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EntrepreneurshipKnow Before You Go
Frank Bonsal IIIDirector, Entrepreneurship
Towson University Incubator
TSEM 102 – ‘Extreme Teaching’Hawkins Hall
April 13, 2017
Entrepreneurship is a MindsetWith 2 mindsets:• Fixed• Growth
“passion for learning over a hunger for approval” - Dweck
What Success Looks Like
Entrepreneurs Identify + Solve Problems
What problems do you see everyday?
What issues do you find in your environment?
What dilemmas keep you up at night?
“Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”
Entrepreneurs Must Embrace Failure
-Elon Musk
Entrepreneurs Must Find Their Purpose
Passion Mission
Profession Vocation
World Needs
It
You’rePaid For It
You’re Great at It
You Love It
-PURPOSE
Entrepreneurs Must Strive for Balance
Native Baltimorean
K-12 + PS Education: MD, NH, OH, MA, NH, UK, TN
15+ Years Teaching + Coaching
15+ Years Education Technology Investing
15+ Years Volunteer Education Nonprofit Service
3 Years University Entrep. + Ed. Innovation Cluster
Teacher-Coach EdTech InvestorEdTech
EcosystemLeader
Edupreneur
Classroom to Boardroom
Boardroom toEcosystem
25+ years
2001 2013
My Life as ‘Practice Coach’-blog post series here
Education
Entre-preneur-
shipTech
Innovation
EdTech
Leading, Growing, and Supporting ‘Baltimore EdTech’ + BaltCo Entrepreneurship
Empowering an ‘Entrepreneur Experience’ by Aligning the Academic, Experiential, + Real-World
Experiential Real-WorldAcademic
The EdTech Ecosystem PartTeacher-Coach EdTech InvestorEdTech
EcosystemLeader
Edupreneur
Classroom to Boardroom
Boardroom toEcosystem
Think of problem-solving in massive industries thatleverage regional & institutional core competencies.
#ED #MED #FED
When you think of Baltimore Startups…
#BmoreEdTech
“Maryland is really, really strong in its community of teachers.” – Betsy Corcoran, CEO + Cofounder, EdSurge
TU Incubator-The Apex of Baltimore EdTech
Lifelong Learning
23 member companies (75% of all member companies) solve problems and innovate in education via solutions in K-12 (55%), Postsecondary (35%), + Lifelong Learning (10%).
Our Focus on EdTech Innovation
TransitioningU
PostsecondaryK-12
Mem
bers
hips Resident
Associate
Virtual
Student
85
152
30
We Support 30 Member Companies
Mix of edtech, IT services, Business Services, Enterprise Security
Mix of edtech, sports tech, consumer social web
All edtech
Mix of edtech + consumer product
Mentoring
Capital
Distribution
Networking + Place
Our Value-Added Support
Our Focus on Founder Diversity9 edtech
companies withwomen founders
39%
9 companies with founders of color
30%
53% ?
Example #1Teacher Effectiveness Platform
Founders: Nicole Tucker-Smith + Khalid Smith
Credit: Baltimore Sun
Example #2
Credit: The Daily Record
InferCabulary: Vocabulary LearningFounders: Beth Lawrence + Deena Siefert
What opportunities do YOU see
to kill pain or create gain
Value Proposition MVP
Minimum Viable Product● Essential value prop. of your solution● Used to test the core aspects of an idea
• Online
• Offline
• Target Customer — beachheads
Test Your Assumptions(a.k.a. Customer Discovery)
A Reminder!
What’s the one trait all successful
entrepreneurs MUST have?
What are YOUR Thoughts?
