{"id":4878,"date":"2020-08-07T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/?p=4878"},"modified":"2020-07-29T17:12:25","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T21:12:25","slug":"entrepreneurial-spirit-shines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/2020\/08\/07\/entrepreneurial-spirit-shines\/","title":{"rendered":"Entrepreneurial Spirit Shines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Innovators Lean Into Change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Made with organic, whole ingredients, the breakfast solution called \u00f8ats by Alique Fisher \u201922 was one of this year’s TIA ventures. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If there\u2019s one thing an entrepreneur needs to know, it\u2019s how to shift gears. With the COVID-19 pandemic throwing a wrench into their original plans, entrepreneurs with the Thought Into Action (TIA) Incubator<\/a> have taken this mantra to heart, thinking on their feet and adapting to new circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a virtual mentor meeting on April 4, Andy Greenfield \u201974, who is a co-founder of the TIA Incubator with Wills Hapworth \u201907, encouraged this year\u2019s group to lean into change. \u201cAn entrepreneur\u2019s path is strewn with challenges, problems, disruptions \u2014 that\u2019s the sport you all have chosen,\u201d Greenfield said. \u201cThe mark of an entrepreneur is how they deal with those problems. Do they attack them, or do they cower from them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2019\u201320 TIA cohort \u2014 consisting of 53 entrepreneurs \u2014 chose to attack their problems head on. Open to students, alumni, and community members, \u201cthe TIA program enables participants to go through the process of developing a solution to a problem or a challenge that they see in the world,\u201d says Carolyn Strobel, the program\u2019s director. \u201cIt teaches them the skills to build their own venture from the ground up and how to be flexible when things don\u2019t turn out as expected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, the program culminates in Entrepreneur Weekend, during which the participants showcase their products and solutions. During the demo fair, each team sets up a booth and presents its venture to alumni, parents, faculty, and staff in hopes of fostering future business connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, the program needed to adapt to the changing circumstances \u2014 in the true spirit of entrepreneurship. \u201cIn TIA, we talk about the need to be adaptable and resilient,\u201d Strobel says. \u201cAs entrepreneurs, our students often find out that the solution they envision at the beginning is not where they end up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Sciola, associate vice president for career initiatives, echoes this sentiment. \u201cThe whole TIA team has really been challenged to put our money where our mouth is, embrace disruptions, and create new solutions,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s Entrepreneur Weekend evolved into an online version of the demo fair, or the Virtual Venture Showcase. The showcase, which launched April 18, highlighted the 2019\u201320 TIA cohort\u2019s 32 unique businesses, nonprofits, and campus initiatives. On the showcase website, visitors could read about these ventures, watch their video pitches, and actively help these projects grow by clicking the \u201cI Can Help\u201d button. Participating ventures ranged from \u00f8ats, an organic, waste-free, overnight oats brand developed by Alique Fisher \u201922, to social media marketing services that Sheila Dunne \u201920 and Luke Goodwin\u2019s company, DunneGoodwin, provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The showcase was a success, hitting 1,500 visitors on the day it went live and then netting an average of 500 visitors per day. While TIA hopes to return to hosting the event in person next year, the virtual showcase will also be included. \u201cThat way, the world can join us in congratulating Colgate entrepreneurs,\u201d remarks Sciola. \u201cWe\u2019ve learned a valuable lesson \u2014 adapting to changing conditions without fear of failure is key to innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the roadblocks, Sciola sees the format change as an opening for the spirit of entrepreneurship to shine through. \u201cThis has been a great opportunity for our teams to think, \u2018OK, this is the way things are. How can we move forward?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Entrepreneurs with the Thought Into Action Incubator leaned into change this past spring. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1221,"featured_media":4879,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[315],"coauthors":[592],"class_list":["post-4878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-endeavor","tag-tia"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/palXSH-1gG","amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/07\/oats.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4878"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4918,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4878\/revisions\/4918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4878"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}