Full Transcript for What Happens When a College Makes Entrepreneurship Mandatory for 100% of Students with Jeffrey Meade

get here And you know we just launched I've been at Paul Quinn for 00:04:14.334 --> 00:04:18.284 going on a year and a half now And so I've just started this program with 00:04:18.284 --> 00:04:21.624 our entering freshmen so the juniors and the seniors and those folks they're 00:04:21.624 --> 00:04:26.244 like Oh that looks cool it looks like a lot of work Uh but but it is actually 00:04:26.244 --> 00:04:32.934 modeled after my alma mater So I went to Babson College which is known for their 00:04:32.934 --> 00:04:39.044 entrepreneurship program that's if you Oh 00:04:39.108 --> 00:04:39.978 Raul: professor of Absence. 00:04:40.304 --> 00:04:41.564 Jeff Meade: world so 00:04:41.728 --> 00:04:41.768 Raul: Yeah. 00:04:41.774 --> 00:04:46.724 Jeff Meade: Babson does really cool is they have what they call FME and so it's 00:04:46.724 --> 00:04:50.454 like foundations of management experience when we were there we called it freshman 00:04:50.454 --> 00:04:54.504 management experience it's essentially every freshman has to start a business but 00:04:54.504 --> 00:04:58.914 you don't start it by yourself you start it in a group And I always thought that 00:04:58.914 --> 00:05:04.104 was really cool and and thought Man why doesn't why don't more schools do this And 00:05:04.104 --> 00:05:11.334 so having the opportunity I brought that thinking over here and it really is every 00:05:11.334 --> 00:05:14.034 student who comes in now has to start 00:05:16.614 --> 00:05:21.444 generates revenue some of our students I I've seen in this first couple months they 00:05:21.444 --> 00:05:27.624 are starting businesses and it has been hard to actually revenue and there are a 00:05:27.624 --> 00:05:34.314 lot of pivots And so for me I'm like that qualifies Th this is they have identified 00:05:34.314 --> 00:05:39.174 customers right It's what I like to call it is what we're doing is experiential 00:05:39.174 --> 00:05:44.274 learning but there's stakes involved right Um and so it makes it a it makes it real 00:05:44.274 --> 00:05:50.034 So no we don't have a bar like $1,000 It is really you're going through the 00:05:50.158 --> 00:05:50.748 Raul: Don't do it. 00:05:51.084 --> 00:05:55.244 Jeff Meade: of what it takes to start a business and so it's it has been really 00:05:55.244 --> 00:06:00.074 fascinating to see the types of businesses the business ideas that folks are creating 00:06:00.504 --> 00:06:06.444 I like that the visions are getting really big And so what we do is within the first 00:06:06.444 --> 00:06:11.574 semester is we push people to think in terms of an MVP right Like what's your 00:06:11.574 --> 00:06:17.694 minimum viable product And so with that we're like What is that that will actually 00:06:18.084 --> 00:06:22.494 entice someone to buy your product in the marketplace And so we want them to have 00:06:22.494 --> 00:06:27.264 that big vision but it's also gotta get a customer and you gotta convince them to 00:06:27.264 --> 00:06:33.064 buy And so we've had people some of our students are selling things for $10 right 00:06:33.164 --> 00:06:37.844 $15 so it's just to get them And once once you get that going then they're like 00:06:38.054 --> 00:06:41.324 I get it And then we can start turning the switch to how do we scale this thing 00:06:41.374 --> 00:06:41.614 Raul: yeah. 00:06:42.244 --> 00:06:42.964 No, that's key. 00:06:43.264 --> 00:06:47.384 And even in the beginning I remember in, again, my, in my journey and also 00:06:47.384 --> 00:06:51.014 seeing others around me, it would start just like that, how to reselling 00:06:51.044 --> 00:06:54.014 items, and then from there, build, build, they built, like, a figure 00:06:54.134 --> 00:06:55.994 e-commerce businesses out of college. 00:06:55.994 --> 00:06:58.694 So it's a real thing where you just gotta keep trying and iterating. 00:06:59.034 --> 00:07:01.404 I'm curious, and I, and I was serious on the point that I think that 00:07:01.404 --> 00:07:05.264 entrepreneurship is is a good answer for the new economy that we're heading into, 00:07:05.264 --> 00:07:07.724 as well as the technological evolution. 00:07:07.934 --> 00:07:11.534 What are you guys doing to, like, empower students with tokens, and how many tokens 00:07:11.534 --> 00:07:14.684 do you allocate per student, or are you paying for any of the subscriptions for AI 00:07:14.684 --> 00:07:16.034 so that they can actually leverage that? 00:07:16.214 --> 00:07:19.164 I honestly, this is, again, I'm an optimist, I'm an entrepreneur but 00:07:19.164 --> 00:07:23.194 also been in, in a program not the same, but because I like the, the 00:07:23.194 --> 00:07:26.374 rigor, 100% of our students have to go through building a business. 00:07:26.524 --> 00:07:28.234 That's, that's, you gotta, you gotta anchor that. 00:07:28.564 --> 00:07:32.104 But right now with the technology, I think this is one of the best times 00:07:32.194 --> 00:07:37.204 to be an entrepreneur because now you can work on the speed of solving 00:07:37.534 --> 00:07:40.774 problems and actually having the technical know- how or execution and 00:07:40.774 --> 00:07:43.504 power to actually deliver value faster. 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:47.790 Jeff Meade: a good good question And so I think what's fascinating is when I first 00:07:47.790 --> 00:07:54.910 got here my gut said you know we gotta be all about AI Like every business should 00:07:54.910 --> 00:08:01.340 have an AI component And then the more I talk to students I realize maybe not every 00:08:01.340 --> 00:08:04.250 business And and and what I mean is that 00:08:04.464 --> 00:08:04.704 Raul: Yeah. 00:08:04.910 --> 00:08:09.650 Jeff Meade: what I have been really pushing them to do is is looking at truly 00:08:09.650 --> 00:08:15.200 solving a problem right And I think that the nature of being 18 19 20 and being 00:08:15.200 --> 00:08:18.380 told you have to start a business is you just come up with these really cool 00:08:18.380 --> 00:08:21.050

ideas I'm gonna one kid said I'm a I'm 00:08:21.084 --> 00:08:21.324 Raul: Yeah. 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:25.370 Jeff Meade: for small business I'm gonna use AI and I'm like Great what type of 00:08:25.370 --> 00:08:29.510 small business What problem do they have Right So really pushing it to the core of 00:08:29.510 --> 00:08:34.790 what problem you're trying to solve And so as a result when we get down to the core 00:08:34.790 --> 00:08:41.070 of it making sure you're solving a problem people are willing to pay for the ideas 00:08:41.554 --> 00:08:42.844 Raul: First for, foremost. 00:08:43.290 --> 00:08:48.450 Jeff Meade: aren't fully focused on AI Some of them are but we haven't had 00:08:48.450 --> 00:08:52.380 a challenge with like tokens and all that I mean the students have access 00:08:52.470 --> 00:08:56.960 to all of that but no one's burning through anything and they're not burning 00:08:56.960 --> 00:09:01.340 it through anything because we're so focused on the top of the funnel 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:05.960 stuff in many ways in terms of making sure that you're solving a problem 00:09:06.590 --> 00:09:08.630 and and then really making sure yeah 00:09:08.784 --> 00:09:09.204 Raul: That's the key. 00:09:09.740 --> 00:09:13.940 Jeff Meade: there that values that problem being solved and then how are you gonna 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:18.390 deliver that to them And I think for us as we talk through it what's happening 00:09:18.390 --> 00:09:23.220 is once they can solve that problem and and they can deliver their solution 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:28.710 to the marketplace then we wanna start layering AI and other tools to optimize 00:09:28.770 --> 00:09:32.790 But but you know they're just they're they're not AI first let's say that 00:09:35.284 --> 00:09:37.054 Raul: That's a good, that's a good perspective. 00:09:37.054 --> 00:09:40.474 And, yeah, and for, just to give you my perspective, working in with 00:09:40.504 --> 00:09:44.374 professional services, working with other consultants, agencies, it's 00:09:44.374 --> 00:09:48.574 less of transforming how you deliver with AI, but more about integrating 00:09:48.574 --> 00:09:50.134 the tech into your business model. 00:09:50.284 --> 00:09:52.894 So it's ... The number one thing will never change. 00:09:52.894 --> 00:09:55.084 You gotta deliver value, which is what you're focusing on. 00:09:55.084 --> 00:09:58.924 What is the actual pain point that is significant enough that they want it 00:09:58.924 --> 00:10:02.794 get, to get rid of and buy a product or service that doesn't exist, or that's 00:10:02.794 --> 00:10:04.564 different to get rid of that problem? 00:10:04.564 --> 00:10:07.474 That's never gonna change, and I think that's, like, the basic 00:10:07.474 --> 00:10:08.974 fundamental principle like Gravity. 00:10:09.374 --> 00:10:12.164 But then, as, as you mentioned, it's the same parallel. 00:10:12.464 --> 00:10:16.414 How do we either deliver that value with more value, go deeper, help them do things 00:10:16.414 --> 00:10:21.004 we couldn't do before, or optimize on the backend where how we run the business 00:10:21.004 --> 00:10:23.434 is more efficient versus, versus not. 00:10:23.434 --> 00:10:27.464 So it's good to see the young gen still leveraging that, but then 00:10:27.464 --> 00:10:30.944 also thinking first of problem first, because that's gonna 00:10:30.949 --> 00:10:34.724 Solving problems is, like, the, the key thing for any, any work, really. 00:10:38.114 --> 00:10:41.204 What are the mindsets that have changed for your students? 00:10:41.204 --> 00:10:45.534 Like, you mentioned first gen, scarcity to abundance what are, like, 00:10:45.534 --> 00:10:47.484 the real changes that you're seeing? 00:10:47.484 --> 00:10:49.854 'Cause there's growth in, like, the tangible growth. 00:10:50.154 --> 00:10:51.384 You start a business or you don't. 00:10:51.384 --> 00:10:52.464 You get revenue or you don't. 00:10:52.464 --> 00:10:53.424 You get a customer, you don't. 00:10:53.424 --> 00:10:54.804 Okay, that's binary, black, and white. 00:10:55.224 --> 00:10:58.464 Growth also happens, like, oh, they come in and they have a new idea based 00:10:58.464 --> 00:11:01.824 on their pivot, or they see themselves and their situations differently. 00:11:02.004 --> 00:11:05.274 How are you seeing that shake out in their own personal development? 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:09.530 Jeff Meade: say the biggest thing I see is around confidence right And and so 00:11:10.674 --> 00:11:10.894 Raul: Hmm. 00:11:10.910 --> 00:11:16.050 Jeff Meade: I think that really comes from like I already said that they're first gen 00:11:16.410 --> 00:11:21.360 and in to on top of being first gen a lot of our students are Pell Grant recipients 00:11:21.460 --> 00:11:23.200 and I know this very well because I was 00:11:23.494 --> 00:11:23.714 Raul: Hmm.. 00:11:23.830 --> 00:11:29.350 Jeff Meade: Pell Grant recipient And so putting myself in their shoes and and 00:11:29.350 --> 00:11:33.880 interacting with them what I realized is that when you're first gen usually 00:11:33.910 --> 00:11:41.080 not always but usually your family puts so much stock into you all the right 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:46.690 things and not messing up right Like just make sure you check the boxes and 00:11:46.690 --> 00:11:51.970 find a really good job Like we put all we can to get you to that place so don't 00:11:51.970 --> 00:11:59.560 mess up And so imagine the family that has armed a student their child with all 00:11:59.560 --> 00:12:05.230 that information and then they show up to me and I'm like we're gonna fail fast 00:12:05.560 --> 00:12:10.370 I've violated everything that they've just heard They're like No no no no I'm 00:12:10.370 --> 00:12:16.400 not supposed to fail I'm I'm supposed to minimize failure at all costs And so 00:12:17.210 --> 00:12:24.530 they see failure as like a ding to their identity right And so what I have to do 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:30.330

build that confidence up and transform their way of thinking like no failure 00:12:30.390 --> 00:12:36.540 is actually learning and it is a safe place to fail here that they've never 00:12:36.540 --> 00:12:40.740 experienced that because they have been the chosen ones You are the chosen one 00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:45.360 in your family when you are the first to go off to college so I think the biggest 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:51.240 thing I've I've been facing is is just the confidence like don't know if I can fail 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:56.430 or I don't wanna dream that big because I don't wanna disappoint myself or have 00:12:56.430 --> 00:13:01.710 to tell somebody that I failed So that that is that is the challenge that we are 00:13:01.710 --> 00:13:06.960 seeing now And and it's work It's it's definitely work but but I recognize what 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.810 it is we just have to try to overcome that 00:13:12.844 --> 00:13:15.974 Raul: So, like s- failure is a learning l- feedback. 00:13:16.184 --> 00:13:20.774 It's safe to fail and what, what else is, like, another key thing 00:13:20.774 --> 00:13:24.254 that, or cornerstone that you focus on for them to change their mindset? 00:13:24.374 --> 00:13:26.624 'Cause what you're saying, literally, is, is affected there because 00:13:26.624 --> 00:13:30.044 I live that, but even for the professional or, like, the executive 00:13:30.044 --> 00:13:33.284 right now who is high performance, it's the same mentality, "I can't 00:13:34.060 --> 00:13:36.490 Jeff Meade: Yeah No I liked how you sum summarized that really 00:13:36.490 --> 00:13:38.710 quick I'd say the other one is 00:13:38.804 --> 00:13:39.224 Raul: fail.". 00:13:39.340 --> 00:13:46.760 Jeff Meade: probably I'd say this it's the there's definitely something about 00:13:46.760 --> 00:13:50.480 it being a safe space Like I I feel like we've all worked in environments 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:58.700 where you wanna take a chance but you get penalized for taking that chance and 00:13:58.700 --> 00:14:03.290 and for for many students that penalty has been in their grades right And so 00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:08.880 actually just creating an environment where they do see failure as part of the 00:14:08.880 --> 00:14:15.950 learning process but they also see it as step on the journey Like you have to 00:14:15.950 --> 00:14:20.870 go through this This is like an emotion this is part of the experience because I 00:14:20.870 --> 00:14:25.820 can't teach you the other things unless you actually feel this pain what this is 00:14:25.820 --> 00:14:28.100 like right Probably similar to sports like 00:14:28.161 --> 00:14:28.341 Raul: Yeah. 00:14:28.370 --> 00:14:32.420 Jeff Meade: gonna lose a game right But how do we get back up and play again 00:14:32.661 --> 00:14:32.761 Raul: Yeah. 00:14:32.870 --> 00:14:36.050 Jeff Meade: Um and and but in academics we never teach students 00:14:36.050 --> 00:14:40.070 that We never teach that you're gonna lose right

Losing has always been 00:14:40.070 --> 00:14:43.120 Cs Ds and Fs but so changing that 00:14:43.424 --> 00:14:43.464 Raul: Yeah. 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:46.540 Jeff Meade: has been So I would I would say for the professionals really like 00:14:46.540 --> 00:14:53.260 how do you create this space where people are comfortable with failure and not not 00:14:53.260 --> 00:14:57.940 failure over and over again but you want people to make new mistakes Uh uh you 00:14:57.940 --> 00:14:59.800 wanna create an environment where Yeah 00:14:59.992 --> 00:15:00.552 Raul: take risk. 00:15:00.970 --> 00:15:04.220 Jeff Meade: you definitely wanna create a safe environment you don't want people 00:15:04.220 --> 00:15:05.690 making the same mistake over and over 00:15:06.204 --> 00:15:06.534 Raul: Yeah. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:08.540 Jeff Meade: Right 00:15:08.604 --> 00:15:10.794 Raul: not reckless, but no, you're s- you're essentially helping the 00:15:10.794 --> 00:15:13.824 students mature, because I think those are the, the two big, the two big 00:15:13.824 --> 00:15:15.684 R's, like, risk and responsibility. 00:15:15.684 --> 00:15:19.284 Responsibility, you gotta business, you gotta uphold, you know, what 00:15:19.284 --> 00:15:23.334 your family's expecting, balance that with risk taking, and I think that's 00:15:23.334 --> 00:15:24.504 getting people out of the shell. 00:15:24.724 --> 00:15:27.064 You're doing the podcast, I saw your website, you're all, you're 00:15:27.064 --> 00:15:28.414 doing, like, writing and speaking. 00:15:28.594 --> 00:15:31.594 How are you open sourcing this, and to use, to use that language, but 00:15:31.594 --> 00:15:35.404 how are you helping either share this framework so that either ... 'Cause 00:15:35.434 --> 00:15:36.694 universities have to pivot. 00:15:37.174 --> 00:15:39.154 I don't care which university you went to when you're 00:15:39.154 --> 00:15:40.684 listening to this, to, to this. 00:15:41.014 --> 00:15:43.534 Again, different stories, different iterations, but, 00:15:43.534 --> 00:15:44.374 like, they're gonna change. 00:15:44.374 --> 00:15:47.494 Like, it's overexpensive and the value prop is no longer there. 00:15:47.764 --> 00:15:50.314 So they're gonna have to change regardless of what happens. 00:15:50.524 --> 00:15:53.884 How are you, Jeff, like, open sourcing this or the framework or sharing 00:15:53.884 --> 00:15:55.264 the teachings or the insights? 00:15:55.264 --> 00:15:56.854 Like, are you writing a newsletter? 00:15:56.854 --> 00:15:57.924 Like, what, what are you doing for this? 00:15:58.170 --> 00:16:00.750 Jeff Meade: It it's something that that I was talking about with some other 00:16:00.750 --> 00:16:06.920 professors so so one thing we do have is we are trying We we do do case studies 00:16:07.020 --> 00:16:12.360 so we've started case studies and it's so funny with with case studies is 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:16.710 that they take forever to get out into the world right And and it's because 00:16:17.604 --> 00:16:17.644 Raul: Yeah. 00:16:17.670 --> 00:16:21.340 Jeff Meade: you know they're peer reviewed they have to go through all these steps 00:16:21.340 --> 00:16:24.970 and and like I said I've been here a year and a half and we've been moving 00:16:24.970 --> 00:16:31.090 on case studies but we've only had two right Like one of them got published by 00:16:31.090 --> 00:16:36.770 Sage the other one is being reviewed by HBS a Harvard Business Review Publishing 00:16:37.160 --> 00:16:42.080 but I was like This has just taken too long and so what I wanted to do was 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:46.610 create and what we're trying to do is create a podcast that that can really 00:16:46.610 --> 00:16:51.500 just help people think through we're doing here so that other folks can do 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:56.110 it as well but our model is is very much open source We think this model can 00:16:56.110 --> 00:17:01.690 be applied to a lot of dif to a lot of small schools across the country and so 00:17:01.690 --> 00:17:04.270 I definitely want people to take up Yeah 00:17:04.664 --> 00:17:05.264 Raul: too, like, 00:17:05.290 --> 00:17:06.070 Jeff Meade: I want people to take 00:17:06.134 --> 00:17:06.374 Raul: you know, 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:06.700 Jeff Meade: doing 00:17:06.884 --> 00:17:07.904 Raul: like a, a department. 00:17:09.914 --> 00:17:10.574 No, I like that. 00:17:10.784 --> 00:17:13.664 Yeah, I think that's the fastest path to, to sharing that frameworks. 00:17:13.664 --> 00:17:17.964 Even the most powerful tool that I used back then, and I still even reference it 00:17:17.964 --> 00:17:20.154 to this day, is the business model canvas. 00:17:20.154 --> 00:17:21.084 It's just a piece of paper. 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:25.100 Forgot, it was Eric Reese or whoever, what whoever it was, but that little 00:17:25.100 --> 00:17:29.060 tool, I mean, I think if you, if you develop that too for, for what you're 00:17:29.060 --> 00:17:34.270 running, make it simple, open books podcasts, whatever it is to get the ideas 00:17:34.270 --> 00:17:35.930 out there, but that's pretty exciting. 00:17:35.930 --> 00:17:39.110 Jeff, for the audience, where can people go to learn more about 00:17:39.110 --> 00:17:41.329 you and your work at Paul Quinn? 00:17:41.675 --> 00:17:44.476 Jeff Meade: The the easiest way is if you go to Paul Quinn's 00:17:44.476 --> 00:17:47.306 website if you go to paulquin.edu 00:17:47.356 --> 00:17:52.216 then back/entrepreneurship you will see that we're working on right 00:17:52.216 --> 00:17:56.896 now and to see all the stuff that I'm involved in in terms of how I'm 00:17:56.896 --> 00:18:01.936 sharing out the information you can go to my site and that's jeff-mead.com 00:18:01.936 --> 00:18:05.956 and mead is spelled M-E-A-D-E.com 00:18:06.236 --> 00:18:09.716 you can see all that we're doing here at Paul Quinn and and all that I'm 00:18:09.716 --> 00:18:13.796 doing around venture-based learning and that is my way to answer the 00:18:13.796 --> 00:18:16.586 previous question how we're trying to get the material out to everybody 00:18:20.520 --> 00:18:22.770 Raul: Well, I'll put those links in the show notes. 00:18:22.830 --> 00:18:24.480 Jeff, thanks again for being on. 00:18:28.780 --> 00:18:30.290 Thank you for listening to the podcast. 00:18:30.310 --> 00:18:32.520 If you'd like to get more of these podcasts, please go ahead 00:18:32.520 --> 00:18:35.700 and subscribe to wherever you're watching or listening to the pod. 00:18:36.120 --> 00:18:39.270 If you have any suggestions or questions that you want me to answer on the 00:18:39.270 --> 00:18:42.250 pod, or you have a guest that you want me to interview, please go ahead and 00:18:42.270 --> 00:18:47.180 email me all of your suggestions and questions at podcast at do good work. 00:18:47.210 --> 00:18:50.460 io that's podcast at do good work. 00:18:50.490 --> 00:18:51.440 io. 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:54.640 If you'd like to give me public feedback, you can go on Apple 00:18:54.660 --> 00:18:58.240 Podcasts, and from there, you can leave up to a 5 star review. 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:00.000 I would greatly appreciate that. 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:04.190 If you'd like more free resources where you can get my best strategies to help you 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:08.450 increase your company's performance and scale profitably, where you can get hand 00:19:08.450 --> 00:19:12.410 picked articles to propel your growth, and you can get trainings and discussions that 00:19:12.410 --> 00:19:17.455 I give freely online, as well as low cost resources, Such as my books and guides. 00:19:17.765 --> 00:19:21.025 You can get all of that by going to dogoodwork. 00:19:21.075 --> 00:19:26.485 io forward slash resources 90 percent of all these resources are not behind 00:19:26.485 --> 00:19:30.805 any email opt ins you can get instant access by going to dogoodwork. 00:19:30.915 --> 00:19:36.430 io forward slash resources Now, if you'd like to accelerate your progress 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:40.900 and shorten the gap between information and action and start seeing results 00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:44.610 in your business, let's work together to increase your company's performance 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:47.970 and scale profitably and serve more clients without the overwhelm. 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:52.170 You can request a free clarity call to see how we can best support you to 00:19:52.170 --> 00:19:54.630 reach your goals by going to DoGoodWork. 00:19:54.670 --> 00:19:56.460 io forward slash apply. 00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:58.460 Again, that's DoGoodWork. 00:19:58.460 --> 00:19:59.870 io forward slash apply. 00:20:00.310 --> 00:20:03.810 As always, it's an honor to be a small part in your journey. 00:20:04.110 --> 00:20:05.260 This is Raul Hernandez. 00:20:05.710 --> 00:20:06.140 Do good work.