Entrepreneur Dysfunctions in Cartoons: Paradigm Shift

Well, did you Google it?

Definition of ‘Business Model’

The plan implemented by a company to generate revenue and make a profit from operations. The model includes the components and functions of the business, as well as the revenues it generates and the expenses it incurs.

Definition of ‘Exit Strategy’

The method by which a venture capitalist or business owner intends to get out of an investment that he or she has made in the past. In other words, the exit strategy is a way of “cashing out” an investment. Examples include an initial public offering (IPO) or being bought out by a larger player in the industry. Also referred to as a “harvest strategy” or “liquidity event”.

[Source: Investopedia]

My philosophy: You MUST have a business model. An exit strategy is OPTIONAL.

Cartoon: Book by Sramana Mitra and Irina Patterson. Art by Mike Varouhas.

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Women Entrepreneurs: Are We Whining Too Much?

I wonder!

In my recent post, Women ARE Raising Venture Capital, I said, there is no bias among Silicon Valley VCs against women.

I got an earful on that one.

What? There are hardly any female VCs. So few female CEOs. So few blah blah blah.

Right. Yes. I know. But it is what it is. How is whining going to help us change any of those factors?

I countered with: >>>

Thought Leaders in Online Education: Peter Hirst, Executive Director of Executive Education, MIT Sloan School of Management (Part 1)

This interview is a great discussion about the various experiments going on in the world of higher education and how online learning is playing out there.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s introduce our audience to yourself as well as to what you’re doing at Sloan vis-à-vis executive education.

Peter Hirst: I’m the Director of the Executive Education program here at the MIT Sloan School. Essentially, what we do is run short, non-degree courses for individual executives and Senior Managers. We also do this for companies in a more customized >>>

Entrepreneur Dysfunctions in Cartoons: How Do You Recruit A Great Mentor?

First, here, meet a great mentor!

Entrepreneurs around the world are searching for great mentors who can show them the ropes of how to short-circuit their entrepreneurial journeys.

Recruiting mentors is a tricky thing. Mentors – unless they have an emotional investment in you (friends, family, former boss) – tend to want to only work with entrepreneurs who have compelling businesses, can score substantial funding, and yield solid exits.

Typically, these are potential advisors who want to be compensated in equity in your business, or potential investors who want to invest in it. Either way, they want to invest time, or money, or both. Let’s call them investors.

Investors, by definition, look for compelling investment opportunities.

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Thought Leaders in Online Education: Katya Andresen, CEO of Cricket Media (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

It almost always is the case that Edtech companies don’t have solid monetization models. Cricket media is experimenting with models that are worth understanding. This interview also further elaborates on the issues raised in one of my articles, Are We In A Golden Age of Edtech?

Sramana Mitra: Let’s introduce our audience to Cricket Media. Tell us what you do and what trends you are aligning with.

Katya Andresen: We’re a children’s education media company. We provide award-winning content for learning on a safe and secure learning network. >>>

For Women In Computer Science, Tech Is A Golden Opportunity

Google recently released report acknowledging the lack of diversity in their workforce kicked up a storm. The company says, most of its workforce is white (61%) and male (70%). Worse, a mere 17% of Google’s tech workforce is women.

By and large, this is not Google’s fault. It simply reflects the fact that the nation’s education systems have not been able to attract enough women and minorities into their Computer Science programs, hence, for Google (and other tech companies who have similar demographic distributions) there is no supply of trained workers to hire from.

Opportunity in Scarcity
For those women who do have a Computer Science background, this is a golden opportunity. Here are some strategies that you can use to catapult yourself to highly successful careers in the technology industry. Notice none of them actually have anything to do with your actual computer science skills. I am assuming, you have learnt those well, and continue to keep yourself current. These strategies are the extra elements that may get you to a much larger role in the industry:
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Thought Leaders in Online Education: Kurt Kirstein, Dean of School of Management, City University of Seattle (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page.

This discussion focuses on online education models that maximize engagement and minimize drop rates.

Sramana Mitra: Kurt, let’s start with introducing our audience to yourself as well as to what you’re doing at City University of Seattle.

Kurt Kirstein: I am currently the Dean in the School of Management at the City University of Seattle. The School of Management is in control of all of our business programs, all of the business related programs, and we also incorporate the technology programs with the Technology Institute at the University. I have been at City University of Seattle for about eight years of which I have been the Dean for seven years.

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Thought Leaders in Online Education: Sean Brown, SVP of Education, Sonic Foundry (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page.

Video of the classroom is a trend. How is it playing out?

Sramana Mitra: Sean, let’s start with a bit of context. Tell us a bit about yourself as well as Sonic Foundry.

Sean Brown: I’m the Senior Vice President of Sonic Foundry. I’ve worked for Apple, IBM, and Oracle over the last 20 years. I came to Sonic Foundry about 13 years ago to help roll out our flagship product called Mediasite, which is a system which when introduced, started a new trend in converting your average classroom into an online video studio. >>>

Thought Leaders in Online Education: Ray Martinez, Chancellor of WGU Texas (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page.

Adult education is becoming more of an issue. Competency-based learning that ties into employment directly is necessary to mitigate the unemployment problems in America and elsewhere. WGU has an interesting model.

Sramana Mitra: Ray, let’s start by giving our audience a little bit of background about you as well as your institution.

Ray Martinez: My name is Ray Martinez. I’m the Chancellor of Western Governors University (WGU) Texas. We go by WGU Texas. I have worked primarily in higher education policy over the last seven years. I’ve worked in various aspects of public policy either at the federal or state level for most of my career over the last 25 years or so. >>>

Student Entrepreneur to $10M+ in Revenue Without Dropping Out: Course Hero CEO Andrew Grauer (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

We love student entrepreneurs who have managed to not only build successful businesses but have done so without dropping out of school. We also love entrepreneurs who have the discipline to get to a strong and sustainable monetization model early on in their evolution. Andrew Grauer scores on all fronts, and there is much to learn from this entrepreneur’s journey.

Sramana Mitra: Andrew, let’s start with your personal beginning. Tell us where you were born, raised, and in what circumstances. What’s the back story of Course Hero?

Andrew Grauer: I’m from the Bay Area of California. I grew up there my whole life. I went to college in Ithaca, New York at Cornell University. After graduating at Cornell, I came back to the Bay Area and continued working on Course Hero here.

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