Class 8: September 10, 2026 · ENTR 5500
Notes from September 10, 2026. These notes record the discussion and instructions given that day. For current requirements and due dates, use the assignment guidelines and semester schedule.
Working well as a team
Group work is practice in building relationships and coordinating with people whose habits and perspectives differ from yours. The point is to make useful expectations explicit before frustration builds.
The team conversation used three prompts:
- Anti-goals: What experiences do you want to avoid? Examples include unanswered messages, missed commitments, scheduling problems, and difficulty confronting friends.
- Hopes / ideal experiences: Recall a collaboration that went well. What made it work, and what would you like to bring to this team?
- Personal user manual: Share two or three things that help others work with you—such as your working hours, communication preferences, or how you like reminders and feedback. Share only what you feel comfortable disclosing.
Making working preferences visible helps teammates ask useful questions instead of inventing negative explanations for one another’s behavior. Smaller groups also reduce the number of relationships that need coordination.
Turn the conversation into a useful Slack record
Create three separate parent messages in your private team channel: Anti-goals, Hopes / ideal experiences, and User manuals. Each teammate should add their own replies in the corresponding threads. This keeps the main channel readable while preserving who contributed each idea.
When you have an entrepreneur in mind, create and pin an Entrepreneur Profile: [name] message. Use replies to collect the company’s website and social links, your connection to the entrepreneur, relevant contact information, eligibility details, and possible interview questions. You were not required to have made the final selection today.
Record important decisions and conversations in Slack, even briefly. A small note with a name, idea, or next step is more useful than an unrecorded conversation.
Why this matters for entrepreneurial AI use
Agentic AI can carry out tasks using tools and computer interactions. The class example was a custom photo workflow that applied a business’s own selection standards and used portrait name cards to organize a large shoot. The lesson is to define the outcome and standards, try a small version, give feedback, and improve it.
Useful agents need context: written decisions, links, records of work, and the standards people care about. A well-used shared workspace becomes part of an organization brain: accessible knowledge of how work happens, who does it, and why decisions were made. It helps both teammates and their tools understand what is happening. Using agentic AI in the group project is optional. Curiosity and caution can coexist; start from your actual experience and consider the trade-offs. These workflow ideas supplement the brief group-logistics headings in the slides.
The sample class summaries were also a live MVP example: share a version with enough substance to get useful feedback, then iterate.
Name extra credit concluded, and class time was provided for the ENTR baseline survey.
Before next class
- Read HBS course-pack Chapter 4, the Frank Addante case, by Tuesday, September 15. Skip Chapter 3 for now. The discussion date was still provisional, but the reading request was Tuesday.
- HBS Chapter 2 quiz: deadline extended to Thursday, September 17. It is open now. This replaces the September 15 date shown on slide 8; check ELC for the exact closing time.
- Review the September 3 and September 8 class summaries in Slack. Spend a few minutes identifying useful additions, missing ideas, or preferred formatting; reply with feedback or upvote an existing suggestion.
- Finish the team norms threads and begin the pinned entrepreneur profile when you have a candidate.
ENTR announcements were briefly revisited. The weekly newsletter carries program events and opportunities.
Program opportunities mentioned included the Society of Entrepreneurs Lunch & Learn with Joe Nedza on Tuesday, September 15 at noon in Studio 225, and Nordic study away (new details forthcoming). Consult the announcements for current event information.