Entrepreneurship is throwing yourself off a cliff and building an aeroplane on the way down

Cass celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week (12-19 November) by inviting start-ups from The Centre for Entrepreneurship to share their thoughts on ‘Moving beyond a good idea’ at a lunchtime presentation for students.

The event aimed to give students with a business idea an insight into the processes involved in taking an idea and developing it into a scalable business. Entrepreneurs Jason Anastasinis, (Travelstaytion), Alberto Lopez-Valenzuela (Alva) and Simo Dragicevic (Bet Buddy) had many useful insights both serious and amusing…

• Be honest about who you are and what you want to achieve.

At the beginning you are the company so your own integrity and trustworthiness is paramount. Whilst you will want to promote yourself and your business idea, if you go too far it could be damaging.

• Get a mentor

Impartial advice from an experienced mentor will help avoid…

• Pitfalls

Good organisation and planning will ensure there are not too many of these. However if one should occur, don’t panic – you will learn a valuable lesson (although at the time it won’t feel like it).

• Change creates opportunity

If you suffer a pitfall and change is necessary, view it as an opportunity. That way you will never miss out on a possibility.

• Familiarise yourself with legal requirements, technical necessities etc.

These are the things that will take up the most time. Expect everything to take twice as long as you planned.

• Be prepared for the long haul

Even the best companies are not overnight successes. In some ways this is better as your business will be more sustainable.

And finally…

• Attract great people

When it comes to hiring great employees, look for those who are smarter and more experienced than you are. If you have done the above points correctly, you will be able to attract them as you will be offering them a fantastic opportunity.