Faces of Entrepreneurship

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1 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Faces of Entrepreneurship Speaker Series and Website Toolkit This project is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA). It is a collaboration between Georgia Tech s Enterprise Innovation Institute and the Morehouse College Entrepreneurship Center. Prepared by Brandy Stanfield-Nagel Contact t: (404) th Street NW, Suite 3000 Atlanta, GA brandy.nagel@innovate.gatech.edu 0

2 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The speaker series was created to encourage college students to explore entrepreneurship. We highlight all the entrepreneurs in Atlanta, showing the variety of startups and the diversity of the founders. The website we created is simple and easy to replicate: facesofentrepreneurship.gatech.edu. We share this tool kit with you in hopes that you ll adapt the speaker series and the website to your campus or community. Background The Morehouse College Entrepreneurship Center had scheduled a series of talks on startups and entrepreneurship. The idea was to invite young entrepreneurs to speak to open up peer discussions about the choice to be an entrepreneur and the startup path. The ideal speakers would be students or recent graduates young entrepreneurs who would tell the personal side of their journey. The speaker series was launched at Morehouse in 2016 and students liked the speakers. So- the program continues to grow and we hope to share it with schools around the nation. Inspiration The name was inspired by a t-shirt worn by a young entrepreneur in Lueneburg, Germany. It said, Entrepreneurship has many faces. This is one of them. Acknowledgements Special thanks to Dr. Tiffany Bussey and Ms. Bonita Moore of Morehouse College Entrepreneurship Center for making a great idea happen. 1

3 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Setting up a speaker series: Decide on the dates and the venue. Every campus has a unique rhythm, so review the campus calendar and identify at least three possible dates. Once the venue is reserved for the dates, reach out to your potential speakers. The entrepreneur speaker series (Trep Talks) at Morehouse College focuses on young entrepreneurs in the Atlanta area. The speaker series at Georgia State University focuses on alums who are entrepreneurs. Your alumni services staff may have suggestions on people to invite. LinkedIn can help you identify local entrepreneurs, too. We had the best luck sending an invitation to the potential speakers four to six weeks in advance. The invitation should include a few important points: We d like to include you in our speaker series, where we ask entrepreneurs to share the good, the bad and the ugly. Your candor helps students make better decisions about the path they take following graduation. The speakers we ve hosted have delivered on our request they ve told the whole story, even the parts that seem mundane or trivial. The confirmation includes the following: Thanks for agreeing to speak for our first Trep Talk of the semester on this Thursday, August 24, Attached please find your confirmation letter which contains your instructions for accessing campus and a parking pass. Please arrive at 5:00 pm. The talk begins at 5:15 pm. Growing a Speaker Series: If you have an established speaker series and you want to expand it, consider the following: 1. Does your speaker roster reflect the student population? (i.e. gender, heritage, industry, interests, etc.) 2. Do students want speakers closer to their age? 3. Does your roster include a variety of business models? (B2B, B2C, non-profit, B Corps, etc.) 4. Does your roster include a variety of industries? (Manufacturing, service, etc.) 2

4 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Call for Speakers Part of the value of the speaker series is hearing from entrepreneurs who aren t on the speaker circuit yet. In many communities, we ve seen the same few entrepreneurs telling their story over and over. It s an unfair burden to place on them, the usual suspects. Recruiting new voices to tell new stories is an essential part of a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem. Here s some language to use when you put the call out over LinkedIn, Facebook and in local publications: Interested in telling your story? We d love to have you join our speaker series. We re looking for entrepreneurs of all kinds from different industries, backgrounds and with different talents. You must be willing to tell your story the good, the bad and the ugly. Your honesty helps other make better decisions. And you can expect some great questions from the audience. Still interested? Contact [ address] to join our roster of speakers. Here s some language to include in program announcements: We are looking for more entrepreneurs to showcase and for more stages for them, too. To be a speaker - or to set up a speaker series at your location please contact [person] at [phone numbers] or [ address]. 3

5 Promoting the Series to Students Promoting the event on campus with fliers or posters is essential. Here s sample promotional copy for an blast or a newsletter: The Morehouse College Entrepreneurship Center is proud to present the Trep Talk Speaker Series this semester. Our first session will be this Thursday, August 24th at 5:15 pm in the Walter Massey Leadership Center in Room 356. Trep Talks features young entrepreneurs under 30 years of age in a relaxed setting. This week's Trep Talk will feature Christian Zimmerman & Nate Washington, Co-Founders of Qoins, Inc. Intrigued? Reserve your seat for Thursday. Space is limited. [link to reservation management system.] The day of the event, send a reminder to the students via text or We re expecting you for Trep Talks session today at 5:15 p.m. Looking forward to meeting you in Room 356 in the Massey Leadership Building. 4

6 Creating a Web Resource for Your Community The format and structure of this website was created to be easy to adapt for any campus. The files are zipped and ready for you to open and use. To request the zipped files, please contact Brandy Nagel at brandy.nagel@innovate.gatech.edu. The Source EDA s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) leads the Regional Innovation Strategies Program to spur innovation capacity-building activities in regions across the nation. The program is authorized through the America COMPETES reauthorization Act of Among other initiatives, Georgia Tech proposed a plan to transfer knowledge and experience in developing university-fostered startup ecosystems to two university communities located in the downtown area of Atlanta: Georgia State University and the four private, Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) members of the Atlanta University Center: Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, and the Morehouse School of Medicine. Georgia Tech supports an exchange of best practices focused on the development of (a) student startup curriculum and clubs, (b) faculty commercialization programs, (c) accelerators, and (d) incubators. 5

7 Sample pages from facesofentrepreneurship.gatech.edu Website Tips: Here are some Search Engine Optimization keywords to consider: Inclusive Diversity Under-represented Minority Female Startups Entrepreneurship 6

8 Sample Profile A good profile includes a great photo, a brief description and links to the speaker s website or LinkedIn profile. 7

9 Sample profile The tags used on each profile feed into the tag cloud on right side of the page. This makes it easier for a person planning a speaker series to find the right candidates. 8

10 Sample profile In Atlanta we are fortunate to have so many entrepreneurs who are willing to tell their story. Students seem to be engaged in hearing the whole story. Speaker often have ten or more students lined up to talk with them when the session concludes. 9