Carl Schramm

Talk from Carl Schramm, the President and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation gave us a talk this morning, which was inspirational and encouraging for our time here in the US. He covered a number of topics, and had some extremely interesting things to say.

It was an interesting viewpoint on the different quadrants that make up an ideal position for an economy to bloom by providing a favorable situation for entrepreneurship. It helped me to understand the role of the US economy in the advancement of start-up business and how the UK and other countries are behind in their approaches. It was also interesting to view how the macro economy affects the micro of allowing entrepreneurial ventures to prosper.

A couple of good quotes:

"Writing a business plan is the stupidest way of becoming an entrepreneur"

"You're on a lonely journey when you are the boss"

With the mentoring scheme at the foundation, they have a rule that they can not invest in the mentee's company. This gives them an objective viewpoint, and means mentoring the business doesn’t turn into a hobby.

One final point he made is that in pursuit of your own self interest ($$$) you can't help but doing some social good in three key areas:
1. You birth the new
2. Create jobs
3. New enterprise is where all wealth is made

Carl is a fantastic speaker, with a huge amount of charisma. It was a great experience to hear his perspectives on the economy and entrepreneurship in his unique and captivating style.