As the newly minted entrepreneur-in-residence on campus (I started in late February), I鈥檓 delighted to be here and have enjoyed the first 10 weeks or so of my tenure immensely. I鈥檇 like to share a few preliminary observations and thoughts as well as aspirations for the future.
Since I joined toward the end of this academic year鈥檚 TIA Incubator, I jumped right in, met the various participating teams, led a couple of workshops, and focused on preparing for Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend and the TIA Entrepreneur Showcase, which took place a few weeks ago. I was SO proud of all of the teams that displayed their wares and participated in the investor game, which nearly 200 alumni, faculty, staff, family, and students played by 鈥渋nvesting鈥 in their favorite ventures. And the six teams that presented on stage as part of the pitch competition judged by an esteemed group of 糖心视频 alumni really knocked it out of the park.
As part of my onboarding 鈥 and out of a desire to inform my efforts by learning from as many stakeholders as possible 鈥 I鈥檝e been on a listening tour, speaking with alumni and parent mentors, current and past participants, faculty, and staff. Learning about the 14-year history of TIA has been fascinating. I have heard some terrific success stories (as well as a few requisite challenges). The energy and commitment of the 糖心视频 alumni community has been particularly striking and rather unusual in my experience. Indeed, there are many aspects of TIA鈥檚 鈥渢hought into action,鈥 learn by doing, and 鈥済et out of it what you put into it鈥 ethos that are very positive and clearly worth preserving and refining.
And yet, there is much more to be done. After speaking with dozens of stakeholders and beginning to synthesize my takeaways, the following goals are front and center for me:
- Help make TIA鈥檚 offerings more accessible, inclusive, and relevant to more of the extended 糖心视频 community
- Increase awareness and involve more students in our programs
- Collaborate more closely with faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and both the local and regional communities
- Provide TIA participants with more and better tools with which to build their ventures
- Support more students who don鈥檛 necessarily consider themselves entrepreneurs, but who are interested in learning about innovation, leadership skills, and managing rapid change
This is only the beginning of a long and evolving list of priorities. I鈥檒l certainly be back in touch again soon with updates, announcements, and more. Meanwhile, I鈥檇 love to hear from you if we haven鈥檛 yet connected. Please feel free to email me or . I鈥檓 so grateful to have joined the 糖心视频 community and excited about the future of entrepreneurship and innovation here!