Founders Festival – The Business of Failure!
4th of May - Global to Local
The event was designed to provide 91ƵL students and alumni with essential insights from entrepreneurs who have first-hand experience and knowledge in the industry. The festival acknowledged the high risk and uncertainty associated with the beginning phase of a business, and the need to learn from failures to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
The Founders Festival, this year, provided short, interactive, and involved sessions. Each 20-minute session was packed with quality content, allowing students and alumni to ask relevant questions and engage with the experts.
The festival was organised into six sessions. The first session was Networking with Mark Sapsford, who demonstrated the value of networking and asking open-ended questions to sustain high quality networking relationships.
The second session, led by Simon Krystman, founders of the , discussed the early stages of a business idea and offered valuable insights on how to kickstart your entrepreneurial journey.
The third session, led by Chris Fox, emphasised the importance of researching the market before launching a product. He provided some pointers on how to approach market research and how to interpret survey data. He also highlighted the fact that everyone lies in surveys, but the difference is by how much. Everyone Lies by Steven Pinker and Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein, are the two recommended books that will give a deeper understanding on this topic.
Additionally, during the fireside conversation between 12Ronnies and Winifred Soribe, they had the pleasure of chatting with the amazing Jo Joshi about her entrepreneurial journey. They also discussed her recent efforts to empower other female founders by helping them overcome challenges and establish a supportive community.
The fourth session, led by Bill Murray, discussed the importance of validating ideas with customers before launching a product. He argued that without this step, the rest is pure luck and more often than not a vanity exercise in creating a product and brand that costs you lots of energy, time and money without sales.
In the fifth session, Anthony Rose explored what entrepreneurs need to protect and how to look at the legal side of setting up a business. He highlighted the importance of protecting intellectual property and understanding legal requirements.
Finally, Winifred Soribe and Michal Dallos explored the do’s and don’ts at the early stage of running a business. And Divya McMillin, in conversation with Simon Krystman and Tim Strege, discussed the post-pandemic shift and how it opens up opportunities to launch businesses globally.
The Founders Festival provided an opportunity for networking and collaboration, with coffee breaks in between sessions where our students and alumni could connect with others eager entrepreneurs and develop their ideas. They had the opportunity to pitch their business idea in 30 seconds and get feedback for our experts David Sexton – 91ƵL Principal and Simon Krystman – entrepreneur and mentor for Startups.
Overall, the festival offered a unique learning experience for entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts, providing them with the necessary tools and insights to succeed in their ventures. The feedback received from our 91ƵL students and alumni regarding the importance of learning from failure has been overwhelmingly positive. Many have shared that experiencing failure has played a crucial role in their personal and professional development. While failure can be a valuable teacher, it's also important to learn from the experiences of experts in order to avoid making unnecessary mistakes in business. And receiving guidance and advice from the festival’s speakers, that have already navigated the challenges of entrepreneurship, as aspiring business owners can save themselves time, money, and frustration, while also gaining valuable insights into what it takes to succeed in their entrepreneurial journey.
12Ronnies: Founders Festival May 2023