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I Am A Failure
Complete, 100% failure. OK, maybe more like 95%. But pretty damn complete. One of my “goals” this semester was to start a business, just as I ask my students to do. Inherent in that goal is also to...
View ArticleTo Structure or Not to Structure
In teaching entrepreneurship, there are many critical questions: 1. Can entrepreneurship be taught? 2. Should we be teaching skill set, mindset, or both? 3. What is an effective pedagogical approach?...
View ArticleThe Entrepreneurial Experience 2.0: The Next Iteration of My Class
In my class last semester, I put myself in the role of a student. It didn’t work in terms of traditional metrics – I didn’t really build anything, and I certainly didn’t sell anything. It was...
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Straight Outta Normal
Week 1 is in the books, and my students took the leap of faith! Let’s Get It On: Day 1 I had told the students before class started that on Monday to meet me in the little shopping district just off...
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Time to Launch
This week got a lot more serious. We did Justin Wilcox’ 60 Minutes to Launch as a class on Monday, and got goin on the Online Venture Challenge on Wednesday. Just Launch I have been a big fan of Justin...
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For a Good Cause
A Rough Start Last week started with a disappointment. We kicked off the Online Venture Challenge (OVC) portion of our course. I told the students that on Monday they could pitch me to be a member of...
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SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!
Act I: “No Sweat!” The students have been making more progress with their Online Venture Challenge projects. As a reminder, they have one month to make as much money as possible that they will then...
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I Have an Idea
Expose Students to “Real” People Last week we had wonderful visitors. It is critical for any student in any discipline to hear from people who actually DO what they are learning about. The professor...
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Where Do We Go From Here?
Missing In Action It’s been a whirlwind few weeks while I’ve been missing in action. TEDxNormal is quickly coming up, which I have been organizing for many months. My new venture, Legacy Out Loud, is...
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My Mess Got In The Way
Checking In This experiment this semester is a mess. Sometimes it’s a glorious mess. Sometimes it’s a nasty mess. For each student it is different, depending for the most part on how they engage with...
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A New Beginning All Over Again
My Big Questions What would you do? Read below and share your thoughts on what customer development I should do How can entrepreneurship classrooms be more authentic and scary? Here We Go Again: A New...
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I Like The Mess
My Big Questions How do you conduct customer problem interviews? Do simulations play a role in (true) experiential education? Customer Development is Messy Photo Credit: jope. via Compfight cc After...
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Nuts and Bolts: Entrepreneurship Education in Action
The Possibilities of Entrepreneurship Education I have recently had many inquiries from entrepreneurship educators about how I structure my class. Apparently, many think how I approach my classroom...
View ArticleDo Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
I have one last semester here at Illinois State University before beginning a new chapter as the John J. Kahl, Sr., Chair in Entrepreneurship at John Carroll University. As usual, I am working on...
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Problems, Assumptions, & Customers Oh My!
In my entrepreneurship class, I push students to start a business within the semester (evidenced by achieving authentic sales from strangers for something that they “created”). It is a scary landscape...
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How to Find Early Adopters
It is still amazing to me after working with hundreds of students and entrepreneurs for many years how quickly everyone wants to build solutions. I guess it makes sense – that is the “fun” part – but I...
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Two Stories Every Entrepreneurship Student Should Tell
An entrepreneur needs resources from others. Financial capital. Human capital. Social capital. Political capital. The easiest path to someone’s resources is a great story. After hammering away at...
View ArticleCan We Reinvent Education?
I have been experimenting and daydreaming for many years about how education could be better for students (and, by extension, for faculty like me). More engaging. More productive. More lasting. More...
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Entrepreneurship Educators Should Have (And Share) Entrepreneurship Journeys
I am a firm believer that educators should have practical experience in the subject matter they are teaching. Someone teaching nursing should be a practicing nurse. Someone teaching mathematics could...
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Entrepreneurship and the Art of the Pivot
In an entrepreneurship journey, knowing when to pivot is critical. Teaching students to know when to pivot is really hard. In this lean startup process, a pivot is “mak[ing] a structural course...
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