Tag Archives: mentoring

How Raleigh Can Learn From Chile

In the May issue of Entrepreneur Country, Joe Haslam of Stratemic Capital enlightens readers about the start-up scene in Chile. Most Americans know Chile for its rich produce, not its economic strength in South America, and definitely not for the ecosystem that has been created for entrepreneurship that is paying off handsomely.

Going back to the 1970s, Chile has taken a progressive stance on key economic decisions. Milton Friedman and a number of his associates from the University of Chicago inspired free market systems that have been customized by local conditions. Nicolas Shea and Vivek Wadhwa in the past decade have sought to make Chile a destination for entrepreneurship. Shea attended Stanford University and set about to do a Southern hemisphere version of Silicon Valley. Wadhwa challenged the start-up model of some groups who provide office space near a university and hope for something wonderful to happen. Instead, he advocates a people-centered approach:

To create a tech center like Silicon Valley, you need to first attract smart entrepreneurs from all over the world. Then you have to create entrepreneurial networks; instill a spirit of risk-taking and openness; and build mentoring systems. You also need to provide seed financing to start-ups. The money is easy; everything else requires a change in culture that usually takes decades.

Wadhwa and Shea launched Start-Up Chile at the beginning of 2011. Here’s the concept:

  1. Anyone from anywhere can apply
  2. Winners would be required to move to Santiago, Chile
  3. A one-year visa is provided to facilitate entrepreneurship
  4. $40,000 in seed capital is offered as a prize
  5. The Chilean government would NOT take an equity stake

When Haslam met with the director of Start-Up Chile and a representative from CORFO, the government agency tasked with improving competitiveness in global markets, he asked a lot of questions about how the program was put together. They admitted that bureaucracy had to give way in recognition of results.

  • The website for the contest received more attention than the official national tourism site. 
  • Visitors of the program spent about as much in tourism dollars as the awards themselves.
  • Well-known entrepreneurial icons are “dropping in” on the Chilean scene these days.
  • 1600 applications from 70 countries.
  • 220 foreign start-ups in Chile now, employing 180 locals and 143 abroad.
  • $8 million in VC money has been raised by the first batch of award winners.

Chile has realized some important economic development principles. Notably:

  1. Start-ups are a strong job creation tool.
  2. Large companies are more costly to attract and retain.
  3. Diverse populations experience economic growth.

Earlier this past week, we blogged about Pittsburgh’s Experienced Dreamer contest to attract entrepreneurs to town.  Whether the locale is Santiago, Pittsburgh, or Raleigh, the principles work. We need to do all that we can to foster entrepreneurship–it just may be the key to a healthier world economy!

On a purely local note, Innovate Raleigh has followed some of the steps in the blueprint. We need help from Raleigh Wake Economic Development, mentoring organizations like EntreDot, and fresh sources of seed capital. Additionally, more collaborative workspaces like some of the incubators in our area (Cary Innovation Center being an example) will help foster the natural network nurture necessary. We can do this–but it requires “all hands on deck!”

 

 

Fear Need Not Keep You From Success

 

As an entrepreneur, you must be able to stare fear in the face and be an overcomer. But how? Jaime Tardy (on http://www.under30ceo.com) interviews millionaires to find out how they successfully dealt with their own fears. Excerpts from her takeaways appear below:

You Don’t Have to Be Fearless

You don’t need to be fearless! You just need to overcome it just enough to take action in spite of it. Millionaire Frank McKinney, who calls himself a real estate daredevil and creates $30 million dollar dream homes, said this about fear:

‘Realize there is a force at work subconsciously in your mind that is tempting you to say no. That’s the primary difference between my career and most others, especially in real estate, that I don’t let the fear that is there stop me.’

Recognize the Fear

Before you can get past that fear, the first thing you need to do is recognize it. It’s very easy to ignore fear. If you have tried to recognize it yourself and can’t seem to make your head go there, ask a friend for help. Ask them to pay attention and see if they can figure out what fear you have, in general conversation or when they are asking you questions about it specifically. Getting to the root of that fear–and realizing it is there–is the first step!

Putting Your Fear in Perspective

One millionaire’s mentor shared a story to put fear in perspective about a woman who had her children kidnapped, and the kidnappers were going to kill her children. Now that is true fear. Most of the time in business we fear things that might come true. Or we have fear because we need to step out of our comfort zone and risk something. The next time you are feeling fear, replace it with feeling grateful that you don’t have a life or death situation. Your business risk is not life threatening for you or those you love. Bankruptcy is not life threatening. I’ve interviewed millionaires that lost it all and came back to succeed.

Action Item: Put Fear in Perspective

The next time you feel that fear, put it in perspective in your mind. Imagine how small your issue truly is in the world. It seems big to you right now, but it’s not as big as you think.

Lean on Your Mentors

Another great tip I’ve heard from many millionaires is to find a mentor. Mentors have been where you are and faced the fear you are facing. It’s easier to get past it with their support, and expertise. Armando Montelongo, host of Flip this House on A&E, said:

‘I had the question, Can I really do this? Can this really happen? Is this pie in the sky? But I looked to my mentors for advice and started doing exactly what they told me. It helped me to almost immediately overcome the fear.’

Action Item: Lean on Your Mentors

If you already have a mentor, be honest with them about your fear. They have probably heard it before. It might feel a little vulnerable at first, but that is a good thing.   If you don’t have a mentor yet, find one! You don’t have to pay for one either.

Taking Action with the Fear

It’s not the fear that is the problem; it’s the inactivity that is. So focus on just taking whatever action you need to take in spite of the fear. The inaction will end up costing you a lot more in the long run than the “safety” you received from not doing it. 

Action Item: Commit in Advance

One technique to use to get past your fear is to make it feel farther away. Look at your calendar and pick a date that seems like a far away date. It might be a month for you or even three months. It’s far enough away that it doesn’t seem that scary. But once you commit to it and tell others you will feel obligated to do it. You don’t want to look like a fool if you don’t do it! So you do it anyway, even with the fear. 

Action Item: Logically Counteract It

Another action item you can try is to logically counteract the fear. Imagine you are listening to a great friend of yours talk about their fear. What would you say to them?

Fear is natural in entrepreneurship. Learning how to face it and use it to your advantage is key to your success. Hope these tips help!

Want to Check Out Posh Raleigh?

(Reblogged from http://www.rediiraleigh.org):

Raleigh is a hotbed of fashion activity. Did you know that North Carolina State University (NCSU) has one of the best textile colleges in the world? Not to be outdone, NCSU’s College of Design has programs that help students become fashion designers. Both of these institutions graduate dozens and dozens of innovative fashion design professionals every year. Wow, what a resource we have to create some of the most highly educated and creative fashion design entrepreneurs.

You can meet many of these creative people in all the fashion venues around town, from downtown Raleigh, to Cameron Village, Crabtree Valley Mall, Triangle Town Center, North Hills and many other shopping centers. Next time you are in one of these places, take a look around and you will see them dispersed throughout these retail centers.

It is possible that you don’t know of all the fashion events that occur in our area. NCSU is the most current with its international fashion event held at the University, where some of the most influential fashion professionals are meeting and showing the latest fashion trends. Watch the blogs and news outlets for events like FashionSpark, Triangle Fashion Week, and Redress Raleigh. Look for the advertising of fashion events occurring throughout downtown Raleigh at restaurants and other venues. Hmmm, seems to be a fashion happening place.

Have you ever visited Cotton, Inc, Spoonflower or TC2 where new innovations in fashion as well as wonderful supportive resources that support the fashion community exist? Some of these are new, but others have been in town for over 30 years. Did you know that?

These and many other fashion facts are what EntreDot® found when it did its research to justify putting a fashion innovation center in downtown Raleigh. We found that Raleigh indeed has a fashion district but it just doesn’t look like the one in New York or Los Angeles. Of course it is much smaller. However, it is substantial, innovative and enthusiastic, but spread out all over town. That’s the way it is and probably always will be. So, we need to do some special things to tie it all together as a community, make it obvious that we are a fashion destination and celebrate the fact.

This is where REDii comes in. REDii is the first fashion design innovation center, and part of Innovate Raleigh’s innovation center concept. This will be one of many innovation centers supporting many industries that will be emerging throughout Raleigh. REDii will start the buzz about the fashion community in Raleigh, with much more to come.

Would you like to explore what REDii will be about? Come out to Solas on May 23 for a big Launch Party event. You are now invited; here’s the link–http://rediilaunchpartyfashion.eventbrite.com/

 

 

5 Ways ‘treps Maximize Mentor Feedback

 

Asking a mentor for feedback is a critical step in turning an idea into a successful business. Noted members of the Young Entrepreneur Council share how they feel ‘treps should make the best use of mentors below–

Draft a Summary

Entrepreneurs’ ideas are often most easily “felt” through passion and an intuitive belief that great potential awaits. When expressed verbally, however, the vision can be easily misunderstood. Avoid this by taking some time to write a concise, one-page Executive Summary that you can share with mentors you respect. This will ensure they understand your idea and offer relevant and quality feedback.

Kent Healy, The Uncommon Life

Time Is Valuable

If you’re in a mentoring relationship with someone who is also an entrepreneur, there is one thing that you both know is ridiculously valuable: time. Regardless of whether your next business venture is the greatest or worst idea you’ve ever had, keep the call focused to keep mentors in your life. Have an agenda and stick to it. You can make small talk later. Time is money; spend it wisely.

Sydney Owen, 3Ring Media

No Hesitation

While preparation is important in pitching a business idea to anyone, the best tip for asking a mentor for feedback is not to hesitate about it. Your mentors are there for you to bounce ideas off. Most mentors are thrilled when you come to them with questions or feedback solicitations, so don’t pause in engaging them in your project. They — and you — will be glad if you don’t wait.

Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.

One Small Step

They’re busy and smart, so treat them as such. Don’t ask for a long term commitment up front and don’t waste their time. Start with a short email with options you’ve thought of to a problem you are facing. Ask them to simply reply with which option they think is the best. Implement, thank them, and show them how their advice got you results.

Josh Shipp, JSP, Inc.

Ask For Specific Feedback

If you’ve chosen the right mentor, they have a wide body of expertise and experiences to draw on. Too many entrepreneurs present a lot of information to mentors and then ask something akin to, “What do you think about all this?” That gets nowhere. Better to have structured information and ask for specific feedback: “Is this key assumption realistic?” or “Is this an appropriate place to start?”

Charlie Gilkey, Productive Flourishing

 

NC Entrepreneurship On the Move

One of the best sources of information on entrepreneurship is the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity looks at demographic trends in start-up activity over a 15 year time period.

Key findings last year:

Age Groups:

Growth was highest among 45- to 54-year-olds, rising from 0.35 percent in 2010 to 0.37 percent in 2011. The youngest group (aged 20 to 34) also showed a slight increase. In contrast, the 35- to 44-year-old and 55- to 64-year-old groups experienced declines in entrepreneurial activity rates from 2010 to 2011. Contrastingly, the share of new 55- to 64-year-old entrepreneurs has risen from 14.3 percent in 1996 to 20.9 percent in 2011 due to an aging U.S. population.

Ethnic Groups:

The Latino share of all new entrepreneurs rose from a little more than 10 percent in 1996 to 22.9 percent in 2011, reflecting longer-term trends of rising entrepreneurship rates and a growing share of the U.S. population. The Asian share of new entrepreneurs also rose substantially from 1996 to 2011, but remains relatively small at 5.3 percent. The white share of new entrepreneurs declined during this time period, while the African American share increased slightly. Both immigrant and native-born entrepreneurial activity declined slightly in 2011; however, immigrants remained more than twice as likely to start new businesses as were the native-born.

Industry Groups:

By industry, construction had the highest entrepreneurial activity rate at 1.68 percent, continuing an upward trend over the past several years, followed by the services industry at 0.42 percent. The manufacturing startup rate was the lowest among all industries, with only 0.11 percent of non-business owners starting businesses per month during 2011.

In North Carolina, while we don’t have pinpoint data to break down the Kauffman numbers on a local basis, we can extrapolate their impact on our entrepreneurial scene. We should anticipate more 45-54 year olds to start businesses, a greater demand among non-Caucasians, and a rebound of construction start-ups to complement the steady flow of services businesses.

The Huffington Post reported last week that North Carolina is one of the top 10 states for startup hiring in 2011, based on the growth in the total number of jobs at start-ups. While there is definitely start-up activity in all regions of the state, outside of North Carolina the start-up scene around the Research Triangle Park area is best known. It seems all of the Triangle research universities are wanting to champion entrepreneurship and its healthy impact on the state and local economy. Duke University recently completed another Startup Challenge. NC State University hosted the Lulu Games competition as a part of its Entrepreneurship Initiative.

Over at UNC, in a massive research project conducted at the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, Ted Zoller highlighted the role of the dealmaker in assisting entrepreneurial ventures to reach their funding milestones. While the person who matches the entrepreneur with the funding source is critical for many life science and high technology ventures, not all start-ups are so capital intensive. What is a common need among businesses of all types is mentoring. Whether one is using something similar to the programs developed at MIT or a localized version, mentoring–coupled with community and education–is critical to successful business launches.