A Northerner in Kansas (cont)

So week one is over and what a week! The days have been long, and the meals have been large but I feel I have already been “nudged” further towards achieving the ambitions and goals I’ve set myself. Everyone at the Foundation and in Kansas City have been so welcoming, and I couldn’t of wished for a better group of people to be doing this with. Everyone’s so determined, bright and dynamic in the group, new ideas and potential collaborations are already being talked about.

Highlights of the week included talks from Bill Aulet, a successful entrepreneur and now academic at M.I.T. who discussed marketing and sales. He compared starting a new company, to that of a small country trying to invade a larger one. You don’t want to spread your army too thin, attacking at different ports. Rather, you focus your attention and efforts attacking one single port ceasing control and then going after one city at a time.

We also had the opportunity of attending the KTEC Pipeline awards. Pitches were held throughout the day, with an awards ceremony held on the night. It was a great chance to meet the entrepreneurs and business community in Kansas.

To round the week off Ted Zoller,  another seasoned entrepreneur but now works at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He delivered a “New Venture Boot Camp”, which included a host of really interesting topics including focused customer value propositions. The week included a lot of reading, both books and case studies.