Class 7: September 8, 2026 · ENTR 5500
Notes from September 8, 2026. These notes record the discussion and instructions given that day. For current requirements and due dates, use the assignment guidelines and semester schedule.
Class slides · ENTR Announcements slides
Practicing entrepreneurial action
Failure tolerance means becoming able to encounter rejection, learn from the experience and keep acting. A short pitch competition can provide practice even when winning feels unlikely. The example mentioned in class was Jia Jiang’s 100 Days of Rejection, including his request for a burger refill.
Identity can support action. The discussion connected James Clear’s identity-based habits to trying entrepreneurship: a short accelerator or a small project lets you experience the work and decide whether you want to keep doing it. You can test that identity through participation before committing to a much larger venture.
The optional name-learning extra-credit challenge occupied much of class. It practiced remembering and connecting with classmates.
Working together on the founder project
Groups used the signup sheet linked in Slack to match interests and fill open places. Teams can have up to five members. Each team will have a private Slack channel with the instructor as its workplace of record: document official project communication and progress there. A separate social chat is fine, but substantive project work needs to remain visible in the team channel.
Raise team-fit concerns early and privately. An early adjustment is easier than changing teams halfway through the project. Group-norm activities are planned for Thursday.
Reading and deadlines
- HBS Chapter 1 quiz: the latest announced deadline is 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, September 8, on ELC. This supersedes the earlier before-class deadline.
- Begin HBS Chapter 2, “Developing Business Plans and Pitching Opportunities,” for Thursday, September 10. Finishing the whole reading beforehand is not required; scan its headings and charts, then begin a closer reading so you can follow the lecture and activities.
- Chapter 2 quiz: opens after Thursday’s class. Aim to finish before class Tuesday, September 15; the ELC closing time described in class is the end of that day.
- Theme journal: the first submission is still deferred; wait for the forthcoming prompt and deadline.
- A further optional name-challenge opportunity will be available Thursday, September 10, including for people absent today.
Opportunities mentioned
These are optional ways to practice, meet people and find support. Use the announcements slides and organizer links for final event details.
- Entrepreneurship certificate: applications are open; apply soon if you plan to pursue it.
- Hats Off to Startups: the September 9 welcome social at Studio 225 was announced for 5–7 p.m., with hat-making supplies for the first 100 attendees.
- Quick Pitch: a 90-second pitch with a $1,000 prize; an idea is enough to enter. The application deadline announced in class was September 14. See the announcements deck for this year’s entry details; the program webpage still contains older dates.
- Create Club RSVP: Mondays at 4:30 p.m., for hands-on building.
- Good Company, Good Citizen: Creature Comforts and Highland Park discuss corporate citizenship. Confirm timing with the organizer because the announced day and calendar listing differ.
- Startup social, September 24: meet people across campus at Sanford Stadium’s West End Zone; details are in the announcements deck.
- Georgia Kickstart Fund: student-led funding for student businesses. Class discussion distinguished these grants from an equity investment; check the fund’s current criteria for the appropriate stage of your business.
- Idea Accelerator: a four-week opportunity to practice customer discovery, financial literacy and investor readiness, ending with a demo day. The application deadline announced in class was Friday, September 11. Cohort I application.
- ENTR newsletter signup: receive the weekly opportunities and announcements.