Graduate Blog / Graduate Life

Recalling 2014, Babson’s Annual Entrepreneurship Forum

As this year is all but wrapped up, one event protrudes from recorded memory of this year, The Babson Entrepreneurship Forum (BEF). For  most of the fall semester Babson students worked diligently to organize the event. Unlike the other singular events held on campus typically each week, the BEF is an entire day of events sprawling multiple buildings.  All around there were friendly introductions being made and the buzz of ideas as they were being shared.

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For all those entrepreneurs, BEF provided a necessary infusion of enthusiasm for the weary. A jolt of headlong if your resilience was waning. Many of the emotional pitfalls of entrepreneurship were addressed with some example of overcoming them. Especially inspirational on this years panel was a talk by the creative and non-profit entrepreneurs. These panelists all went through a period of much uncertainty and yet remained courageous in their cause with eventual success to show for the effort.

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On a separate panel called “Entrepreneurial Rebellion” we heard from the mother of “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge”. Literally, Nancy Frates, mother to Pete Frates whose battle with ALS inspired his friends and an entire nation of believers to participate in what became known as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. She talked about the importance of keeping warm relationships. Those contacts will eventually turn into a network. Such was the story of Pete Frates, after his friends began sharing the Ice Bucket Challenge, friends of friends picked it up and on came the viral cascade of participation.

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The conference was a terrific success. To be especially applauded are the graduate students who worked tirelessly to put on this event. It was inspiring, encouraging, and exactly what a lot of us needed. Thanks to them.

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View more pictures from the 2014 Babson Entrepreneurship Forum below