CLUBS

Unleash your inner entrepreneur

Introduction
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Agenda

• Club Objective & Logistics

• Myths of Entrepreneurship
• Marshmallow Activity
• Debrief
• Course Overview

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Club Objective

Is NOT:
• A business plan contest.

Is:
• Learning-by-doing.
• A platform for you to create an idea and make it real.
 Take action,
 Learn from the results, and
 Make changes to improve your chances of success.

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Launch Culture

Principles of the Launch community:

• Respect the learning environment.
• Challenge yourself and your assumptions about the way things “should” work.
• Speak up – participate during discussions and use the network.
• Collaborate – within your team and the community of other teams.

How to make the most of your time and this experience:

• Innovate - Ask, “How might we?”
• Planning - Differentiate between “need to have” and “nice to have.”
• Executing - Perfect is the enemy of done.

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Logistics to start

• Platforms
 Join the MIT Launch Clubs Facebook group!
• Platform to engage in meaningful conversation with young
entrepreneurs from all over the world
• Share ideas, provide feedback, post interesting videos/articles
• This is NOT a platform to self promote or to sell your products
• Be respectful of others in our community at all times
 MIT Launch Clubs website
• www.mitlaunchclubs.com

• Feedback
 We’ll ask for it along the way via Survey Monkey polls to ensure this club is
serving your needs. Please give us feedback!

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Club schedule overview

Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

Mentorship and
pitch event for
Submit elevator finalists at MIT
pitch video

Submit video pitches

Kickoff to qualify for finals

Assess
Introduction, Develop Operations,
need,
foundation, customers, financials,
offering fit,
and ideation prototype pitches
and strategy

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Discussion Prompt:

1. Who is an Entrepreneur?
2. Who are some examples of entrepreneurs and what are the qualities that make
them successful entrepreneurs?
3. Is entrepreneurship something that can be taught?
4. What reasons are there to start something earlier rather than later?
5. What makes a good idea?

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What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?

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Ideation + Business Process + Professional Development

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The
Marshmallow
Challenge

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The Challenge

+ + +

20 sticks of spaghetti 1 yard of tape 1 yard of string one marshmallow

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Team reflections

How did your team work together? How did you determine who did what?

If given another chance to try, how would you adjust your process? What would you keep the
same?

Is there anything that kept you from working more efficiently / effectively? (Either keeping the
tower up at the end, or from making it taller?)

Given your experience, how do you think this exercise connects to entrepreneurship?

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START 18
Minutes
Orient Plan Build Ta-Da!

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Business
Students

Kindergarten
Students

START 18
Minutes
Orient Plan Build Ta-Da!

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START 18
Minutes
Orient Plan Build Oh-Oh!

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40
Specialized Skills
+ Facilitation Skills
= Success
30

20

10

0
Height Average Business School Lawyers Kindergarten Architects & CEOs CEOs &
(cm) Students Engineers Executive Admins

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Lesson 1:

Prototyping
Matters
Test assumptions early and often

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Prototype

Refine
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Lesson 2:

Diverse Skills
Matter
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Overview of Key Lessons

 Prototyping
• Test your assumptions early and often
• Allow opportunities for growth… a “product
roadmap”
 Teaming
• Diverse skills matter
• Specialized skills are helpful

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“Homework”

Fill out the Entrepreneurial Profile Form via Qulatrics

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