Entrepreneurs on Campus
Most students picture a business starting with an idea and a pitch
It rarely does. A business tends to begin with a problem somebody noticed, a few conversations, a small first attempt and a long stretch of working out what to do next. In this session a visiting founder walks students through those early months as they happened, including the false starts, and then takes questions.
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The story told afterwards is tidier than the start.
Founders interviewed after a business has worked tend to tell it as a clear line: an idea, a decision, a launch. The people who were there remember something messier: a few months of not being sure, a first version that did not work, a change of direction nobody planned.
Students who only hear the tidy version conclude that they are missing something the founders had. A visiting founder who describes the mess in order helps them see that the mess is normal.
This session does not teach students how to start a business and does not tell them to. It gives them one honest account of a start, and some questions to bring to the next one.
What the speaker is briefed to cover
28 topics across 7 areas. Seven stages, in the order they happened for the speaker.
Before the IdeaWhat the founder was doing, and why they began to look.4
- Where they were at the time: a job, a course, a family business, nothing in particular
- A problem they kept noticing, and how long they noticed it
- Who else had the same problem, and how they found out
- Whether they had planned to start a business or drifted into it
Speakers are asked not to claim that they always knew. Many did not.
The First ConversationsTalking to people before building anything.4
- Who they spoke to first, and what they asked
- What they heard that surprised them
- What they heard and ignored, and whether that turned out to be wise
- How they decided the problem was worth working on
The First AttemptA small version, often rough.4
- What the first version was and how little it needed
- What it cost in money and in time, described in general terms
- Who helped, who doubted, and who said nothing
- What went wrong the first time
The First SaleWhen somebody pays, the business is real.4
Finding the first customer has its own session. This one only covers how the first sale fitted into the whole start.
- How the first payment came about, in the speaker's own case
- What the first customer actually wanted compared with what was assumed
- What the first invoice or record looked like
- How the first sale changed the plan
Changing DirectionMost businesses end up somewhere other than where they began.4
- What they changed in the first year, and why
- Signs they ignored for too long
- How they decided to continue rather than stop
- Whether they would pick the same business again
The Paperwork and the SetupKept general: it differs by business and changes over time.4
- When they registered the business and in what form, and why then
- What they put off until it was needed
- Who they asked for advice on the formal side
- What they learned about records and bank accounts in the early months
The speaker is not asked to advise anyone on registration. Students are reminded to check current rules with an accountant or the official sites.
What They Would Tell an Earlier SelfA short, honest ending.4
- The one thing they would do sooner
- The one thing they would not bother with
- What they would say to a student who is thinking about it
- What they would say to a student who is sure they never will
What the founder prepares
- A timeline of the first year in their own words, with real dates left general
- At least one thing that did not work and what they did next
- A plain answer to how long it took before the business paid them anything
- Readiness to say 'I do not remember' or 'that was luck' when it was
What students can ask
- When did you know it was a business and not a hobby?
- What did you do in the first week?
- Who told you not to do it, and were they wrong?
- How much did you plan, and how much did you work out as you went?
- What would you have done if the first customer had said no?
How the session runs
The founder speaks for about twenty minutes, following the stages above, and the rest of the time goes to questions. Students may write questions in advance so that quieter students are heard. Before the day, the speaker is briefed on what to cover, on the no-pitch rule (they may describe their work, but may not sell, recruit or ask students to sign up for anything) and on saying plainly that theirs is one start among many. A member of the college's staff stays in the room for the session. Length and group are agreed with the college beforehand.
What your students leave with
- A more accurate picture of how a business begins than the pitch-deck version
- The difference between an idea, a first attempt and a business
- An understanding that starts are usually small, slow and untidy
- Knowing what a founder does first, and what can wait
- A sense of how long the early stages tend to take, from the speaker's own case
- Questions students can ask any founder about how theirs began
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Let students see how a business starts before they decide what they think of it.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.