Why Entrepreneurs Need to Travel

Entrepreneurship, StartUpEdu July 28, 2014 Daniel Francavilla Leave a comment

This summer, I went on a roadtrip with two friends, traveling through the USA. One week of driving from Toronto to Buffalo and west to the Rockies, then south to Arizona (over 120°F), where we stayed for about a week. While driving 5,000 KM over the course of a few days (we flew home, thankfully) may sound exhausting, there were great unexpected stops, lessons, new experiences and hilarious moments. As an entrepreneur, changing up your routine and being exposed to all of this can have an awesome impact. Here are…

The New Millennial Life: What does being an entrepreneur mean to a young person?

StartUpEdu July 2, 2014 Daniel Francavilla Leave a comment

Often, when defining an “entrepreneur”, often Virgin’s Richard Branson or Apple’s Steve Jobs come up. These are definitely entrepreneurs, but from a specific era who grew empires worth may Billions of dollars. With entrepreneurship becoming a more common (and at time necessary) part of life for everyday people, it is time to re-define the image of an “entrepreneur”. One of my clients at Now Creative Group (and former colleague at The Apple Store), Dave Anderson, has made it his mission to make entrepreneurship mainstream, specifically for millennials…

Sustainable Business Models: Be married to the process, not the idea

StartUpEdu June 10, 2014 Daniel Francavilla Leave a comment

Launch lean. Pivot or iterate. Change one of the boxes in your Business Model Canvas, or make a tweak to your Positioning… A whirlwind of knowledge that would take months to navigate was covered over 5 short weeks in the Foundations in Entrepreneurial Management course at University of Toronto’s Continuing Studies. In the final class of the course, instructor Keri Damen, also the Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at MaRS Discovery District, shared some solid setup success tips. Get Setup for Success 7 Questions to Asses Your Business Model How easy or difficult it…

Startups vs. Businesses: Defining Your Venture Along the Way

StartUpEdu June 1, 2014 Daniel Francavilla Leave a comment

What’s the difference between a start-up and a business? During a recent #StartUpEdu course, one big thing that stood out to me was how startups specifically differ from big companies. Particularly: #Startups are not smaller versions of big companies. #StartUpEdu (at @oisenews) http://t.co/AwPaIGqxwY — Daniel Francavilla (@francavilla) May 27, 2014 Startups are not smaller versions of large companies. The lean definition of a startup is actually a “temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model”. I haven’t had it explained to me in this way before, and…

Are Entrepreneurs Alone?

StartUpEdu May 21, 2014 Daniel Francavilla Leave a comment

Although it may look (or feel) that way at first, entrepreneurship is not a lone pursuit. Every individual entrepreneur (and their new enterprise) is part of an existing ecosystem. Ecosystems and the networks within them include customers, suppliers and providers, government and other regulatory bodies, and trade associations. For an ecosystem to thrive, it needs to be inclusive of others who want to participate and contribute, and the members need to be engaged. The ecosystem is a community or network, rather than a hierarchy. These 4 aspects of the…