30A – Final Reflection

1)    Read through your posts from this semester. Recall all of the experiences you've had a long the way -- the highs, the lows -- the fun moments, and the moments of drudgery, and even the moments of dread.

It was incredibly nerve-racking to have to interview people and get feedback for my product. That was something that was very dreadful. However, once I started talking to people, it would be so rewarding to think that I did what I just did.

2)    What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

My experience with being dissed by people who weren’t very eager to be interviewed will be something that I will remember for the rest of my life. I was incredibly proud of myself for doing that out of the whim and it was incredibly rewarding.

3)    At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I came in curious of entrepreneurship as most people are hearing about the Steve Jobs and Elon Musk’s of the world and wondering if you have what it takes to be like them. Going through this course gave me the foundation and confident needed to go out in the world, talk to people, and notice needs and opportunities. Something that was quite memorable was after doing the Bug List, I noticed all the things that bugged me and others to the point that it actually got overwhelming to think of the things I felt obligated to fix.

4)    What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

I would recommend choosing a business idea that you want genuinely want to turn into a business- don’t just practice with a product or service that you know you will never produce. Something that I would advise students to do is not to only rely on their passion for a product or the goal of being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship may look fancy and cool on the outside, but with all that gilt and glam came intense dedication and grit. It isn’t the passion that will keep you going, it’s the grit when the going gets tough that forces you to keep on to the finish line. So, when it starts getting hard, you know that you are getting closer to the finish line. If you keep thinking that when it gets hard, you will actually get there one day.