The Evolution of Disciplined Entrepreneurship

In entrepreneurship, you are taught to first identify a problem, then find a solution. When you put this solution into action, you begin creating ideas and establishing them into a business plan. At MIT, you are taught to be disciplined and structured; yet, you are also reminded to loosen the grip around our ideas. When you hold on to an idea too tightly, you risk suffocating it.

Keeping a tight grip can close your business off to other opportunities for growth. This classic form of sabotage increases your chance of failure, sometimes before you even get started. By loosening your grip, you are gently cupping your ideas while allowing your support and openness to nurture their growth. This supports your business to evolve organically, not only when you are starting, but in the years to come, when your business is established in the market. When Bill Aulet began teaching entrepreneurship at MIT, he had a goal for his future; yet, because he did not suffocate his idea, his knowledge and experience in this field evolved into something much more than the limitation of a classroom.

After years of teaching and living entrepreneurship, Bill identified a problem: not all entrepreneurs are disciplined, yet successful entrepreneurship is. Most entrepreneurs believe that chaos and unpredictability brought success; but all too often, this illusion has led to failure. If entrepreneurs are disciplined, they are better prepared to handle any chaos and unpredictability that will inevitably show up; allowing them to easily pivot their plan. This inspired Bill to look into his bag of experience and outline 24 crucial steps to successfully launch a business. He began teaching these steps to his graduate students at MIT and online through MIT OpenCourseWare, which offers global access.

Any good teacher will tell you when you have an idea, write it down! Neuroscience studies show that writing helps the brain visualize and comprehend ideas better than simply thinking about them. I also believe there is a certain creative magic in the air when you begin putting your pen to paper. Bill tapped into this creativity, compositing his classroom teachings of the 24 steps for entrepreneurs into a book. Once Bill put his words onto paper, the magic began to evolve his work. His book, Disciplined Entrepreneurship, published in 2013, has since been translated into 19 additional languages, spanning globally across every major business market, and evolved into a supplementary workbook.

The following year, MIT Bootcamps launched an international entrepreneurship program structured around innovation from Bill’s 24 steps. At the bootcamp, students are broken into teams where they identify a problem, determine a solution in the form of a product, and build a business plan around this product. Students learn to stay open to ideas since teams will often need to pivot, sometimes multiple times, to create a product that will best serve their customers and is also market viable. At the end of this intense week, each team is given the opportunity to pitch their idea to a panel of industry-specific professionals and venture capitalists. Bill is actively involved with these bootcamps and has a supportive relationship with its alumni.

On May 24, 2019, an ambitious group of MIT Bootcamp alumni presented their entrepreneurial experience and knowledge of working with each of the 24 steps, plus a bonus 25th step created by a student. This innovative presentation connected alumni from over 70 countries for a continuous 25-hour live stream, allowing students from different cohorts to interact and encouraged the utilization of MIT’s Global Community. Bill made a cameo appearance during the live stream, where he gave an enlightening Q&A session and encouraged everyone to stay disciplined while pursuing their business ideas.

If Bill hadn’t loosened his grip all those years ago, his idea to educate entrepreneurs with a disciplined approach may have simply suffocated in the classrooms at MIT. Instead, openness and a disciplined approach supported his idea to evolve into the innovated teaching structure it is today. From lecturing in a classroom to creating an online course to a published book, and most recently, to an international bootcamp program, Bill Aulet is able to reach entrepreneurs worldwide and he has no plans of suffocating the evolution process now.