Fireside Chat

The first Fireside Chat of the semester began with an engaging conversation with Waste Industries CEO Ven Poole (bottom picture) and serial entrepreneur Donnie Goins (top picture). The goal of the Fireside Chats is to provide a select group of students with a richer small group conversation with industry professionals. Ven Poole was the first speaker of the evening, sharing his path from engineering to entrepreneurship and his final role as CEO. He answered questions about future trends he foresees in the waste industry, as well as what experiences he likes and dislikes as CEO. As CEO he prefers the strategy side more than the notoriety and public speaking half. His number one tip for students was: "Find a mentor in whatever it is you choose to do." He remarked how having a sounding board for decisions or advice would benefit us in the long run. Donnie Goins shared his story through an attempt to "connect the dots" of his life. From the young age of 6 years old, selling Pringles to classmates, to his current incorporated venture; his "dots" described entrepreneurial and career experiences along the way. Goins says to remember where you came from, who you met and what you learned from your "dots." Then, he advised go share your "connection" with other people and to be able to sell yourself before an idea. The chat was an intimate conversation with two influential men from opposite sides of the track career wise. Yet, they share an affinity for entrepreneurship, mentoring, and networking. Both men are also board members for the Entrepreneurship Initiative and are dedicated to encouraging innovation! The next Fireside Chat will be October 22, 2012.

SNG: Social Entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship was the topic of the September 13 Student Network Group meeting. The Garage was filled with new and old faces eager to discuss this complex, yet exciting topic. There were several guest speakers in attendance at the meeting: Kevin Miller, Sonia Chokshi, Keegan Guizard, Owen Jordan, Eloy Chavez, Hunter Igris and Sarah Miller. Kevin Miller started the evening with a "Rock, Paper, Scissors Showdown" activity that encouraged the participation of all members in attendance to compete until there were two final contenders and one winner. It was a great ice breaker to shake up the meeting. Miller then spoke about his internship experience at the Unreasonable Institute this past summer. He had the opportunity to live with fellow entrepreneurs and be a major part of their idea creation or implementation. He also shared some of the entrepreneurs' exciting venture ideas and successes! Sonia Chokshi came from Boston to speak about her company Kip Solutions, and challenged us to tackle whatever obstacles were holding us back from our dream jobs. Keegan Guizard spoke about his passion for skateboarding and the bad reputation that it tends to carry with it. He wants the opportunity to encourage colleges and universities to help support skating teams and keep skaters in school pursuing their education and their sport before going pro. Guizard created the club team NC Skate here at State and has begun his entrepreneurial journey. Owen Jordan spoke of his passion to help orphaned children around the world through his organization called RESQD. He explained the difficulty with creating the right entrepreneurial plan to tackle the social issue of nurturing orphaned children and inspiring their success in the world. Jordan channels his inspiration from Blake Mycoskie, creator of Toms Shoes. Eloy Chavez, spoke about his efforts to bring homemade candles from South America to the United States. Hunter Isgris spoke of he and Miller's efforts to create closer community relations with their organization Que lo Que in South America as well.  Finally, Sarah Miller spoke to the group about her organization, Nourish International, which looks at nutritional issues like world hunger.  Her organization is interested in supporting university groups that want to hold events to raise awareness for Nourish Int'l and the issue it supports. In the past, NC State held a pancake event in the Brickyard to support the cause but the inspiration has worn off a bit, and she is hoping to re-energize the campaign through the students involved in entrepreneurship! The evening ended with networking and socializing among the members in attendance. Check out the video of the meeting below and please join us at the next one!

A Founders Resolve

An interesting article was published online on Inc.com Monday, September 10. The article was entitled "I Never Wanted to Be an Entrepreneur." The article highlights the success of Jack Dorsey, the "mastermind" behind Twitter and Square. He challenges the idea that there is only one founding moment for a company; much like a bride tries to find the "one" perfect wedding dress. Instead, Dorsey claims that with changing leadership and new successes, a company can experience multiple founding moments. "A founder is not a job. It's an attitude, it's a role, it's an idea that can happen again and again and again," said Dorsey. 

His parting words for the audience at the Tech Crunch event were:

"You don't have to start from scratch to do something interesting, to do something worthwhile in the world. Twitter was not started because we wanted to start a company. It started out of a failed company. Pick a movement, pick a revolution, and join it. Pick something you believe in, that you want to make an impact in, and then question everything inside those companies or movements."

Student Networking Group

Looking to connect or network with other students interested in Entrepreneurship? Join the Entrepreneurship Initiative Student Network! It's a student led group that works to spread entrepreneurial thinking and activity throughout the campus.  Check out http://ei.ncsu.edu/ for meeting details. 

Welcome back Wolfpack!

"The NCSU Entrepreneurship Initiative is back in action for the 2013 school year! We have added this blog as part of our efforts to share the student experience with all members of our community. The blog will focus on events, creativity, and ideas on campus and around Raleigh. As the writer/creator of this blog I am pleased to become a more involved member of this exciting and growing initiative here at NC State. My name is Gillian Tremblay, I am a senior at State studying supply chain-logistics in the Poole College of Management. I became involved with the Entrepreneurship Initiative through one of courses offered on campus in the fall of 2011; I then was awarded the opportunity to attend the Silicon Valley spring break 2012 trip with other student entrepreneur's. It was in Silicon Valley where I began to blog about our experiences and lessons in entrepreneurship learned each day. The trip and my fellow travelers encouraged me to stay in touch and involved with the program throughout the remainder of my time here at NC State. Their encouragement led me towards my own "entrepreneurial" idea to begin this blog. Remember to always think big and enjoy the postings! G"