As I wrapped up my role as the inaugural Entrepreneur In Residence at Rice, I was asked to summarize what we accomplished during my time there in this article, published in the trade journal of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. The article is on pages 29-31 of the journal but, for those who don’t wishContinue reading “Entrepreneurship at Rice”
Category Archives: Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Startups Should Never Pay to Pitch
Several times a week my startup is solicited to participate in pay-to-pitch events at which we are promised access to a smorgasbord of wealthy, capable investors who are just chomping at the bit to invest in companies like mine. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it is. This has been covered by manyContinue reading “Startups Should Never Pay to Pitch”
The First Follower Principle in Action
Anyone who has seen the famous TED talk on “first followers” knows the speaker’s argument that movements aren’t just started by leaders; the first follower is just as – and possibly even more – crucial to the spread of a movement than is the originator of the idea. The first follower shows everyone else A.Continue reading “The First Follower Principle in Action”
Enderpreneurship Part 3
This is my third and final post in my series on entrepreneurship lessons from Ender’s Game. For the previous posts, see Part 1 and Part 2. Lead a startup the way Ender leads Dragon Army. A startup is very much like Ender’s Dragon Army: newly formed, constantly learning, and searching for patterns that work inContinue reading “Enderpreneurship Part 3”
Enderpreneurship Part 2
This is Part 2 of my series on entrepreneurship lessons from the Ender’s Game novel. If you haven’t already read it, start with Part 1. The best entrepreneurs don’t play the game; they create a new game by playing by different rules. Throughout the novel, Ender turns disadvantageous situations to his advantage by bending, breaking,Continue reading “Enderpreneurship Part 2”
Enderpreneurship: What Andrew Wiggin Can Teach Us About Winning the Game of Entrepreneurship
This weekend’s release of the cinematic adaptation of Ender’s Game (and rereading the novel before going to see the movie) got me thinking about how many of Ender’s experiences can be translated into lessons on entrepreneurship. As I stated in my TEDx talk: we can take MANY lessons on entrepreneurship from popular myths and IContinue reading “Enderpreneurship: What Andrew Wiggin Can Teach Us About Winning the Game of Entrepreneurship”
Rice Named Top University Incubator
Rice University has been selected as having the top university business incubator in the world according to a just-released study by UBI. I have been working for more than a year now to support/enhance/catalyze entrepreneurship at Rice by teaching, mentoring, and helping to launch the OwlSpark Accelerator, which received special mention in the announcement. ItContinue reading “Rice Named Top University Incubator”
A Spark of Entrepreneurship at Rice
Although I haven’t posted much about it on this blog, many of you know that I have spent the last year and a half helping to foster more/better entrepreneurship at my alma mater, Rice University. Six months ago I officially accepted the role of Entrepreneur in Residence at the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership, anContinue reading “A Spark of Entrepreneurship at Rice”
TEDx Talk About Entrepreneurship
Last year I was honored to be asked to speak about entrepreneurship at Rice’s “Unconvention” in celebration of its centennial year. Instead of talking about lean startup, customer development, fundraising, or many of the other very well covered topics out there, I chose to focus on a framework for entrepreneurship that is, well, unconventional. MyContinue reading “TEDx Talk About Entrepreneurship”
Secure Base In the Office and Gym
As I’ve posted before, I’m a big fan of IMD Professor George Kohlrieser‘s advocacy of secure base leadership. Quick summary: as children we gain confidence to take risks (like learning to walk) because we have secure bases (like Mom) to pick us up if we fail (like falling down). We carry this pattern with usContinue reading “Secure Base In the Office and Gym”