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Last Saturday, the Entrepreneur Society and Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) hosted the Boston College community's first Entrepreneur Fair from 1 to 4 p.m. in Fulton 513. The event was mainly run by Alex Lindahl, president of SIFE, with some supervision and marketing by Scott Bradley, president of the Entrepreneur Society. Lindahl got the idea after attending an entrepreneur fair last fall.
"I heard about it through a friend and ended up going to the Harvard entrepreneur fair a couple of months ago," Lindahl said. "They had about 10 startups from Harvard and a couple of other places."
Lindahl immediately knew BC needed an event of its own, and executed Saturday's in a similar way. Instead of going to deans or professors in the Carroll School of Management, Lindahl started talking to start-ups he knew and asked them if they were interested.
"All of them thought it would be a great chance for them to showcase their ideas."
In addition, Lindahl also realized it would be a great opportunity for the startups that didn't make it into the semifinals of the BC Venture Competition (BCVC), a competition for students to submit business plans, as only a few groups are selected. This gives everyone a chance to show the community what they are working on.
Lindahl did a lot of networking through clubs at schools like Harvard and Boston University. He also spoke with Devon Cole, who runs the Boston Young Entrepreneurs through city hall. Cole sent out e-mails to his listservs. In all, students from many Boston-area schools participated: Babson, Harvard, Boston University, and Emerson. Non-student entrepreneurs also participated.
Most of Lindahl's networking was through his own personal networks as an entrepreneur. Facebook, the network-savvy Web site, was also quite useful.
"I really wanted to help out the startups I know," he said.
As an entrepreneur himself - he has started Wamblr (wamblr.com) and College Mogul (collegemogul.com) - Lindahl also used the entrepreneur fair as a chance for him to present his own startups - particularly College Mogul, which profiles college-level entrepreneurs, lists entrepreneurial events, among other things. The start-up is in the semifinals of the BCVC. In addition, running such an event also builds credibility and is a chance to speak with like-minded individuals.
"I always like talking to entrepreneurs, seeing how they started up their businesses," Lindahl said.
As a first-time event, the fair was quite successful. Eighteen startups originally signed up and only three could not attend. Lindahl estimated about 100 individuals showed up through the day. The startups included: Green T's, an organic T-shirt company; The Smart Eagles, a textbook-trading Web site; Socialite Studies, a Web development company; Anaptyx, a community wireless installation company; Uzook, a Web site designed for students to share information about their study-abroad experiences; MAP Boston, a calendar "that highlights hip, funky, non-touristy locations in Boston"; Gracie J's Boutique, a mobile boutique that carries women's clothing and accessories; Urban AdvenTours, a bike-tour company that explores Boston; and Net-Nef Bathrobes, which sells bathrobes from Greece.
Admittedly, Lindahl was worried prior to the event, fearing attendance would be low.
"Entrepreneurship isn't that big at BC," he said. "It's kind of weak, I hate to say it."
As to whether the school's curriculum is responsible for this, Lindahl wasn't sure. There are few courses in the CSOM catalogue that cater to the needs of aspiring entrepreneurs.
"There's a real lack of classes at BC [dedicated to entrepreneurship], which I've been disappointed in. Entrepreneurial skills are really important. They foster a sense of creativity and innovation."
Most classes in CSOM are the exact opposite. One is forced to adhere to strict guidelines. In this respect, entrepreneurship is a more artistic approach to the business world. Nonetheless, Lindahl senses that entrepreneurship is growing, especially due to the efforts of students such as Scott Bradley and those behind the BCVC.
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