Sustaining the Fire: My Life After the MIT Entrepreneurship Development Program

In the early stages of my entrepreneurial journey, I used to think that getting a product to market as quickly as possible, even without knowing my customers first, was the path to success. Inundated as we are with such popular wisdom, we sometimes take blitzscaling too literally, jumping into a market’s deep end without even looking to see what’s down below.

After going through the rigors of MIT’s Entrepreneurship Development Program, I’ve come to see things in a whole new light. EDP was more than an educational experience; it was like looking into a mirror and making a full assessment of myself not only as an entrepreneur but also as a human being.

In the latter sense, I found myself surrounded by as many mind-opening ideas as there were people to share them. Interacting with intelligent folks from a wide variety of backgrounds, I understood that the desire for success may be universal, but that everyone brings a unique set of variables to the equation. Because most of the participants had at least 8-10 years of professional experience in their respective fields, we were able to share so much of what we had learned, using it to till the common ground in which we planted our newfound rapport. Our networking continues to thrive, as even now we make time to keep abreast of one another’s activities via our WhatsApp group.
Having said that, EDP was anything but a social club. It was one of the most intense learning experiences of my life and allowed us the opportunity to focus on something as we never had before. Our assignment was built around a farm-to-table marketplace. We pulled many all-nighters to give the project the attention it deserved, staying up until 3:00 a.m. on the day of the presentation to fine-tune it for our audience.

The lessons I learned from this experience are immeasurable, but the following are my top three takeaways that I cultivate on a daily basis.

• Takeaway 1: Understand who your customers are and what can you do for them. As a newcomer, you should not even begin building—let alone offer—your product or service without knowing your customers, the value you can bring them, your strategy and cost of customer acquisition, and how you plan to turn a profit (i.e., your business model).
• Takeaway 2: Innovation equals invention times commercialization. Focusing on the invention without figuring out how to build and scale a sustainable business is like shooting yourself in the proverbial foot. In the words of Bill Aulet, Managing Director at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship: “I tell people, don’t focus on financing. Focus on building a great company. There is a lot of money out there, but there aren’t a lot of great opportunities to invest in.”
• Takeaway 3: Be antifragile. Antifragile entrepreneurs are the quintessential businesspeople of the 21st century who understand what is to be gained from disorder. In practical terms, this means not only being resilient to shocks and setbacks but also learning from them in the interest of personal and professional growth. This is a vital survival tactic in an increasingly adversarial marketplace.

Incorporating all of these concepts (and more) into my psychological portfolio has strengthened me accordingly. Through them, I have come to see challenges not as setbacks but as moments to cherish for the fires they light under me. Before attending EDP, I always built a product first and launched it to market to gauge my customers’ needs. In addition, any data I had prior to development was typically secondary research from online and academic sources. Since going through the program, I make it a priority to conduct primary market research with my team toward developing new products while improving my existing services and business models in the process.
Being an entrepreneur is one thing, but standing firm in the world as an antifragile entrepreneur is quite another. Since implementing an antifragile organizational culture in my company, I have seen noticeable differences in the way we optimize all levels of business operation. Had I not gone through the unique training processes provided by MIT, I hate to imagine what my mindset might have been during this turning point in history we all face as COVID-19 continues to disrupt industries across the board. Armed as I am now with tested and proven concepts, I am no longer a slave to the fight-or-flight survival mode of my past. Rather, I keep my eyes peeled to how much I can gain (sales, customers, profit, etc.) through the current pandemic instead of wallowing in the misery of what I have lost. Just as importantly, I have made sure to implement protocols that protect my employees and associates so that everyone knows how valued they are. I also give back to my community through acts of charity. Without that support, everything falls apart, and it’s up to us as EDP ambassadors to put our money where our mouth is and keep the flow of commerce alive.
If anything about my experience resonates with anyone reading this, let it be this: Entrepreneurship isn’t about status or wealth, but about creating value where there was none before and building a sustainable business robust enough to weather any storm. Without that, we have only our humanity.
Never forget where it all starts, and where it all ends!