Who gets to be called an entrepreneur why it matters

[Music]

growing up with seven siblings

meant limiting any purchases outside of

basic household needs for the family

but if you’re anything like me you hate

being told no

absolutely hate it so as a young kid

i hated being told no i couldn’t have

that special snack when we were out

shopping

or that we couldn’t afford the latest

blackberry phone with the keyboard

remember those so naturally

i did what many low-income kids do i

found a way to bring in my own money

i’d create youtube videos and websites

for upcoming musicians

making maybe 200 a month

it wasn’t until college that i realized

i’m an entrepreneur

one day as i’m sitting in class my

college professor asked me

have you ever sowed something i nodded

and

said yes when i said yes i wasn’t

expecting the next five words that came

from his mouth

he stated precious you are an

entrepreneur

i took a few seconds to process the

statement before i replied

it’s only a hobby nothing that i take

serious

he replied again precious you are an

entrepreneur

at this point i generated thousands of

dollars as a paid youtube partner since

middle school

it wasn’t until that moment that i was

made aware

that i am an entrepreneur i could

identify as one

and i had been surrounded by other

entrepreneurs my entire life

and yet up until college no one had

referred to me as one

as a society we failed to recognize

entrepreneurs an entrepreneur is simply

a person that creates something of value

for someone else

that’s it instead we associate the term

entrepreneurship with big flashy ideas

out in new york in silicon valley this

mindset leads us to overlook the

entrepreneurs right in our very

communities

and like myself belt itself identify as

entrepreneurs because we don’t wear

fancy suits or

attend expensive conferences or speak

savvy startup language

like value proposition and total

addressable market

when entrepreneurs go overlooked we fail

to provide their companies with the

resources they need

to survive and thrive especially in the

early stages when the foundation is

being set

at the age of 23 i was hired as the

director of an accelerator program

where we worked directly with early

stage entrepreneurs across the state of

minnesota

to launch and grow their businesses when

i took this role

i knew it’d be a challenge to find

entrepreneurs outside of

major metro cities and in small towns

not because they aren’t in these

locations but for the reasons we just

discussed

they aren’t self-identifying as

entrepreneurs and the community

doesn’t see them as entrepreneurs as

well the idea of an accelerator program

or pitching to investors

probably never even crossed their minds

so to find these entrepreneurs

i’d have to get creative i started

reaching out to local

economic development corporations small

business development centers

colleges and universities i’d asked them

for referrals to rock stars in the

community

change makers looking to do more college

students with great potential

business leaders with a simple idea soon

i reached out to over 500

entrepreneurs and people with just an

idea across the state of minnesota

we had everyone from college professors

to software developers

to former vice presidents of fortune

thousand companies

and even a college student who came to

the u.s as a refugee

they presented ideas like a technology

that detects disease cells in humans

a platform that connects hunters to

private landowners

and a recipe for the most juicy liquor

infused beef jerky

that you’ll ever taste but there was one

group that

really intrigued me a trio of teachers

who expressed their frustrations with

the current state

of professional development for k-12

teachers

at the end of our conversation one of

the teachers stated

we have a solution for this problem but

we’re just

educators we don’t have business

backgrounds

this world is completely new to us we

simply don’t know where to start

just six months later after working with

our team they had a fully functioning

platform

had began generating revenue and had

partnered with one of the largest

leadership and learning associations for

teachers in the state of minnesota

that is the power of mentorship

according to research done by ups

mentorship significantly reduces the

risk

of business failure for business owners

and increases

the chances that the business will

survive its first five years

and equally important to mentoring these

entrepreneurs at an early stage is

funding them as well

however we’re seeing a lack of early

stage investors

the founder of a venture capitalist firm

stated that

early stage entrepreneurs that connect

with angel investors

accelerators and incubators are more

likely to receive investment dollars

that statement resonates with a college

student

i mentioned as well he created a

platform based on his lived experience

a feeling disconnected from his teachers

in the classroom

the platform helps teachers build

meaningful engagement

and create inclusive learning

environments

when i first met this college student

last year he was running short on cash

cash and had no way to continue funding

his business

after working with our team on how to

pitch to investors

he’s already had nearly fifty thousand

000

worth of investment dollars come from

investors

now of course you know maybe when you

hear

teacher or you hear the term college

student

you don’t think of entrepreneur the

teacher surely didn’t associate

and self-identify as teachers went

excuse me as entrepreneurs

when i first met with them for coffee

last year

but that’s the problem and that’s why we

have to associate

a different term with entrepreneurship

and expand

our idea and interpretation of what

entrepreneurship is

so we can connect these entrepreneurs

with the right resources at the right

time

here’s another example two years ago

thirteen-year-old jaquan faulkner was

reported for operating

a hot dog stand without a license

of course the media didn’t see him as an

entrepreneur

but we now know that’s exactly what he

is

but here’s the cool thing about it

instead of shutting him down

the health department pitched in to pay

the required 87

for jaquan that’s all it took to keep

his business afloat

just 87 and this kid was able to

continue his business

it’s since become a local landmark and

gained national

attention just like myself

jaquan simply wanted to bring in extra

cash

and didn’t know about the licenses

required to operate a hot dog stand

in his own community

what if instead of punishing people like

jaquan and killing their dreams

we supported them we mentored them and

we funded them

you may not think of yourself as a

mentor just like i didn’t think of

myself as an entrepreneur

you don’t have to generate millions of

dollars in revenue or have

decades of executive level leadership at

a major company

of course there are many amazing mentors

with these exact characteristics

however in my role some of the brightest

rock star mentors that i’ve recruited

are everyday people just like you and i

they work nine to fives

they stop at starbucks for coffee even

when they’re running late

they go into the office and sit behind a

desk

well with everything virtual right now

they’re probably not in office but

you get what i mean like our mentors

i’m sure you know a lot about something

anything you’re an expert in your field

you have

great insights into your industry

having lots of knowledge and being

willing to share that knowledge with

someone else

is part of what makes a great mentor

mentorship helps novice entrepreneurs to

develop

through learning and gaining insights

from seasoned entrepreneurs

business leaders as well as industry

experts i encourage you

to volunteer to mentor a budding

entrepreneur

you never know how one conversation can

change their entire business

or keep their dreams alive

today it’s easier than ever for us to

become entrepreneurs

as a community we have to come together

to support this new wave of

entrepreneurship

and rethink who we’re defining as

entrepreneurs

not only when they’re generating

millions of dollars or they’re the next

big thing out in silicon valley or new

york

but in the early stages when they’re

just trying to figure out

get things done survive the day

the day when they feel like giving up

because

nothing is going their way

every day is a struggle for

these entrepreneurs and we have to come

together

to support them together

we can come together and support

the entrepreneurs in our very

communities right in our backyards

and maybe after hearing this talk today

we inspire the entrepreneur that

you see every day looking in the mirror

thank you