A popular quote we use in startup land is “It’s all about the team”. If you were like me when I first started out you probably didn’t fully comprehend how important this phrase really is. Years later I’ve come to see how the “right team” can turn something good into something truly amazing while the…
Today, Walt Haverstein, the CEO of SAIC co-lectured at University of Michigan’s Entrepreneurial Ownership course (ENGR 490.005). Walt shared the duty and case study review with Mary Ann Beyster, President of the Foundation for Enterprise Development and the daughter of SAIC’s founder, Dr. Beyster. This was a great opportunity for our students to see how…
“What are the key priorities you need to focus on when you launch a new startup,” is a question that I asked the students in my Entrepreneurial Discussion Group class on Friday afternoon. “Don’t answer,” I told them, “just think about it for a moment then let’s try this exercise before you answer.” I’ve done…
In a few weeks we are going to be taking 25 entrepreneurial students to New York City and another 50 students to the Bay Area. The purpose for these trips is to both help these students move their business ideas forward and, more importantly, to build their entrepreneurial networks! As Armando Pauker, General Partner at…
Last Friday, September 10, we had three sets of entrepreneurs from Traverse City, Michigan, present their stories to 350 students enrolled in our Entrepreneurship Hour speaker series at the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering. This speaker series is sponsored by the Center for Entrepreneurship and MPowered. Wendy and Rick Steele, founders of Tape Wranglers…
As I was sitting down to write about popular distractions that entrepreneurs run into on a regular basis, I remembered a presentation that I saw by a Microsoft manager in the early 90s. This guy is a very successful author and manager and did a great job in his presentation, but it was the comment…
When I graduated college and went to work as a software programmer at a large company in Silicon Valley, I remember how excited I was to be working with some of the best engineers in the industry. The creativity, intensity, and precision that everyone brought to their work was inspiring and I was amazed at…
I was watching a presentation by some student entrepreneurs a few weeks ago and enjoying the creativity and unique approaches each student was presenting. It was about 5 minutes into a 20 minute presentation by one student team when it happened… the student had just explained the basic product offering and then immediately went on…
The CFE social venture creation class today delivered their final class presentations. Great job to everyone that presented and thanks to everyone that attended! Mobile Blogging from here. Congrats to the winner – Get Fresh Detroit! [Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]
I often tell people that I’m not a fan of the word Entrepreneurship… it’s too hard to type, too hard to say and it means so many different things! So, at U-M and the Center for Entrepreneurship, we spend quite a bit of effort trying to break down that word into meaningful elements and help…
Doug Neal 