Learnings out of Entrepreneurship course

Today I finished a course on Entrepreneurship and Venture Creation at MBS. Over the last 12 weeks there were a lot of opportunities to learn. I worked in a syndicate with very energetic and passionate members and there were quite a few lessons which I learned about this process.

Team Building: This is a very important part of any startup. You need to have a committed and passionate team but at the same time think about experience. All other things equal I will choose team members who have relevant industry and technology experience. It does make a hell lot of difference. No doubt you have to be a good team members but experience is the element which will determine the success of your team. So my first lesson is to identify the right people for your team.

Disagreements: This is part of dealing with any situation where there is no right or wrong answer. Every team member will have his or her own opinion. Key is to realise that disagreements provide an opportunity to think differently. It is also important for team members to express disagreements openly. It is possible that the dissenting team member has a unique observation which others don’t have.

Dealing with Ambiguity: Entrepreneurship is journey fraught with uncertainties and ambiguities. Often you find yourself with situations where there is no right or wrong answer but at the same time you have to make a decision to move forward.

Opportunity Focus: This start with understanding the pain of your customers, talking to them and understanding how to lessen this pain. If you find a solution which can address a pain of a sizeable market then you have got an opportunity in hand.

Ethnographic Research: We used this research technique a lot by talking to our target market and understanding what they wanted. Based upon these discussions we refined our ideas several times.

Overall this course and the way it was structured provided a strong practical learning environment.