MIT 100K Elevator Pitch Contest: A Lesson in Awesome

October 30, 2009

What has a roaring crowd complete with thunder sticks,  a set of hosts in costume, a dancing spaceman and people talking about everything from backless labels to prostate cancer?  No, it’s not the World Series and your average night of commercials. It’s the MIT 100k, where they set the gold standard for awesome.

When I arrived, the event was already in full swing.  As I walked into the auditorium I was hit with an incredible ball of energy; you could feel the excitement and enthusiasm of the crowd and participants. There was also a very entertaining host (dancing spaceman = good, microwave pitch = not so much) and tons of awesome elevator pitches. Where else can you go and hear someone talk about Indiana Jones, prostates and impotence and get multiple laughs, all in under a minute?

To me, the lesson in this is simple: be awesome.  MIT could have had a standard, bland event with limited sound production (sans the Star Trek sound effects), hosts in (regular, not space) suits and a reserved (thunderstick-less) audience.  That would have produced a solid event, with interesting pitches.  Instead, they dialed it  up to an “11″ and went all out to entertain and energize everyone in the room.  This is how you get people excited about entrepreneurship.  This is how you make people say “wow. I wish I had pitched” and realize that entrepreneurship can be as cool as sports.

Cheers, MIT100K team. Awesome event.  Looking forward to future events.

1 Comment | Concepts, Education, entrepreneurship, Events, Leadership | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Jason Evanish

The Young Entrepreneur’s Guide, Part I: Starting from Scratch

October 29, 2009

Many people have written tips, guides and questions for aspiring entrepreneurs.  Many of them are excellent, but I don’t think anyone has captured the essence of the stages a young entrepreneur goes through and specific advice for what they should do at each stage.  As part of our efforts at GreenhornConnect.com, we want to create a central location that provides the information that an aspiring entrepreneur needs to go from starting out (Is this for me? What should I do?) to evaluating an idea (What goes into a business plan? How do I build a team?)  to being a real business (Do I need investment? What tools should I use?).

In the coming weeks, I’ll be writing different sections of this guide in my blog, pulling from my experiences, what I’ve read and advice I’ve heard from others. If you read this and think something is missing or disagree with any of the advice, please comment; I want this to be the best guide possible and will gladly give you credit for your contribution. Thanks.

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PART I: Starting from Scratch
You recently had the epiphany you want to be an entrepreneur, but really haven’t gotten started yet.  Here’s what to do…

1) Is this for You?

When you first decide you are really interested in entrepreneurship, the key is to get informed.  It’s easy to say you love startups, but it’s another thing to truly understand what you’re saying.  The best way to determine if it is for you is to start reading.  Read inspirational articles written by entrepreneurs like Ken Morse, Paul Graham and Mark Cuban.  Still interested? Talk to family and friends and try to find people who are entrepreneurs that you can talk to about what it’s like.  After hearing about all the challenges, long hours and risk of failure, if you still want to be an entrepreneur, read on…

2) Try EVERYTHING…Be Curious

A key trait of being an entrepreneur is a desire to learn. When you’re getting started, you should try to take in everything you can to learn about different types of startups and roles you can fill in a startup.  Fill your Google Reader with industries you’re interested in and blogs in areas you want to learn more about.  You don’t have to read every article, just the ones that interest you; simply reading the headlines of the other articles can help you to grasp where different industries are technologically.  There are also great websites, magazines, books, and presentations you can check out.  Ask other entrepreneurs what they read.  Add what you like to your list and leave the rest.

3) Overwhelmed? Don’t know where to start?

If you really need a few starting points, here’s a few sites, blogs and items I personally like best (note: This is somewhat Boston biased, because that’s where I live. Find things in your area to get a view of your local entrepreneurship scene):

Websites:  TechCrunch, Venture Beat, Silicon Alley, Gizmodo, Xconomy
Blogs: OnStartups, Innovation Economy, Startup Lessons Learned
Magazines: Inc Magazine, Popular Science, Technology Review

The takeaway from this is not to copy me; instead, notice the diversity. There are newspapers, tech focused media, business sources and established entrepreneur blogs.  The idea is to get as many perspectives as you can. Try to build a similar list based on your passions and location.

4) Study those you Admire

As you immerse yourself in all of this entrepreneurial content, you’ll start to find certain personalities and businesses keep coming up.  Find the ones that resonate most with you and follow them more closely. If the founder of the company has a blog, read it. If they have a book, buy it. If they’re going to be speaking and you have a chance to see them live or on video, watch it. And if you are fortunate enough to have the chance to sit down with them, make the most of it.  Focus on how they got where they are. Learn from their mistakes and try to understand what made them successful and emulate that.

Still in love with entrepreneurship after starting the learning process?

Now Available: Part II: Getting Out There
See Also: Part III: Building a Reputation, Network and Following & Part IV: Working on Your Idea


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This is ongoing series to try to build a comprehensive, lasting guide for aspiring entrepreneurs. I would greatly appreciate any input in the comments below to make this the best it can be.  Thanks!

12 Comments | entrepreneurship, Leadership, Resources, Young Entrepreneurs | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Jason Evanish

What is the Future of Marketing?

October 26, 2009

Today, I attended the “Marketing Your Way to Success” event presented by the city of Boston and the Boston Redevelopment Authority.  The event was all about the way social media is changing the way you market your business.  During the first presentation, the presenter, Adele Polis, shared the following video that really hit home this premise:

This video really shows the power of social media and does a great job of showing any “non-believers” why they need to wake up and embrace it.

The more and more I think about it, the question isn’t “Is Social Media the Future?” but “What will happen when the majority embrace Social Media (aka- inbound) Marketing?” Right now, I think the “early majority” is becoming aware of catch-phrases like “SEO” and starting to try out social media for marketing. Do the rules of crossing the chasm apply? How will we handle that much content when we’re already scanning headlines and skimming articles today? Will the web support this level of activity? What lengths will people go to to be heard? Email is already a much harder way to reach people (open rates are very low).  Will people start heavily filtering (and rejecting) content in other mediums as well?  I believe there will be a new “survival of the fittest” where only the clever and dedicated survive and are heard.

What do you see in the future in marketing? How do you see the rules changing as more and more people adopt this method?

3 Comments | Concepts, entrepreneurship | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Jason Evanish

WorkBar Boston: Putting the “Community” in Community Workspace

October 21, 2009

WorkBar Boston is a great workspace on South Street in downtown Boston. With two available conference rooms, a mix of open workspace and cubicles, free coffee, free wifi and a number of other amenities, they provide everything a small company needs to step out of the home office.   There are quite a few workspaces in the area, but WorkBar goes a step above the rest with their community efforts.

From Yoga to Viral Marketing and Pokin’ Holes to Art Galleries, WorkBar is hosting a wide array of events.  As a young entrepreneur, it’s great to have such an easy to reach location with such diverse offerings.  All of the events I have attended have been free, and the crowds always vary.  These efforts are turning WorkBar into more than a workspace; they’re a key part of the small business community and certainly are recognized by those that enjoy the evening events.

Last night, I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the co-founders of WorkBar.  Despite all the amenities they provide and the events they host, he still wants to do more. He wants to try to build an even stronger community, especially during the workday.  This is no easy task, as people often like to get in their zone and tune out the world, but he still wants to try.   This is both admirable and sets WorkBar apart from other workspaces.

When looking for affordable workspace, there may be a number of options in Boston and Cambridge, but WorkBar is leading the way in making those spaces more than a place to hold a meeting and get work done.  WorkBar Boston puts the “community” in community workspace.

5 Comments | entrepreneurship, Events, Resources | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Jason Evanish

Tech Addiction: What it means to ask what we’ll give up…

October 20, 2009

I just came across the following article from Mashable on a study for Gen Y.  The premise is asking Gen Y members, “Of the activities listed here, which one would you least like to give up for a week?”  I’ve copied the results here:

Gen Y: Of the activities listed here, which one would you least like to give up for a week?

Gen Y: “Of the activities listed here, which one would you least like to give up for a week?”

To me, this is an exercise in common sense. If you simply understand what Gen Y people use each for, it all adds up.  Number one on the list was Emailing, which is not surprising. It’s the hub of everything we do personally and professionally. You can’t do your job, contact your friends or do the most basic free communication without email.  It’s at the core of what you do. Text messaging isn’t far behind, because of again, how we use it.  Setting up to go places, Gen Y people rarely use the phone.  It’s quicker to just say it in a text where you are, where you’re going or just say something quick to a friend…it’s like a DM on Twitter.  When you’re at a noisy bar or in a meeting, you can’t take a phone call, but you can text to share information.  Take away texting, and things would get a lot harder.  The rest are a smattering of our personal interests.  For some, not having TV to watch would leave them bored when they aren’t working. For others, web surfing is a core part of their day.  All that’s left to understand then is the “Visiting Social Networking Websites”…

The reason we use social networks is because it adds value to our lives. Whether you plan your party or are just making a new connection on Facebook, it makes your social life easier and more robust.  Our parents got by on land line phones and handwritten notes.  Social networks are just the furthest down the line in “convenience we need most.”  It’s no different than a survey asking “What food would you least give up?”  Sure some people are chocoholics, but in the end, it’s your “meat and potatoes” (email and text) core of your diet you can’t give up.  That doesn’t mean you don’t love your chocolate (social networks and TV) or that cocoa farmers have anything to worry about…it just means you have a logical priority level.  I’d actually be concerned if more people thought they needed email, phone calls and texts less than their social networks.

I’m glad someone did a study to confirm the obvious.  Our government commissions a lot of those too.

Leave a Comment » | Life | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Jason Evanish

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