First few weeks at “Entrepreneur School”

Week 1

Nervousness, assessing of the rest of the cohort, taking notes, getting the hang of the design sprints (1 day to work on a case).

Week 2

You already have people you identify with and gravitate around during breaks, mostly because you have worked w them or met previously. I think i met 25-50%. 

Week goes by and feeling bummed and discouraged. I haven’t won any of the design sprints. Rn, trying not to think I’m the common piece. 

A few of us confess subtly feeling the pressure of having to find a team to work (and eventually track out) with, especially because we don’t have a winning idea ourselves.

Also regret not having presented anything beyond once in the 1st week. Every interaction counts and as always im too nice and generous w others. Is the correct approach or am i undermining myself?

Week 3

School is over. Classes and orgnized schedule by Antler is now reduced to a couple of sessions in the week. It is up to the cohort to organized itself and decide on its own team work. 

With 6 weeks till Xmas break (it or make it) I think there’s enough time to give it a shot to brainstorming sessions around passion topics like sustainability or women’s mental health.

It goes nowhere, as it normally does when its 8ppl sitting without a plan of action. I continue to test/think thru my stroller lease idea but upon “ sleeping on it” I decide to drop it. Besides the operational complexity (that Kabeer reassures me it is not a problem for logistic experts, but I know that Antler would not but it), I dont see a sustainable way around the financial piece (upfront capital for a long term lease), and that a droplet in the water cup.

I pivot to help Kabeer more intentionally validating his idea with shop owners. Got excited about doing research and uncovering insights but that bubble was partially bust when Arno confided over friday lunch that Kabeer was pressuring him and Mo (hammed) to track out with another idea. It felt disloyal, not because of working w different ppl (im doing that too) but bcoz he wasnt transparent about it; in fact he had told me he had consulted other folks but “only for 10min”...

Ended the week with opposing feelings: Tatiana and Bartozs wanting me in the team and being impressed by my suggestions stroke my ego and gave me a natural high, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling of being underdelivering on expectations until I come up with my own idea (and a strong one too!).

Have homework to do, clearly.

Week 4