Introduction
This contribution denotes a reflectional
journey based on the sessions attended during the three – week tracks in the
realms of the Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the University of
Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Business Academy. A core part of the curriculum
has been the attendance and active participation in different sessions based on
the stream followed and the cognitive framework perceived. The tracks consist
of daily sessions with different entrepreneurs, professionals and experienced
players in the market and according to the stream followed they are categorized
in the Bio, ICT and General. The first two weeks I attended the Bio –
Entrepreneurship track and the last week the General – Entrepreneurship track.
Areas of interest
The program of the tracks as a whole can be
perceived under three pillars: biotechnology,
entrepreneurship and personal development. These above mentioned pillars repose the starting point of understanding the framework
of biotechnology, its developments
in Luxembourg, the research culture that brings and the way it is expressed
through business incentives and monetization. Entrepreneurship is the key issue since the majority of the
speakers has either been experienced entrepreneurs themselves or has been
actively involved in the promotion of an entrepreneurial spirit by embellishing
a new mindset through their personal paths, mistakes and perceptions. Last but
not least personal development has
led to the endorsement and the empowerment of being able to comprehend the
individual role of the person per se in terms of grasping the inner energy,
feelings, strengths, weaknesses and perseverance which lead into taking the
initiative to think outside of the box, take the big step forward and make the
dream become a reality.
Purpose & Methodology
The purpose of this reflection is not to point
out every single detail, to comment, assess or even describe every single
session per se, but to try and extract some main ideas, key words or even
core phrases that have remained in my mind, that still echo and inspire me by
developing personal attitudes, bringing a new mindset and setting up the field.
This material will be analyzed based on my experience, feelings and ability to
grasp and assess the working knowledge. It is comprised of my own perceptions,
interpretation and feelings combined to the ideas and the presentations of each
lecturer. In a nutshell the reflection will mainly focus into creating and
enriching the pool of entrepreneurial characteristics by going deeper into psychological
pathways of establishing both an inner feeling and the elements of ethical and
moral principles that have created a strong impact in my personality, character
and academic learning.
Reflectional journey
As a starting point, one of the first key words
that still echoes in my mind is the word needs
and the way they can be transformed into an entrepreneurial opportunity. Paul
Kerney[1]
mentioned that without needs there are no solutions, without solutions it is
virtually impossible to establish value.
Value is represented by a "solution"
that enables a prospect to make money, save money, save time and reduce risk. If
a value cannot be established, it is practically impossible to justify any price. And by price it is denoted here not
only the monetization of the solution i.e. the amount of money that the
customer would pay in return for the solution to the problem but also the
feeling of success and satisfaction of the return through a viable and
sustainable solution. Listening to the word need, it immediately came to my
mind a phrase from a book I was reading a while ago by Micheal Strong [2009][2].
Strong is talking about his vision of creating a community of people who would
share the vision of understanding the needs and would serve as a beacon to
liberty human potential and making the world a better place. And this is what
entrepreneurship is about. It is not only about profit, it is not only about
money and capitalization. It is about liberating the entrepreneurial spirit for
good and promoting the proposition that “creative entrepreneurs can help solve all
the challenges and needs in the world”.
According to Richard Fry[3], “understanding
the need is a core element of the process of becoming a successful entrepreneur”.
If I could try and give a character to the process I would say that the path
consists of the following elements: curiosity - credibility, building a
sustainable relationship, earning the right to ask "hard" questions (earn the right to ask difficult
questions by giving, receiving and sharing), identification of needs,
qualification (putting together all the little pieces of information, reflecting
and going back with suggestions), presenting solutions, establishing value,
commitment and finally proceeding to the actual “deal”. This is the process
that a successful entrepreneur should be able to follow, understand and be
committed to.
[1] Tuesday February 7th, Paul Kerney, CEO and
co – founder of Integrated Diagnostics on “Report
from the field: Case studies in Biotech Entrepreneurship”
[2] Michael Strong “Be the solution – how entrepreneurs and conscious capitalists can
solve all the world’s problems”. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2009. New
Jersey.
[3] Tuesday February 7th, Richard Fry, CEO of
Cellon on “Entrepreneurs, start ups from
trading to production of bottles”
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