the h.ive project

Stanford student innovators lunch and visit to the d.school

Last Friday we had the unique opportunity to have lunch with leaders from SSE and StartX. Here are some key points that emerged from our conversation about student entrepreneurship and StartX’s roll as a student startup accelerator:

- Don’t make things too easy. Establish the infrastructure and give students the resources, but they need to put in the hard work. Learning through doing is essential.

- Give free office space to professionals in exchange for mentorship pairing with student entrepreneurs.

- Standford cultivates an entrepreneurial culture through: professors that are supportive of entrepreneurship; inspiring and motivational speakers from the field; offering a range of computer science classes (that are actually good); and establishing a liberal leave policy (2 years no questions).

- For a startup incubator or accelerator to be successful at a University the administration needs to see it as an education opportunity and treat it as one.

- StartX has been successful because its core value is to do what’s best for the teams. Feedback systems are essential in the prosperity of the StartX - Team relationship and the success of the entrepreneur’s venture.

Also checkout some of our photos from the Stanford d.school. The d.school is the brainchild of IDEO founder David Kelley and centered on the teaching of design thinking. Checkout their manifesto. 

-Keaton

Started out our day at Sight Glass with a delicious cup of artisan coffee and interesting conversation with 19 year-old entrepreneur Sahil Lavingia. Some tips and insights that emerged from the morning:

1. Entrepreneurs shouldn’t give away equity; that 5% could be worth millions.

2. Collaborative work spaces inspire people to work harder because they see everyone else working hard.

3. Want to connect with someone? Just email them. They usually are open to meeting with you.

4. Collaborative work space essentials: blazing fast internet, Cinema Displays and a mix of private and social spaces.