KU School of Business celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week
Learn more about the week‘s event lineup and more from Ryan Rains, director of entrepreneurship co-curricular programs
Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is a worldwide celebration that brings together entrepreneurs and honors the innovations they bring to their communities. The Management and Entrepreneurship academic area at the KU School of Business will host a series of events Nov. 19–22 to encourage students to engage and connect with entrepreneurs within the KU and Lawrence communities.
Global Entrepreneurship Week lineup:
- Getting Started Panel: 3–4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, Tim Barton Colloquium, 1010 Capitol Federal Hall. RSVP by Nov. 12.
- Student Startups Side Hustle Panel: 12:15–1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, Tim Barton Colloquium, 1010 Capitol Federal Hall. RSVP by Nov. 13.
- Business Model Competition: 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, Tim Barton Colloquium, 1010 Capitol Federal Hall
- Mass. Street Founder Tour: 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, Downtown Lawrence. RSVP by Nov. 19.
Learn more from Ryan Rains, director of entrepreneurship co-curricular programs, about GEW and events planned.
Why is it important to have this week celebrated?
Global Entrepreneurship Week takes place around the world and celebrates entrepreneurial experiences worldwide. I think it’s valuable for our students to participate in what is happening around the world. Hopefully, it provides fuel for their curiosity and some next steps for what they want to do with entrepreneurship.
What are the plans to make this a long-lasting program?
We previously did things in Global Entrepreneurship Week before I started here two years ago. It is our intention to continue to have events during Global Entrepreneurship Week in the fall moving forward. For the foreseeable future, as far as I can tell, we will continue doing that.
What is the difference between this and the Entrepreneurship Lunch and Learns?
Our Wednesday event will be like a “lunch and learn.” It will take place over lunch and function very much like a lunch and learn. The other events will be distinctly different: One will be in the afternoon and will have more panel participants. We will have a competition on Thursday that is very different from the lunch and learns. On Friday, we are taking a tour around Lawrence startups, which is different.
Lunch and learns are great for getting in the room and being with other people interested in entrepreneurship. They are a very low-risk, low-bar way to participate. In some ways, they are at the top of our sales funnel. Other places for students to take a first step where the risk is a little higher, and the bar is a little higher, to help meet them at the point of their curiosity. If you think of curiosity as currency, we are trying to find a place for them to spend our curiosity with us.
What can you tell us about the business model competition?
There is a canvas called the Business Model Canvas that was developed by Alex Osterwalder over 10 years ago. It’s a business plan on one page, and it takes you through things like value proposition, customer segment channels, customer relationships, revenues, costs, key activities and key resources. You think holistically about your venture, what is the model for how your venture will work and all of these pieces considered.
We hope the Business Model Competition lets students stretch to think big picture about how these ventures will work, and then we want to give them feedback and score them on how well they have done. You can imagine a situation where the first time you fill out the canvas, it is very general. The more you know about your value proposition, customer segments, costs and revenue, the more you have to write in those boxes so it can get way more specific. It can become like a journal for your business where you fill it out once, and you start to dive in and get more information. You had more information to write in the boxes on the canvas, and as you flip the pages, you can see your progress.
What are ways people can be successful in entrepreneurship?
I think a lot is trying to be honest about why you are becoming an entrepreneur. Are you in it to make more money? Are you in it because you are passionate about something or want to make a difference? I think it can be a number of those things; it can be all of those. Curiosity is extremely important because entrepreneurship often feels like trying to solve one problem after another. If you are not interested in trying to find what the real problem is and how to solve it, then maybe you are looking for someone else to give you direction, which can work against an entrepreneur who needs to be able to navigate ambiguity themselves.
Anything else you would like to add?
We have some great students, and I am super thrilled for the students that have engaged with us. They are curious and I admire their courage to be vulnerable and to share things they are interested in with other people because that can make them feel vulnerable. I think what a great time to do that, in college, and get your reps in.
To learn more about Global Entrepreneurship Week at the School of Business, visit business.ku.edu/global-entrepreneurship-week.
By Grace Ludes
