Last Thursday was the kickoff of the thINCubator’s Summer 2015 cohort. We’re excited to have roughly a dozen teams attending and participating in this rapid development process to move their business ideas forward and launch successful companies here in Central NY.
We have teams building lifestyle brands, services targeted at small business efficiencies, agricultural drone tech, pro photo equipment and more. It’s going to be an awesome summer.
Week 1 Recap
The teams spent some time getting to know each other and we talked about what makes an entrepreneur (hint – you’re not born with an entrepreneurial gene, you have to want it).
Elevator Pitches
Each team also developed their first version of their elevator pitch, which is a succinct pitch you could give to a potential investor or customer in the time it takes to ride an elevator. What makes a good elevator pitch? You need to be able to answer the following questions quickly and clearly:
Who Cares? So What? Why Me?
Hackers Hustlers and Hipsters
Every good team needs a Hacker, a Hustler and a Hipster. Each team started to identify the types of people they need on board to make their idea successful – and many times it’s not the people that think like you. In the following weeks, each team will be working on identifying and building out their team and network of contacts.
Finally – we talked about affordable loss – which has to do with how much you as an entrepreneur are willing to lose in an effort to push your business forward. It’s not that the best entrepreneurs don’t fail – they adapt, fail fast, get back up and learn from their mistakes.
There are some great ideas and models in the room and we’re looking forward to week 2. Between now and then, teams are responsible for refining their elevator pitch and knowing the answers to the following questions:
- Who did you talk to over the past week?
- Has your elevator pitch changed?
- Has your customer changed?
- Where are you at with your business?
- What are your goals for the cohort?
- What means do you have available?
- What is your affordable loss?
We’ll see everyone at the next session!
