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Starting up at Stanford

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Jason Shen
Jason Shen

A presentation I gave the Asia-Pacific Students Entrepreneurship Society event on entrepreneurship at Stanford. Nov 17th 2008. www.gumballcapital.org

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Starting up at Stanford Stories and lessons from Gumball Capital Jason Shen - Executive Director Tuesday, November 18, 2008
what you’ll get today who we are our journey in starting up lessons from from the road lots of q&a Tuesday, November 18, 2008
who we are Gumball Capital a Stanford-based nonprofit that engages students to fight poverty through entrepreneurship Tuesday, November 18, 2008
who we are An entrepreneurial competition where student teams raise awareness and funds for microfinance Tuesday, November 18, 2008
who we are Gumball Fund A revolving fund which makes microloans to entrepreneurs in developing nations through Kiva Gumball University An online portal for people to learn more about microfinance, social-e and starting a venture Tuesday, November 18, 2008
our journey Caveats: nonprofit student-run not primarily tech based Your path may differ, but the themes will be similar! Tuesday, November 18, 2008
the e-week challenge Entered and won Stanford’s 2007 Entrepreneurship Week Challenge Raised 3k in 3 days in pledges for microfinance Tuesday, November 18, 2008
the e-week challenge Stanford Resources the competition itself supportive students and faculty Lesson Learned Never, ever doubt the power of passionate people faced with limited time and resource constraints Tuesday, November 18, 2008
exploring possibilities Decided to explore ways of continuing what we started Struggled to define the driving purpose of our organization Tuesday, November 18, 2008
exploring possibilities Stanford Resources courses on social-e and starting a venture GSB students with skills and experience Lessons Learned Make sure everyone is passionate about the same vision Focus your initial action plan to target a specific problem/area/customer Tuesday, November 18, 2008
launching the challenge Late summer - decided to run an entrepreneurial microfinance benefit competition Two students took the quarter off to coordinate the work Tuesday, November 18, 2008
launching challenge Stanford Resources flexibility of school for leaves of absence helpful and high-caliber people at Stanford Lesson Learned Talk to lots and lots of people about your idea and find a mentor to guide your efforts Executing is imperative! Make sure you get the right stuff done by the right time. Tuesday, November 18, 2008
fear and uncertainty After challenge some members were burned out and needed a break Unclear who would lead the group and whether we should continue at all Tuesday, November 18, 2008
fear and uncertainty Stanford Resources not many... perhaps a detriment Lessons Learned Learn to delegate (easy to say!) responsibilities Passion is what keeps you going Accept that there is ALWAYS fear and uncertainty when you start something new Tuesday, November 18, 2008
clarity and commitment We finally clarified what we were trying to do and who would take the lead. People are more likely to get involved in something they understand. Tuesday, November 18, 2008
clarity and commitment Stanford Resources BASES Social E-Challenge Freshmen! Lessons Learned When you finally “get” what you are doing, it makes work much easier To collaborate better - understand the strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your team Tuesday, November 18, 2008
where we are today Launching Gumball University (gumballuniversity.org) Building Board of Directors 3-5 year planning Tuesday, November 18, 2008
suggested reading The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki (he also has a new book - Reality Check) The Dip by Seth Godin (also has a new book - Tribes) Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston (ALSO should be coming out with sequel soon) Tuesday, November 18, 2008
where we are today Questions? Tuesday, November 18, 2008
contact info Jason Shen Gumball Capital Executive Director jason@gumballcapital.org 617.538.3678 Tuesday, November 18, 2008

More Related Content

Starting up at Stanford

  • 1. Starting up at Stanford Stories and lessons from Gumball Capital Jason Shen - Executive Director Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 2. what you’ll get today who we are our journey in starting up lessons from from the road lots of q&a Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 3. who we are Gumball Capital a Stanford-based nonprofit that engages students to fight poverty through entrepreneurship Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 4. who we are An entrepreneurial competition where student teams raise awareness and funds for microfinance Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 5. who we are Gumball Fund A revolving fund which makes microloans to entrepreneurs in developing nations through Kiva Gumball University An online portal for people to learn more about microfinance, social-e and starting a venture Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 6. our journey Caveats: nonprofit student-run not primarily tech based Your path may differ, but the themes will be similar! Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 7. the e-week challenge Entered and won Stanford’s 2007 Entrepreneurship Week Challenge Raised 3k in 3 days in pledges for microfinance Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 8. the e-week challenge Stanford Resources the competition itself supportive students and faculty Lesson Learned Never, ever doubt the power of passionate people faced with limited time and resource constraints Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 9. exploring possibilities Decided to explore ways of continuing what we started Struggled to define the driving purpose of our organization Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 10. exploring possibilities Stanford Resources courses on social-e and starting a venture GSB students with skills and experience Lessons Learned Make sure everyone is passionate about the same vision Focus your initial action plan to target a specific problem/area/customer Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 11. launching the challenge Late summer - decided to run an entrepreneurial microfinance benefit competition Two students took the quarter off to coordinate the work Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 12. launching challenge Stanford Resources flexibility of school for leaves of absence helpful and high-caliber people at Stanford Lesson Learned Talk to lots and lots of people about your idea and find a mentor to guide your efforts Executing is imperative! Make sure you get the right stuff done by the right time. Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 13. fear and uncertainty After challenge some members were burned out and needed a break Unclear who would lead the group and whether we should continue at all Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 14. fear and uncertainty Stanford Resources not many... perhaps a detriment Lessons Learned Learn to delegate (easy to say!) responsibilities Passion is what keeps you going Accept that there is ALWAYS fear and uncertainty when you start something new Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 15. clarity and commitment We finally clarified what we were trying to do and who would take the lead. People are more likely to get involved in something they understand. Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 16. clarity and commitment Stanford Resources BASES Social E-Challenge Freshmen! Lessons Learned When you finally “get” what you are doing, it makes work much easier To collaborate better - understand the strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your team Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 17. where we are today Launching Gumball University (gumballuniversity.org) Building Board of Directors 3-5 year planning Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 18. suggested reading The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki (he also has a new book - Reality Check) The Dip by Seth Godin (also has a new book - Tribes) Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston (ALSO should be coming out with sequel soon) Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 19. where we are today Questions? Tuesday, November 18, 2008
  • 20. contact info Jason Shen Gumball Capital Executive Director jason@gumballcapital.org 617.538.3678 Tuesday, November 18, 2008