again no matter how young.
The bureaucrats are not evil. They are trying to make sure that there are no abuses like kids being marked as having lunch when they didn't, or being forced in their food choices. All valid goals. And they have chosen the standard method of letting the 'consumer' make the choices and confirm the transaction - except that they forgot that the consumer here could be a distracted and overwhelmed six-year old. It appears that whole school lunch program, especially the free lunches, could be ineffective for older students too. As I have been mentoring teens recently, I learned that the ones who qualify for free lunches often do not want to get them as doing so requires 'special' handling, like picking up cards after an announcement on the PA system. High school is hard enough, and teenagers would rather starve than make their straitened circumstances visible to their peers.
Which brings me to the second part. This is a situation where the solution may benefit from some classic design focus, the kind many entrepreneurs bring to their products. There are many stakeholders here, federal agencies, state agencies, school districts, schools, staff etc., but ultimately there's only one goal - children need to given a healthy lunch. It needs to be such that it's easy and appropriate for the children first, and then one can add on all the accountability, auditability and other requirements to ensure fiscal and operational integrity.
Maybe this is an opportunity for a startup. It is entirely possible, with today's technology, to build something user (read 'kid') friendly, discreet (for the teens) and providing instantaneous and accurate reporting on usage. It could be a money-maker, given the number of schools that need to be served. Of course, it would help if VCs could be persuaded to invest in ventures outside the beaten path, or if someone would step up to some strategic philanthropy or mission-related investing. Most of all, it needs a passionate entrepreneur and a socially-minded one who'd love the idea of making it easier for kids to get lunch. Maybe the solution is already there - that would make a great follow up story.
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