Last week I was having a conversation with some local college folks who were setting up our own entrepreneurial courses. I pointed out that this is really a new area.
"No it's not," they assured me. In fact, we're behind the curve.
They missed my point. Yep, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and every other big college has had an entrepreneurial track for some time now. The problem is that there's no feedback loop in place to tell if they're actually doing any good or to determine what needs adjustment in the material or presentation. Yes, the knowledge is out there. It's the performance that's never been part of the equation. Hell, I can teach you about damn near anything, and do a great job of it, as long as there's no measurement on the value of the education you're receiving. Once you start measuring traction, however, it's a different story. And startups are about nothing if not traction. If you don't have traction, you don't have a startup, you have a hobby.
I feel the same way about these accelerators, and the hundreds more around the world. Good luck to them, and I'll do anything I can help, but I am doubtful these will amount to much without some tight feedback loops and control systems in place. Perhaps a good, open, world-wide system of sharing lessons learned. We have a long, long way to go.
"No it's not," they assured me. In fact, we're behind the curve.
They missed my point. Yep, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and every other big college has had an entrepreneurial track for some time now. The problem is that there's no feedback loop in place to tell if they're actually doing any good or to determine what needs adjustment in the material or presentation. Yes, the knowledge is out there. It's the performance that's never been part of the equation. Hell, I can teach you about damn near anything, and do a great job of it, as long as there's no measurement on the value of the education you're receiving. Once you start measuring traction, however, it's a different story. And startups are about nothing if not traction. If you don't have traction, you don't have a startup, you have a hobby.
I feel the same way about these accelerators, and the hundreds more around the world. Good luck to them, and I'll do anything I can help, but I am doubtful these will amount to much without some tight feedback loops and control systems in place. Perhaps a good, open, world-wide system of sharing lessons learned. We have a long, long way to go.