SVP Week 1: Startup Spots & the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
As soon as the summer starts, so does our Summer Venture Program. For ten weeks, the undergraduate and graduate student teams work, learn, create, collaborate, connect, and accelerate their businesses.
Here’s what happened in Week 1:
Monday:
12:30pm: SVP Director Bob Stringer and Antonette Ho kicked off our orientation. The teams toured our new WeWork space for the summer and settled into their private offices.
Microsoft Nerd
2:15pm: Antonette revealed the plan for the afternoon: the ultimate Babson startup scavenger hunt. She sent the teams off with a list and T passes. Teams tried to hit as many spots as they could – the spots included a few of our sponsors (Citizens Bank, Morgan Lewis, and Chicken & Rice Guys), startup spots (like CIC Boston and Microsoft Nerd), and Babson businesses (including Mainely Burgers and Esmeralda). They could also go for extra credit by visiting other Babson businesses.
5:30pm: We wrapped up the day together with a cocktail reception at Les Zygomates and we announced the winner of the scavenger hunt. Congratulations to Team 2! We were impressed by all of the teams, especially those that made special visits to Indico, Blank Label, and botkeeper for bonus points.
Tuesday:
12:30pm: Day two brought us back together at WeWork. Blank Center Executive Director Debi Kleiman took us through an intro to the Boston entrepreneurship ecosystem.
If you’re interested in following along with SVP, be sure to follow us on Twitter for live updates from our sessions with experts, #babsonsvp.
2pm: Then, the teams had their first experience with pitching. Using the format from our Rocket Pitch event, each team got three minutes and three slides to pitch. These pitches were a great opportunity for the teams to practice making asks to the community.
Wednesday:
12:30pm: Bob took us through an overview of the Business Model Canvas. The key components range from partners, customer relationships, and customer segments to cost structure and revenue structure. He challenged each team to think about and identify which part of the canvas is most problematic for their specific venture, so that the mentors joining us next week can zero in on those areas. The teams took the rest of the afternoon to get to work.
Thursday:
Team Nectar in the Hot Seat
1pm: On day three, we introduced to the teams to one of SVP’s most popular sessions: the Hot Seat! During Hot Seat, one team gives a three to five minute pitch and the rest of the SVP community provides constructive critiques and helps the team to rebuild its pitch. The Nectar CBD team was the first team to take the Hot Seat and they got valuable feedback on the content and delivery of their pitch.
What’s on deck for next week?
The teams will continue working through the Business Model Canvas and will focus on discovering and understanding their customers. Plus, two more businesses will find themselves in the Hot Seat!