MS&E 178 The Spirit of Entrepreneurship

Spring 2015

Instructor: Toby Corey

CAs: Toby Espinosa, Juan Carlos Lopez

Homework Assignment Week 1

Due: midnight, Saturday 4/4, on the CourseWork Forum

Sean George ~ Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Invitae

Speaker on April 8, 2015

Required question:
1. What are you expecting from MS&E 178? What are you hoping to take away from
the course at the end of the quarter? Note: keep your answer brief and concrete.
Now select one of the questions below. If you do not like any of the questions, feel free
to address a topic of your own; just keep in mind that your essay must be relevant to
next weeks ETL speaker. Please remember there is a 250-word limit:
2. What does the notion of entrepreneurship mean to you? What does it take to be an
entrepreneur? Given Sean Georges career path and accomplishments, would you say
he is a successful entrepreneur?
3. Silicon Valley is known for career mobility, and many people experience highpowered careers with many moves between companies, and even industries. What
are the pros and cons of moving around vs. staying in one place and growing your
career? How much career mobility is too much? How do you know when it's the right
time to leave a company as opposed to staying and growing within it, particularly if
you are still successful there?