May 8th, 2009

Why I Heart the MIT $100K

One thing I’ve learned after serving as an organizer for the MIT $100K: great entrepreneurship competitions offer more than just prize money.

Sure, $100,000+ is an awesome carrot (and actually, the most any team could win in the 2009 $100K is actually $340,000), but startups need more than just cash to succeed. I now completely understand why VCs demand (and rightfully deserve) board seats – navigating how cash is spent and how to actually run a business is a different skill set from raising money or developing a cool technology.

As an MBA student, I get asked semi-frequently whether I believe entrepreneurship can be taught. Here’s my stance – you can’t teach passion, hustle, drive and attraction to risk.  Entrepreneurship to me is like dancing – there’s the technical part and the “other”.

The technical part is teachable – financial statement analysis + accounting, basic business law and capital structure. I am NOT someone who believes it’s valuable to learn these lessons the hard way. It’s totally tragic when a perfectly viable and compelling business is driven into the ground because of accounting naivete, in-fighting or massive lawsuits over IP.

What I’ve learned after getting an insider’s look at the $100K is that the value for the teams comes in the lead-up to the final awards ceremony; all semi-finalist teams meet with industry, legal and VC mentors to refine their plans and attend workshops on negotiating term sheets, properly assessing market opportunities and refining their product.

One thing that surprised me was how many entrepreneurship competitions globally are modeled after the $100K. Now in its 20th year, the competition has produced companies like Akamai, Harmonix, Brontes Technologies and Visible Measures. And I don’t think any of these companies were $100K winners (they were either finalists or semifinalists) – just by participating in the process they were able to get their companies off the ground. It’s not about the winners – it’s about the ecosystem.

I am so excited for this year’s finale – this year’s ideas are kick-ass and it’s going to be a great show.

Hope you can join us –

The MIT $100K finale is next Wednesday, May 13th at Kresge Auditorium in Cambridge, MA. There will be a showcase at 6pm highlighting all the semifinalist teams and the awards show will start at 7pm.  It is open to the public and no tickets are necessary – seats are first come, first serve.