I wrap up the talk about what I call the 5Ps of entrepreneurship: Purpose, Passion, People, Persistence, and Patience.

What I attempted to do is weave my story along with the stories of companies and brands that most people are familiar with – in the context of each “P”.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VsLFQKU0uQ

The presentation ends with discussing how startups are like Everest expeditions. It takes the right crew, the right money, and the right conditions to survive an endeavor that kills most that attempt it.

This is part 2 of 3 on my talk at Lawrence Technological University that was shot in October 2009.

I talk about what I call the 5Ps of entrepreneurship: Purpose, Passion, People, Persistence, and Patience.

What I attempted to do is weave my story along with the stories of companies and brands that most people are familiar with – in the context of each “P”.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmAy0IBgbuQ

The general theme of this clip is having the drive to go from start up to critical mass.

As far as presentation style goes, I rehearse quite a bit for any talk. I do not use notes. And as you can see with the slides, I don’t read from the slides.

I try to get in the “zone” and roughly follow the content I rehearse. My goal is to have the talk come off relaxed, conversational, and memorable.

]]> http://www.dieguy.com/2010/04/03/my-entrepreneurial-journey-part-2-drive/stephens/feed/ 0 http://www.dieguy.com/2010/04/02/my-entrepreneurial-journey-part-1-focus/stephens/ http://www.dieguy.com/2010/04/02/my-entrepreneurial-journey-part-1-focus/stephens/#comments Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:27:47 +0000 stephens http://www.dieguy.com/?p=623 I gave a talk at my alma mater, Lawrence Technological University, in October 2009 on entrepreneurship.

Before I share the story on why Speedraft is in moth balls and my net worth is in the red, I wanted to post the lecture in its entirety. This is part 1 of 3.

Keep in mind that I had not slept in two days because of the startup. That said, I did my best to channel Steve Jobs that day.

I gave two talks that day. The video was shot during the second session.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqyJKWll1uw

Part 1 is about Speedraft and how entrepreneurs need to boil their purpose and deliver a clear, concise, and precise message. Technical people tend to struggle with this.

Also, note how visually appealing, yet simple, my PowerPoint presentation is. By using a great image and no more than three words on any given slide, the PowerPoint serves as a backdrop to the point I am making.

My thinking is if the audience needs a text document for the finer points, then give them a document to take home. Don’t distract them during the presentation with needless detail. Keep it simple.

Not a single person was distracted by reading paragraphs of text set in tiny fonts while I was presenting.

LTU President Dr. Lewis Walker is on the left, I am in the center, and Prof. Don Reimer is on the right.

Note that my hair was dark brown the day I started my startup. And now is it nearly all gray.

I am reasonably satisfied with my presentation after reviewing the DVD. I will carve it up and post online soon.