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