Whether you are looking to start your own company in the Netherlands or elsewhere, or you are looking for innovative ideas, the Entrepreneurship Day was the place to be. This article will not talk about the details surrounding the firms of Kristie and Dirko, alumni of the Radboud University, but would rather report on the key takeaways.
The main question that plagues many entrepreneurs is why their businesses fail within the first five years. According to our alumni, this can be because of lack of funding, lack of new projects, lack of network, lack of unawareness towards the consumer, lack of proper marketing, finance, and R&D strategy, and lack of communication within colleagues, lack of enthusiasm, and unwillingness to continue operating in the face of uncertainty. The entrepreneurs have to be enthusiastic about their company, have a product or service that people can benefit from, be willing to operate at a loss, in the beginning, find funding, and grow a strong, supporting network that can help them start and maintain the organization in the long run.
Dirko talked about the kind of people you will need in your startup and these are a visionary, operator, creative, and the hero. Of the four, the visionary and the operator are the most important. You need the visionary because that person is the one who will come up with the new plan, the operator is the one who will solve the problems that come. The other two roles can be shared as they are more about being crafty in the ways you implement ideas and the way resources are used.
Social entrepreneurship is the type of organizational structure in which you produce a good or provide a service while simultaneously alleviating an existing problem. For example, a Radboud student’s company, Gight, is focused on providing light on the floor of the house to the elderly so they can go downstairs or to the bathroom in the evening without worrying that they would fall down or waking up their partner.
If you are interested in entrepreneurship, you’ve missed this opportunity. However, I hope this article gave you an idea of what to beware and what to do when starting your own entrepreneurship adventure. If you want to know more or want some advice from experienced entrepreneurs: why don`t you visit either Mercator Launch at the university or network organizations like RVN@? One thing that is safe to say, is that the Entrepreneurship Day will be organized again in the next academic year, with brand new speakers and workshops. We are already looking forward to it!
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