Starting up at Stanford

Starting up at StanfordStories and lessons from Gumball CapitalJason Shen - Executive Director

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

what you’ll get today

who we are

our journey in starting up

lessons from from the road

lots of q&a


who we are

Gumball Capital

a Stanford-based nonprofit that engages students to fight poverty through entrepreneurship


who we are

An entrepreneurial competition where student teams raise awareness and funds for microfinance


who we are

Gumball FundA revolving fund which makes microloans to entrepreneurs in developing nations through Kiva

Gumball UniversityAn online portal for people to learn more about microfinance, social-e and starting a venture


our journey

Caveats:

nonprofit

student-run

not primarily tech based

Your path may differ, but the themes will be similar!


the e-week challenge

Entered and won Stanford’s 2007 Entrepreneurship Week Challenge

Raised 3k in 3 days in pledges for microfinance


the e-week challenge

Stanford Resourcesthe competition itselfsupportive students and faculty

Lesson LearnedNever, ever doubt the power of passionate people faced with limited time and resource constraints


exploring possibilities

Decided to explore ways of continuing what we started

Struggled to define the driving purpose of our organization


exploring possibilities

Stanford Resourcescourses on social-e and starting a ventureGSB students with skills and experience

Lessons LearnedMake sure everyone is passionate about the same vision

Focus your initial action plan to target a specific problem/area/customer


launching the challenge

Late summer - decided to run an entrepreneurial microfinance benefit competition

Two students took the quarter off to coordinate the work


launching challenge

Stanford Resourcesflexibility of school for leaves of absencehelpful and high-caliber people at Stanford

Lesson LearnedTalk to lots and lots of people about your idea and find a mentor to guide your efforts

Executing is imperative! Make sure you get the right stuff done by the right time.


fear and uncertainty

After challenge some members were burned out and needed a break

Unclear who would lead the group and whether we should continue at all


fear and uncertainty

Stanford Resourcesnot many... perhaps a detriment

Lessons LearnedLearn to delegate (easy to say!) responsibilities

Passion is what keeps you going

Accept that there is ALWAYS fear and uncertainty when you start something new


clarity and commitment

We finally clarified what we were trying to do and who would take the lead.

People are more likely to get involved in something they understand.


clarity and commitment

Stanford ResourcesBASES Social E-ChallengeFreshmen!

Lessons LearnedWhen you finally “get” what you are doing, it makes work much easier

To collaborate better - understand the strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your team


where we are today

Launching Gumball University(gumballuniversity.org)

Building Board of Directors

3-5 year planning


suggested reading

The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki(he also has a new book - Reality Check)

The Dip by Seth Godin(also has a new book - Tribes)

Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston(ALSO should be coming out with sequel soon)


where we are today

Questions?


contact info

Jason ShenGumball Capital

Executive Director

[email protected]

617.538.3678


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Starting up at Stanford

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