A cheery, Wednesday, Bostonian HELLO from the EC 348 innovation pals! I am once again pleased to report that we had yet another jam-packed, clam-packed, Dan-packed day! (Fun Fact of the Day: We have not one, but TWO Dan’s in this class: Professor Dan from Canada and Student Dan from Moldova). That is the only way we tell them apart.
Be sure to check out their “Dan Photo” below … and Go Dan’s!
Led by Professor Dan from Canada, we began the day with a tour of the Boston Public Library before making our way to Symphony Hall … and that’s where we spotted the very FIRST YMCA chapter! So naturally we did the YMCA dance and eventually took the classic YMCA picture (see below!).
In addition to our YMCAing, we had the incredible opportunity to tour MassChallenge, an entrepreneurial accelerator and innovation hub in the Seaport District. There, we met with three inspiring entrepreneurs who have catapulted their ideas into sustainable and socially impactful businesses: Kristin van Busum of Project Alianza, Will Nitze of IQ Bar, and Pat Hubbell of Candorful.
Though I LOVED meeting with all three of them (and strongly encourage you to give those links a cool quick click!), I especially appreciated our Q&A with Pat because she challenged my view of who an entrepreneur is. When I think ‘start-up vibes,’ I picture a young, lanky, hoodie-clad, college drop-out-type dude with a bike lock poking through his heavily worn messenger bag.
Instead, Pat is an ex-management consultant, turned stay-at-home-mom, turned College Career Counselor, turned social activist and entrepreneur.
Her organization, Candorful, virtually connects veterans with interview prep services in order to prime them for successful job interviews in the civilian sector. Pat’s story is one of resilience and persistence to regain her confidence and sense of place after returning to the workforce later in life. For me, Pat’s success highlights the notion that innovation is truly for everyone, and moreover, a large part of innovation seems to be about building the confidence, brazenness, and gusto to put yourself and your ideas out on the line — which is exactly what we will be doing on fourth week when we present our final projects for this class to all of you! More details to come!
… And as always, stay tuned for our adventures tomorrow!
