Resource Night Recap: The ABCs of Vision

Each week you can read a recap of the previous session from the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship’s Amy Sallin. If you have questions about the lecture series, Buerk Center competitions like the BPC, the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge or the Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge, email Amy at [email protected].

Thursday, January 12th gave us another lively and thought-provoking Resource Night (ENTRE 440/540) class. This session focused on inspiration and vision. Instructor John Zagula (founder, Ignition Partners), talked about the why, what, and how of working through a vision for your idea, using his ABC model to work through the process. Starting with A=Your Current Situation the question becomes B=Your Desired Future. Your vision is C=Required Action. Simple, right? Watch the class video for more of Zagula’s wisdom!

More insight came from guest speaker Steven Hooper, CEO of Kigo Kitchen. Hooper shared his trajectory from pitching an idea in a business class, to entering a business plan competition, to his development and execution of his innovative idea of fast, fresh, casual dining—Asian flavors meet Chipotle delivery! Hooper has a great story and his own competition experience added a deeper dimension to his talk to a classroom full of students interested in entering this year’s UW Business Plan Competition.

Both Zagula and Hooper talked about the importance of strong and detailed research while preparing a new venture, and what better way to access sophisticated resources than through the Foster School Business Library. Jason Sokoloff, the head librarian for the business school library, highlighted a few of the resources any UW student can use. The library maintains subscriptions to a wide variety of databases and other tools that can help students with their new venture planning.

Missed the session last night? Catch the video on the Resource Nights website!

WHAT ARE RESOURCE NIGHTS?

The Resource Nights Lecture Series seeks to answer several questions: Are you entre-curious but not sure how to begin? Have you always dreamed of creating a company? Do you already have a startup and want to take it to the next level? Those questions empowered students from across campus to either enroll in the Business Plan Practicum/Resource Nights (Entre 440/540) class, or join the community and drop in to learn first-hand from local entrepreneurs the essentials of business planning and what it really takes to get a company off the ground. The ten sessions include topics such as: From idea to product; Assessing risk; Business models and financials; Legal issues; Crafting and giving a great pitch.

Resource Nights runs from Thursday, January 5 to Thursday, March 9 from 6 to 7:50 p.m. in Paccar 192 (Shansby Auditorium). Can’t make it in person? Lectures will be recorded and the links to stream each one will be posted to our website weekly. View the Resource Night schedule for links and complete listing of topics and guest speakers.

THIS WEEK

Resource Nights: From idea to Product—validating a real problem and viable solution, with guest speaker Michael Dix, founder of Intentional Futures

Thursday, January 19, 6:00 pm in Paccar Hall, Shansby Auditorium (room 192)

The night’s lecture and guest speaker will be immediately followed by the last—and largest—networking/meetup event before the competition season begins.

RESOURCES

Need team members or want to join a team?

Networking/Meetup Night for Team Formation
Thursday, January 19, 7:00–8:30 pm in Anthony’s Executive Forum (3rd floor of Dempsey Hall)

Students from programs and majors across campus are invited to our final networking event before the HIC, EIC and BPC get going. Join the Buerk Center and SEBA January 19 at 7:00 pm. If you’re a student putting together a team for one of the competitions or a student who would like to join a team (or if you’d just like to learn more!), take this opportunity to meet the participants and winners of SEBA’s Science and Technology Showcase (taking place just before the networking gets going) for a chance to meet potential teammates.

There will be plenty of food and beverages—bring your ID if you’re over 21. Don’t miss the opportunity, and the fun! RSVP now for the Networking Night. (Note: This site is for college/university student use only.)

Team Building Website

Don’t forget to check out the Student Entrepreneur Team Building site. Register an account as a team looking for members, or an individual with skills searching for a good team to join. (Note: This site is for college/university student use only.)

Office hours with experts & MentorConnect

Coming up during winter quarter the Buerk Center will host experts with a variety of industry and professional expertise. Students entering the HIC, EIC and BPC can make ½ hour appointments with these experts to get advice on their business summaries, financial projection, legal questions, etc. Dates and appointment times will be announced soon.

In addition, our MentorConnect site is a great way to connect with a professional via email for advice, questions, and feedback. The site requires a UW login, so if you’re a student from another college or university contact me for a guest login.

Please note that both these programs are available to students only!

Workshops & Panel Discussions

Experts from the community are invited to campus winter quarter to talk about important topics relevant to healthcare and environmental innovation. This series of four panel events is aimed at students entering the Health or Environmental Innovation Challenge. The perspective and knowledge gained will be valuable as teams prepare their 5-7 page business summaries, which are required to enter the HIC or EIC. These are free events, open to anyone in the community, whether or not they will be participating in the Challenges. Food and beverage provided.