Entrepreneurs on Campus
The best part of any talk is the questions, and there is never enough time for them
Students often hold their real questions back until a talk is over, and then the room has emptied. In this session the founder speaks for only a few minutes and the rest of the time belongs to the students. Questions can be asked aloud or written on paper, and the founder answers as plainly as they can, including saying when they do not know.
Explore this page6 sections
A question session is only as good as the questions, and students are rarely helped to ask them.
In many rooms the first question is 'How did you get the idea?' and the rest follow politely. The questions students really want to ask are different: how much did you earn in the first year, did you ever want to quit, was it worth it. They hold them back because they fear sounding foolish or rude.
A format that makes it easy to ask, including on paper without a name, brings those questions out. A founder who is briefed to answer honestly, or to say when they would rather not, helps students learn how to ask well.
The session does not need the founder to prepare a presentation. It depends on the founder being willing to be asked.
How the session is organised
26 topics across 7 areas. Seven parts, with most of the time going to the last two.
A Short IntroductionFive minutes at most.3
- What the founder does, in a few sentences
- How the session works and what the rules are
- A reminder that the founder is speaking for themselves
The founder may describe their work but may not sell to the room or recruit from it.
Questions on PaperSo everybody can ask.4
- Students write questions on slips, with no name needed
- Slips are collected and the staff member in the room sorts them
- The founder answers the ones asked most often first
- Questions that cannot be answered in the session are noted
Questions AloudFor those who prefer to ask directly.3
- A quick round to start, to make the first question easier
- A rule that follow-up questions are welcome
- A rule that rude or personal questions can be passed on
Kinds of Questions Students Tend to AskPrepared so that the room is not silent.5
The founder can decline to answer any question. They are asked to say so plainly rather than to give an evasive answer.
- How it began, and how long before it worked
- Money: how it was funded, how it paid, what they earn now
- Family and risk: what they said at home
- Skills: what to learn first, and whether a degree helped
- Fear: failure, reputation and what comes after
Where the Founder Is Asked to Be CarefulTo keep the session honest.5
- Not to promise that a student who does the same will succeed
- Not to quote statistics they cannot source
- Not to give legal, tax or financial advice
- To separate what they know from what they believe
- To say when others in their field would disagree
Questions the Founder Asks BackA few, to keep the room thinking.3
- What would you try first if you had a month and no money?
- What would make you stop?
- Who in your family or neighbourhood runs a business you could ask?
What to Do With the AnswersThe last few minutes.3
- Students write down one thing they would like to find out next
- The founder suggests where to look, not whom to contact
- Unanswered questions are returned to the college staff member
What the founder prepares
- A three-sentence introduction, not a presentation
- A willingness to answer personal questions, or to decline them kindly
- Readiness to say 'I do not know' and 'others see it differently'
- A couple of questions to put back to the room
Questions that tend to work
- What did you not know at the start that you wish you had?
- What did people tell you that turned out to be wrong?
- What did it cost you, beyond money?
- What would you say to someone who is afraid to try?
- What would you do if you had to start again tomorrow?
How the session runs
The founder speaks for no more than five minutes, and the remaining time, usually an hour, goes to questions on paper and aloud. A member of the college's staff collects the slips, helps with the order and stays in the room throughout. Before the day, the speaker is briefed on how the session works, on answering plainly, on not giving legal, tax or financial advice and on the no-pitch rule (they may not sell to the room, recruit from it or ask students to sign up for anything). Length and group are agreed with the college beforehand.
What your students leave with
- The chance to ask a founder the question students really have
- Answers that are specific, not general, from one person's experience
- Practice at putting a good question to an experienced person
- A sense of the range of views, since the founder says where others differ
- Less fear of asking seniors and professionals questions
- A list of questions students can take to the next founder they meet
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.
Give students an hour in which every question they have is allowed.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.