Insight: Entrepreneurship from classroom to culture
I attended an entrepreneurship event called Mind and Market while I was studying abroad in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. At this event I was able to talk to multiple entrepreneurs about their start-ups, the majority of these entrepreneurs were from Belgium or France. Before this, I had only ever attended entrepreneurship events in the United States and was looking forward to seeing the difference in attending one in Europe. I was able to experience many notable interactions while at this event but my first one was with a woman who owned a business called Life Cover, her business was a Velcro pouch that you can put on any bag or bike on your person that holds all of your health information in case you are found and in need of medical help. This woman explained to us that her son is disabled and she created this business with him as an inspiration as she wanted to feel safe if anything were to happen to him. I found that her connection to this business made her passion shine through so clearly and made her story that much more inspiring. I learned from her that although making money in a company is extremely important, making a difference is just as valuable. As a business student, specifically an entrepreneurship student, it can be so easy to get caught up in the money and numbers aspect often, that we forget the power of truly having a passion and purpose for what we do. After learning this I feel as though I have put this forth in my day-to-day activities, and I keep this idea in the back of my mind when considering my future and career. I believe that a personal connection also motivates you to push through the difficult parts of creating a business which can be extremely helpful, and it can also attract more people with a similar story. As the demand for businesses to care less about profit and more about societal issues rises, it is important to understand why that is and what there is a need for in society.
I have taken two classes that have reinforced my learnings in this space, these include International Entrepreneurship which I took at USC, and Strategic Management of Startups which I took in Belgium. My main takeaway from these classes largely included what was different between the two, both were focused on start-ups and how to create your own business but went about it in very contrasting ways. I found that in Belgium we were much more people focused on our research and looked into how various start-up failures affect the employees, how difficult it is for your personal life to create a start-up, and how business decisions affect customers. On the opposite side, in International Entrepreneurship at USC we were solely focused on frameworks of starting a business, the internal operations, and how to be profitable. Looking into it deeper, these two classes reflected almost exactly what I experienced through people in Europe vs. the United States. I feel as though Europe is much more focused on people's lives and happiness, while the U.S. is focused on making money, having a good career, and productivity. This huge cultural difference taught me that I truly feel as though there is somewhere in between in which I want to live. It is very easy to get caught up in your career and salary but it is hard for that to matter when you are not building relationships with those around you and pursuing your purpose and happiness. This ties in well with ensuring that you have a passion for what you do and therefore, you can combine your career with your pursuit of happiness.
I have taken two classes that have reinforced my learnings in this space, these include International Entrepreneurship which I took at USC, and Strategic Management of Startups which I took in Belgium. My main takeaway from these classes largely included what was different between the two, both were focused on start-ups and how to create your own business but went about it in very contrasting ways. I found that in Belgium we were much more people focused on our research and looked into how various start-up failures affect the employees, how difficult it is for your personal life to create a start-up, and how business decisions affect customers. On the opposite side, in International Entrepreneurship at USC we were solely focused on frameworks of starting a business, the internal operations, and how to be profitable. Looking into it deeper, these two classes reflected almost exactly what I experienced through people in Europe vs. the United States. I feel as though Europe is much more focused on people's lives and happiness, while the U.S. is focused on making money, having a good career, and productivity. This huge cultural difference taught me that I truly feel as though there is somewhere in between in which I want to live. It is very easy to get caught up in your career and salary but it is hard for that to matter when you are not building relationships with those around you and pursuing your purpose and happiness. This ties in well with ensuring that you have a passion for what you do and therefore, you can combine your career with your pursuit of happiness.
Read more about my Mind and Market Experience! Click here