Entrepreneurship in the Triangle - A Panel Discussion

For this year’s ‘Professional Pathways’ program, Elon University’s Triangle Alumni Chapter presented a moderated panel with local experts who shared insights and anecdotes about the Triangle’s robust entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The Raleigh-Durham area has earned a national reputation for embracing and fostering entrepreneurship. This has led to a gathering of creative minds and a startup community launching many new products and services. In this session the panelists comprised of four accomplished Triangle professionals with firsthand experience turning good ideas into successful enterprises talked about their respective career journeys. Here was my take on top insights gained from panel. Enjoy!

• Always be learning and jump in. Learn by doing! The point was don't over analyze. It's good to be diligent and research, but then jump in to take action. Learn from it and move forward on best path. Be "Action biased" vs "Analyze biased". Lean on the side of action to prevent paralysis through analysis.
• Be mindful we can sometimes be our own worst enemy. Our fears or doubts can get in the way of our progress. Instead think of being your own best advocate. To overcome fear take action against it.
• One thing learned from failure is to remember you can't please everybody. Watch out for the "lowest common denominator factor" in which you come to a path that settles to meet the needs of the group, but is not the optimal path for greatest success. You can't be a people please-er if it gets in the way of the right thing to do.
• For anyone about to launch a start-up you absolutely must make sure you are going to love what you do and are passionate about it. The start-up will be a long hard battle and if you don't absolutely enjoy it and thrive off the idea, product, or service the forces against you will pull you down and make you quit. You have to love it to keep the drive and dream alive!

In closing some quotes were shared that panel found helpful to their success. One quote that stood out was, "If things are going really well, be ready". The point is life and business are not always great all the time. We go through trials and tribulations so if things are good be thankful, appreciative, relish it, but also be ready in case things go south. Be prepared and watchful to not be caught off guard. Always have a plan B in mind for the rainy days. One funny quote was, "Everyone poops the same way". This was a visual expression to level set any situation or person so you can confidently address people equally. Everyone is just another human being like you and me. No better or worse. So don't be intimidated and remember everyone is your equal. The panel consisted of these experts:
Tatiana Birgisson, Founder & CEO, MATI Engery
Emily Sexton '07, Founder & CEO, The Flourish Market
Craig Stone '90, CEO, HireNetworks
Liz Tracy, Director, HQ Raleigh,

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