A few weeks ago, from January 2nd-6th, 85+ students from my class attended the 2010 Entrepreneurship and Innovation (E&I) Silicon Valley Study Tour. This was a mandatory trip for all of the students in the E&I program at MIT, one which proved to be a great learning experience. For me, it was the best experience at MIT Sloan so far, and I feel a number of other classmates agree.
We were led by MIT Entrepreneurship Center acting director Bill Aulet. Everyone at MIT should meet Bill Aulet. The guy is hilarious, self-effacing, and at the same time brilliant. His wisdom throughout the trip will not be forgotten. Some of it is listed below.
The trip began with a group of us going paintballing. It was my first time, and I have to say it was excellent. Great bonding experience. Afterwards we spent an afternoon at Thomas Fogarty Winery, hearing from some great speakers like Gokul Rajaram (created Google's business model... pretty good, I guess!), Rich Wong of Accel Partners (a really smart and just plain nice VC),and Hap Klopp (founder of the North Face). Hap was really cool. He talked about how North Face and his other companies have all "turned the arrow back", meaning, when all other companies in the industry are going one way (i.e. standardization, commoditization, etc.) he goes the other way and makes a unique, innovative product. Pretty cool.
The next three days were spent on numerous visits to start-up companies around the area. It was extremely refreshing to meet entrepreneurs in the midst of their careers, many fighting for the life of their company. All semester we heard from entrepreneurs who achieved great success. While it was great to hear their stories and anecdotes, and there was certainly a lot to learn from each of them, it was somewhat tiresome to hear only success stories. A number of the companies that we visited were running out of money, or struggling to redefine themselves in a tough market. Talking to the founders/CEOs gave a great window into the actual life of an entrepreneur. This was much more meaningful.
More than anything, the trip was about meeting people. We had events every night with alumni, or Stanford/Berkeley students, and even managed to squeeze some time in for the MIT E&I group to have some fun together. The highlight was a night of Karaoke, starring Sloanie Jeff Zira rapping to "California Love" by Tupac, in homage to the "East Meets West" theme of the trip. I felt that I knew most of the 85 students in the class before the trip, but was amazed at how many people I did not know. In addition, I really got to know many of them well, which is extremely important to me.
Finally, some thoughts about what I learned from the trip. Take it or leave it.
- Networking is a team sport. I have never considered myself a great “networker”. It usually conjures up images of disingenuous schmoozing, instead of meaningful dialogue. However, this trip was an excellent example of the power of using existing contacts to really expand your network, and to make it more meaningful. Meeting people together with a “wingman”, or introducing two people together with similar interests were great ways to network and make meaningful connections.
- Take advantage of the MIT community. I definitely learned the power of the MIT community that I am now a part of. I need to continue to use this, and also give back to it. Alumni and others in the MIT community are usually very likely to help us out if we just ask for it. The key is to ask for it (respectfully of course) and then to give back to them when I can. As Bill Aulet said, the final question you should always ask is “so, what can I do for you?”
- Build your personal brand. It was beat into our heads during the entire trip that we must always be aware that we have a personal brand and it is important to be aware of this. Whether it is in our interactions with others or in our “digital profile” online, it is important to manage this and build it in the way we want.
- Every path is different. Throughout the semester and during this trip especially, I have been amazed at the diverse stories of all of the successful entrepreneurs we have heard from. No two paths are alike, and in fact most are completely different. This is encouraging to me, and teaches me to just do what I enjoy doing, and make decisions as they come to me, and trust that any path I take could lead to success.
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