Lessons from The Entrepreneurship Catalyst

Walking into the UB sports arena on Wednesday morning, I had pegged the De Beers Entrepreneurship Catalyst Conference as just one of those events that I would benefit nothing from. You know the events that I am referring to. Where rich stuffy guys come and tell us about how they made it in long boring lectures. Boy was I glad that I was wrong. The event was nothing short of star studded, from 9 time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis, to representatives from Stanford University. Which was expected, after all it is De Beers. To kick off the day, Peter Hong from Google gave what to me was a life changing lecture. He comes from a science background having been a marine biologist at some point in life but has managed to end up at Google with some other interesting experiences in between. His talk, I can confidently say was the highlight of the day for me. Perhaps it was because it was first on the agenda in the morning but I would like to think it was more because of what he said. He first started off with a picture of cute little wolves on the projector screen. My first instinct of course was let out a an ‘awwww’ sound as did most of my colleagues, only to find out that I had fallen prey to brain hacking. By using such tools, you open up your audience’s mind and make them more receptive to what you have to say. A trick many can employ when giving presentations in the future. 

He also highlighted the importance of vulnerability.  Vulnerability changes the nature of relationships. A simple talk with a work mate about their personal problems for example can help enhance your relationship into a deeper one. You no longer view them as just somebody you work with but somebody who has a life and problems and human and therefore changes the way you interact and even Work with them. He also touched on first impressions and the long lasting effect they have. Human beings tend to acknowledge another person even before they speak and all this is based on the micro expressions this person portrays. Peter continued to talk about happiness vs fulfilment. We all know the saying that money can’t buy happiness but when you do have money you are happy. A study done in the US showed that the average yearly income that ‘made people happy’ was $80 000. But it was also found out that people who earned more than that weren’t necessarily happy. $80 000 was basically the threshold where people felt they had enough not to worry about paying bills or going hungry. So what does it take to be fulfilled? Health. Friends. Love. Work. Being part of something bigger than you. Mindfulness is also a great quality to possess. When you are mindful you are grateful of the things you have. And lastly he talked about life. Life is hard, we can all testify to that, I know I can. But when life gets harder you should work harder and most importantly you should celebrate harder, both your failures and your successes. 

Some other great lessons that I picked up from other panellists and speakers present  are as follows:

• Entrepreneurial-ism is a team sport. Too often do we as entrepreneurs attempt to do things alone and then act surprised when we fail. You can’t know everything and you certainly can’t do everything yourself hence the importance of collaboration. Collaboration is key in Entrepreneurship.
• You need to invest in a mentor. Not only will they guide you in the right path, cos lets be honest we all lose the plot at some point, but they will also present you with opportunities to network. 
• Fail spectacularly. I think we have all heard this one plenty of times but it’s still true. From failure we get to learn so much, how to improve, what we did wrong. 
• Passion persuades. If you believe enough in what you are doing or want to do, it will come across clearly and definitely attract investors. 
• Investors must find you working. Many a times we just sit down and sing the ‘I am looking for funding’ song as an excuse to why we are not taking action. Do what you can with the little you have. Let those investors find you working and show them how serious you are. 

Overall it was an amazing experience full of young people bursting with energy and ideas. Below are some of the links to the opportunities that De Beers in collaboration with BIH and Stanford University have availed to us:

De Beers Stanford Program