Thanks to Mimi Bean for providing a recap of the event:
We were pleased to have Sam Rosenbalm as our keynote speaker. Sam is the Director for Community Engagement at Microsoft where he directs the BizSpark program. So far, BizSpark’s accelerating the growth of over 40,000 startups in 100 countries by providing technical, marketing and business resources (e.g., software tools and production licenses). As he explained, “It’s about long-term partnerships. It’s also about citizenship.”
Sam shared 10 relevant lessons from his own career path: (1) Travel the world. (2) Listen to smart people. (3) Study everything. (4) Do something crazy. (5) Build stuff. (6) Work hard. (7) Adapt. (8) Follow your gut. (9) Choose the right partner. (10) Help others.
He emphasized your team, your business plan (with monetization), and knowing your community. For creatives, check out Four Peaks and SXSW Seattle (2012). For tech, that includes TechNW (2012), MITEF NW, The Seattle Interactive Conference (November 2-3) and of course, ongoing TechFlash Events.
In terms of your pitch, he stressed clear answers to 2 simple questions: How is your idea different? How will it make money?
And note that in a cloud-based world, the lines between targets, customers and vendors blur while new scenarios and new paradigms emerge. It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur.
PS: Sam recommends The Design of Business and Start-up Nation.
PPS: He’s starting a Master’s in Digital Media at the UW. While keeping his day job. And raising kids. Proving again that it’s all about hard work.
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