Overlooking our previous blog posts, I’ve noticed that there are a lot of entries about travelling, and cultural adaptation, and other GEP shenanigans… but there is very little in this blog about entrepreneurship. For fuck’s sake man, this is the Global “Entrepreneurship” Program after all…the subject certainly deserves a bit of attention.
How has our class evolved as entrepreneurs? Have we embraced the startup religion? How have we recognized and seized entrepreneurial opportunities in China?
Back in Lyon… we were still reeling from the novelty: the new place, the French, the excitement, our new GEP family. We were still feeling each other out…who had connections, and where? What were our previous work experiences? Who could we work with in the future? And who were the real entrepreneurs that were going to strike gold (or go social and strike good) in the next 5 years?
We assumed that besides the travelling and ridiculous adventure that this program offered, everyone that applied wanted to start-up, or at least had a healthy interest in entrepreneurship. In the early days, we found out tidbits of information about each other…there was a vast spectrum of corporate experience: from none at all, to a few internships, to working for family businesses, to being employed at several high-browed investment banks, firms, and consultancies. A GEPer had started an NGO called Tuk-Tam—an organization dedicated to creating an active informational network for Bulgarians who are looking to make a difference in Bulgaria. There were other fledging ventures started by classmates, like Cambio Co.—a social enterprise that sells clothes and handcrafts to help Bolivian street children with its profits, and NP Global Advisors—a company that organizes global internship opportunities that involve consultancy and entrepreneurial learning.
The only really seasoned entrepreneurs in the GEP 2011 class were some of our Chinese classmates: Pan Junlun, whose small factory in China produces and trades mechanical components; Chen Huawei, who after several years of employment at international trading companies, has started his own trading and supply business and opened up his own store in Yiwu; and Yang Zhongshui, whose already profitable startup produces merchandise with Chinese university insignias.
As our classes in Lyon progressed, we got to know each other better, work in teams together, and see who among us wanted to make his/her first million before they hit 30, or mastermind the next invention that will change the world, or pioneer a great social enterprise that will improve the lives of millions. As we heard more about ‘corporate entrepreneurship’ in class, we learnt that some of our classmates didn’t want to start-up, but be innovators and mavericks within large corporations. Disappointingly, we also learnt that some of our classmates weren’t even interested in entrepreneurship at all. They just did this Masters to become more employable… And others just did it to travel…
But some were still hungry…you could tell…they had that swagger, that wolfish look in their eye, that quiet determination…that desire to be masters of their own destiny…
Regrettably, the GEP is a Master’s degree, and this world tour does have to fulfill certain academic requirements. In France, the consultancy projects with start-ups did give us a flavor of entrepreneurship…but after so many lectures, and theories, and analyzing case studies of successful startups belonging to other guys… it was clear that any real entrepreneurship, or development of our own businesses, would have to happen outside of the classroom.
Has our class managed to do something truly entrepreneurial together? Will there be any new businesses born out of this global experiment?
And how have we taken advantage of China—the modern Mecca of business and entrepreneurial opportunity?
-Seb
No comments:
Post a Comment