Blog
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The building of the region's entrepreneurial culture
Jan 29, 2012 Posted by Julie Kirk Login and commentFollowing is a response to Steven Pearlstein’s recent article in the Washington Post about the lack of entrepreneurial culture in the DC area. Please join in the conversation!
Mr. Pearlstein:
While I don't disagree that the Washington area is not the poster child for entrepreneurial culture, I think you are too quick to dismiss current grassroots attempts to change this. Underlying your criticism or observations (whatever you want to call it) is a call for collaboration and community that I applaud and there are several efforts underway working to address these very issues that you seem to gloss over. For example, Startup American's regional push has the potential to gain unprecedented collaboration in affecting needed change along with programs like Aberman’s FounderCorps, ACTiVATE, and NFTE. One of the common threads of these programs is that they’re entrepreneur-driven. They are tapping into those who walk around with entrepreneurial ideas and aspirations but have no place to go to develop these or don’t know how to tap into the existing resource in this region, such as technology from our top-tier research institutions, sources of capital (which will follow the innovative ideas) or just networks of other entrepreneurs. There’re more of us out there than you think, we’re just not well connected. As the places for entrepreneurs to go and the communities continue to emerge, I believe these people will come out of the woodwork. Without this community of support and role models, however, it becomes too hard to trade in the golden handcuffs of a consistent paycheck for the uncertainty and roller coaster of entrepreneurship. We have to switch-out the KoolAid - change the mindset - but it won’t happen overnight.
My personal mission and current professional focus as an entrepreneur-turned-Director of the Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship is to 1) ignite an entrepreneurial culture and 2) connect the entrepreneurial ecosystem. These are tall tasks, but an entrepreneurial culture supports risk-taking, failing fast and getting out there and DOING something and adjusting as the market responds. We need to turn the rebuilding of the entrepreneurial culture over to entrepreneurs and allow us to be…uh…entrepreneurial. I whole-heartedly believe this can be done and will be done. In fact, I’m staking my career on it.
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The question and the answer
Nov 1, 2011 Posted by Julie Kirk Login and commentTwo articles came across my inbox today - one that poses the problem and the other that indirectly alludes to the solution. I would like to take the opportunity to make sure there's no mistake in connecting the two: The first article on Forbes website posits an opinion: " Why most women will never become CEO ." In his potentially controversial answer, author Gene Marks unfortunately points out why we (women) shouldn't wait for the GLACIAL pace of reform to just happen in corporations...we have to be the catalyst of change. A lot of women have tried that, you say? Yes, and corporations have made great strides in embracing diversity and promoting women (and other under-represented groups). Unfortunately, as the author points out, the gender lens and double standard are alive and well in many companies, casting a shadow over those that have made progress. Carl Schramm, CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation , talks about the solution: get ...continue reading -
ACTiVATE Closes the gap
Sep 28, 2011 Posted by Julie Kirk Login and commentI'm incredibly excited today. For the past six years, the Baltimore / Washington area has felt a positive economic impact from our ACTiVATE® program. A report released by The Kauffman Foundation today confirms not only the approach ACTiVATE takes to close the gaps they see, but also validates our claims about the untapped potential women have as economic creators. And as a grantee of Kauffman, I couldn't be more thrilled with the support this provides our cause. The report, titled “Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers” cites research that shows: - New companies create the most jobs - Many high-growth firms are built around new science and technology - Women have risen to the top in technology-oriented corporate and university hierarchies much more than in entrepreneurship - There is a need to get more women into and successful in high-growth industries as entrepreneurs Put another way: the economic ...continue reading -
Soft launch in Michigan fueling the passion
Sep 23, 2011 Posted by Julie Kirk Login and commentI’m just heading home from Michigan, where we did a ‘soft launch’ of the Inforum Center for Leadership ’s women’s entrepreneurship consortium. They recently received funding to bring both our ACTiVATE program and Astia to Michigan to help increase the number and success of women growth-oriented entrepreneurs in the state. All I can say, is WOOHOO! Being a startup entrepreneur is HARD WORK. And even though the Path Forward Center is a nonprofit, that’s just a tax status. We still face the same challenges as any other ‘startup´but instead of putting in sweat equity, we’re just sweating (since there is no equity on the backend). You start-ups folks out there know what I mean: you do the jobs of 10 people, no one is there to tell you you’re doing a good job or even that you SUCK. You go without pay, often for YEARS and constantly question whether you really have what it takes to make it go. As I said today – it is a roller coaster ride with incredibly ...continue reading -
Another Milestone: ACTiVAT'ing Columbia
Sep 16, 2011 Posted by Julie Kirk Login and commentThis week, once again, reaffirmed why I do what I do. We launched the ACTiVATE® program in Columbia, Maryland , with a room full of amazing women. The energy and positive vibes in the room were palpable. While this is only the second class EVER of ACTiVATE that I have not taught, it marks a milestone of expansion. We have two new dedicated and incredible instructors – one of whom is an ACTiVATE graduate, and a group of women who are going to rock the world with their ideas and energy. This program represents the first time brand new instructors will teach the program, being mentored and certified by the Path Forward Center. Being in our ‘backyard’ provides us the opportunity to work out the kinks in our instructor training program before we hit Michigan later this year to help them launch their new ACTiVATE program. And having a seasoned instructor, Renee Lewis , continuing to lead the charge in Northern Virginia with the GW program (which is starting to recruit ...continue reading -
Planting the entrepreneurial Seed
Apr 27, 2011 Posted by Julie Kirk Login and commentAnytime I feel frustrated that things aren’t happening fast enough (a frequent occurrence with impatient entrepreneurs), I talk to one of our alum, an ACTiVATE’d woman. This past Monday night I was lucky to talk to several ACTiVATE’d women at our monthly Alum Roundtable meeting. What a powerful session. Our monthly Roundtables are a mix of alum from all classes (at least in Maryland where we have multiple classes) and all backgrounds. We have several folks from the healthcare/bio industry, IT, medical device, and even real estate! They certainly represent the broad diversity of women, talents, interest and focus that make up a typical ACTiVATE class. In the Roundtable, we practice Peer Advising using the PeerSpectives method created by the Edward Lowe Foundation. Even though the Foundation created the process for ‘second-tier’ entrepreneurs – those who are already established with revenues and employees – we’re trying it out on our set of nascent business ...continue reading -
What Social entrepreneurship is NOT
Apr 19, 2011 Posted by Julie Kirk Login and commentThis past weekend, I had the privilege of being a judge at Georgetown University’s Hoya Challenge business plan competition. There were two tracks, one for Social Entrepreneurship and the other for, well, more traditional or commercial businesses (resisting the urge to call it anti-social ). I was selected to sit in on one of the Social tracks and was looking forward to taking my new-found experiences in the nonprofit world for a spin to see how much I had learned. The verdict: I’ve learned a lot and nothing at all. This past year has been like drinking from the fire hose. I’ve taken in a lot, and occasionally choking on the enormity of the output. While the non-profity types of things I’ve learned like why it is important to really understand the IRS application for exempt status are important, I think the biggest lessons have been due to the fact that this business, regardless of tax status, is very different than my first company. My first company was ...continue reading -
The serious sorority of success
Apr 11, 2011 Posted by Julie Kirk Login and commentNot too long ago, someone made the observation that the ACTiVATE alum, with their ACTiVATE’D pins, were evolving into some kind of ‘sorority.’ It made me chuckle. I was never into the Greek life in college and didn’t join a sorority – not that there is anything wrong with it. I just could never a) afford it or b) get off work long enough to participate. Having to pay my way through college and get out of the Texas A&M College of Engineering with decent grades was enough to focus on at the time. So I wasn’t quite sure how to take this casual comment, until a couple weeks ago. When we launched the Center last May, we wanted to give the alum something they could identify with and identify EACH OTHER with. After all, over 130 women have been through the program and without consistent alumnae programs in the past, many haven’t even met each other. But I knew them all. I taught them all and know the incredible potential and saw the awesome possibilities that could ...continue reading -
Reminders of why we do this...
Mar 29, 2011 Posted by Julie Kirk Login and commentLast weekend I was priviledged to meet the newest class of to-be-ACTiVATE'D women at our inaugural program in Northern Virginia through George Washington University . Just feeling the energy and excitment in the room is enough to sustain me until the Baltimore program launches this Fall. Kudos to Renee Lewis for her hard work in getting this program up and running and recruiting such an incredble class of ladies! Not to mentioned the guest panelists we had: Jennifer Bisceglie of InTeros Solutions and Laurie Brickley of ASSETT generously shared their time and wisdom and were truly inspiring as they opened up about their entrepreneurial experiences and insights. The questions from the ACTiVATE ladies solicted advice about everything from practical matters such as product development, leveraging resources to the real meat of their concerns: fear, both within themselves and as expressed from those closest to them. As is our custom, we also had several ...continue reading -
The Birth of an obsession
Feb 7, 2011 Posted by Julie Kirk Login and commentTeaching ACTiVATE started out as side job to ease my transition as I was cashing out of my company. Now I would classify it as, well, an obsession. Growing up around brothers (no sisters) and then running a software company in a very male-dominated industry (manufacturing!), I was familiar with being the only woman at the table. So it is still a bit of a surprise to me to be running a nonprofit geared towards women, but I’m starting to understand the significance of where I’ve been, where I am, and where this is going. It struck me that my comfort around men in a business situation emerged at a very young age. I was fresh out of college working for IBM when I was brought in to evaluate a plant-floor system design at a pet food manufacturing facility. In reviewing the request for proposal, which was another vendors conceptual design of the system, all I saw were holes and inefficiencies. I was brought in to discuss my thoughts with the client, but little did I know he ...continue reading -
Thinking BIG
Jan 9, 2011 Posted by Julie Kirk Login and commentIt has been a long time since I’ve had time to blog, but this past weekend my experience with this year’s ACTiVATE class is so compelling, I had to find the time and break my silence. This past weekend was our final Saturday session for the UMBC Class of 2010. The topic was “Are you thinking big enough?” We took the opportunity to reflect back over the year, where the women had come in just one short year. Their observations and revelations were so incredible – and illustrates so clearly the value proposition of ACTiVATE, I just had to share. In order to protect confidentiality of the women in the program, I’ll draw some generalities and change circumstances just enough to mask identities. The most common revelation for a great majority of the women was newfound or resurgence in their confidence. “I have what it takes to do this” and “I can ask for help and get it” showed reclamation of personal power and belief. For many, this “feeling more comfortable ...continue reading -
Finding the Will to Push Forward
Jan 6, 2011 Posted by Renee Lewis Login and commentI can't tell you how wonderful it's been pushing myself and getting over my own obstacles - which quite frankly I didn't use to have. And, sometimes I am my own obstacle. I've never been so aware of my limitations but at the same time aware of how many opportunities are right there in front of us. I think I'm growing personally. Did you ever feel like you're growing? I find when I let me ego go I grow. My humbled ego is just where it needs to be right now allowing me to grow. It's a painful yet valuable experience. We're going through the same process that all our ACTiVATE participants go through as we bring up the Path Forward Center and expand our reach. It's exciting and hard. It sometimes looks impossible to accomplish all that needs to be done. Although this is not the first time I've brought a company up from scratch, it's equally difficult and the uncertainty drives insecurity. Day by day. ...continue reading