Initial Ideas

Initial Ideas
Appended below you will see the first set of thoughts I sent to Amilya, Rieva and Jen - all circle around how do we mashup? Pool the mad skillz here?


Think ALL-STAR TEAM!
How can we take the unique (& massive) skills of the “Entrep Mafia” and team up? The local twitterati are blown away by the all the talent each of you have! Where do we do the most good? (I don’t mind monetizing this –need to cover costs plus invest in next projects – but about my favorite thing to do is get brilliant, passionate talents together and blow minds!


LATEST Thought-


ENTREPRENEURIAL EXTREME MAKEOVER”??


Could have local programs but why not launch with a splash event? Take an existing business where she is doing ok, but could do so much more. (I heard a stat that 95% of microfinance program cannot scale up… how many social ventures are in same boat?)

Focusing on a for-profit social venture would play very well in media –and if we’re going to help people go to the next level, might as well as triple bottom line sustainable, eh?

Could we get funded to spend a week to take a couple of high-potential entrepreneurial prospects and take from being necessity entrepreneurs to becoming opportunity-driven entrepreneurs?

Had this convo with Jen G & I think Rieva: Yes, people are being pushed into necessity entrepreneurship – but isn’t now EXACTLY the time to really go after your dreams?

OK – lots of foundations/organizations could be recruited – Kauffman Fdn has funded me before, NSF (if remotely techie), Paul Allen (if Northwest) and of course NCIIA (check nciia.org). Ashoka & Grameen Foundation can advise, etc. All the academic entrep groups would see the opportunities in partnering (NACCE, USASBE, Academy of Mgmt, my buds at Max Planck Institute,etc.

Think about the skills we’ve recruited already… Rieva, Amilya, Jen, IHomeTech, IdeaBlob (advantacio), Behind the Brand, a top expert of how to train entrepreneurial thinking (he says modestly, LOL) and all the way-cool brains/hearts that WE know.


I love people with big brains and even bigger hearts – I am honored to be a co-conspirator!


Norris (@entrep_thinking – now you know why I *need* the 140 char limit, LOL)




(original notes - the conspiracy has grown!)

Dear Amilya (plus Jen & Rieva) -

When we first chatted, my initial thought that really started at USASBE was a "mashup" - how cool would it be to have multiple great presenters on the same stage? Between us (and the people we know) we have access to the best & brightest. But, Amilya. when we re-connected on Twitter, my thoughts moved from a conference setting to actually doing some good.


"Delivery System for Dreams"?

Now is the time to really start helping people take control of their lives. Help them to see that the entrepreneurial option is not only possible, but exactly the right attitude. Not everyone sees that the way that you all do – it's a rare gift. Even rarer is also having the skills.


Entrepreneurial "Alchemy"?
But it's more than that. In tough times, we see an upsurge in "necessity" entrepreneurship (people who are pushed into self-employment). That's understandable. Yet we ALSO see a rise in "opportunity" entrepreneurship (where we are pulled by an opportunity). What's the entrepreneurial alchemy but to turn a necessity into an opportunity?

OK, times ARE tough - they suck. Royally. But isn't now EXACTLY the time to identify a great opportunity and go after it? Why be self-employed when you can be an entrepreneur and really take control of your life in a way that.... matters?

Here are some thoughts as how to bring all this talent together:

1) The Mashup


What if we spend a week giving people an immersion experience that finds and crystallizes their passion? Start with 2-3 days of Lucky Napkin, follow with an BlobLive (with Ami Kassar) and something by Jen & cap it off with a Startup Weekend (www.startupweekend.com -- teams form on Friday evening, then launch "something" by Sunday dinnertime -what a hoot!) Lots of possible iterations but you get the idea. We could even design something unique that uses the skills of all of us (plus key experts we know who could be 'guest star' mentors & speakers.)

2) Mashup + Followup

Jen's program seems ideal for following up, coaching/mentoring the graduates (survivors? LOL) of our Hell Week. There are a couple of other models that can be plugged as well - such as an in-depth mentoring system like Y-Combinator (see www.portlandten.wordpress.com for a virtual equiv.)

2a) Amilya & Jen & Rieva's Summer Camp?

We spend the week with our best prospects in a total immersion as a 'camp' (like the youth "Business Week" programs around the US). Constant experiential learning, coupled with just-in-time biz skills training. [Think TechStar's Colorado summer camp - they would help us!]

3) Intensive (1-day) Mashup

A couple of years ago I saw Zig Ziglar, Tom Peters & Steve Covey share a stage for ~3 hours via satellite.(The organizer reportedly took home >$100K which did sorta catch my attention, LOL). Anyway, this could be done separately from the #1/#2 - maybe we tape it & webcast it to developing countries?

OK, another key insight... Pick one!

a) Is it easier to teach an MBA to be an entrepreneur OR
b) is it easier to teach business skills to an entrepreneur?
Yes, me too. (LOL)


What this is really about is helping people to reach the entrepreneur deep inside all of us. Let's help them tap their Inner Entrepreneur, then spend time coaching them on the book learnin' stuff. I've taught the nuts & bolts but it's the experiential stuff where I make a difference. Same with all of you.


Call me an optimist, but we suddenly all met within a very short period of time. An omen? It's certainly an opportunity, a huge opportunity to do things that... matter.
So... care to conspire further? I am at your service.

Norris
March 2009


p.s.: Here's a really crazy variation (but it could be a blast! And VERY media-friendly)

4) "Magic Bus"
In a couple of states, they had a bus driving around doing 1-2 day programs around the state with a core of experts, supplemented by local expertise. In Idaho, our big federal lab has uber-green buses we could scam, if we wanted to evangelize in more than one place. Spend a week but in 3-4 cities?