NextC.E.O.

     Over this past weekend I went to see the social network movie with my girlfriend. It was interesting looking into Hollywood's version of Mark Zuckerburg's story. If you were unaware, Mark Zuckerburg is the creator of facebook. According to this movie, Mark was an arrogant computer nerd that loved every detail of creating computer codes and programs. So here are the entrepreneurial lessons I learned from this movie: 1. Be the best at what you're doing. The reason why Mark is so successful is because he knows his capabilities, and frankly he's an expert. 
     2. Being an asshole to co-founders will eventually haunt you. From the movie's point of view, Mark basically screwed his best friend over to obtain more money. (This was based on a growing distance & jealousy between the two.). His friend later came back and attempted to sue the pants off him. 3. Look at every document you sign! The problem with Mark's friend (Facebook's co-founder) was that he didn't properly read the documents lawyers were handing over to him. He ended up losing millions, because he didn't read the fine print. 
     4. Venture Capitalists/Angel Investors aren't always so great. You don't need to work with everyone who will offer you startup money. Sometimes VCs will try to change your vision or just aren't people you truly want to work with. You never really know how people are until you get into business with them.


     Now looking at this movie from the lens of just a regular movie goer. This movie was very entertaining, a little lengthy but very entertaining. Some parts I could tell were purely exaggerated. For example, the college parties scenes were great, but they were doing the most lol. For all my fellow college attendees, yes it can get crazy, but some stuff was like "really though? Honestly?". Just further perpetuating the stereotype that all we do is party. That's partly true, but c'mon! Overall this was a B rated movie, it would have been an A, but the length was just a little too much for me.


Last thought: Success is not a destination, it's a journey.

         In earlier posts, I mentioned I was part of the Entrepreneurial Student Association at Temple University. Today we're going to have a meeting. This is the most exciting part of my week. I love just kicking around thoughts and then actually taking steps to make these ideas come to fruition (even if it is on a small scale). For example, I'm part of the events committee and we started brainstorming about what kind of events did we want to sponsor and also what kinds of events did we want to create. From that session, we got a lot of really creative ideas and we'e going to start moving towards creating these events and putting the ESA's name on it. I think this year's group is going to do a lot of great things and hopefully get a lot of different kinds of people involved. I'll keep you guys posted on what's talked about in this upcoming meeting...


*edit* 10/1/10 9:45pm. This meeting was definitely insightful. The 2008 winner of Temple's coveted Be Your Own Boss Bowl, Brian Linton came and spoke to us. Brian Linton created a line of jewelry called Sand Shack, which profits were used to take care of the oceans. He has currently opened started a new brand called United by Blue. In this new endeavor he sells clothes and for each item sold he takes a pound of trash out the ocean. Wow, profitable & socially responsible. Who can beat that? It is comforting to know that a Temple Entrepreneur Alumni is doing so well. It shows that success is attainable. I just hope that I'll be able to come up with a good idea and soon. I want to enter the Be Your Own Boss Bowl for this year, but unfortunately I'm am totally uninspired and with this load of work I have to do, I'm always thinking of assignment due dates than what I'd rather be doing. I just have to keep the faith, I know my Eureka moment will come eventually. 

     So this past Thursday (September 23rd) I went to this gathering of prospective employers & eager potential employees (students) called Senior Reception. Sadly, there was nothing there for me. Even the potential jobs I saw with HR firms just did not seem appealing. Most of the employers were from Finance & Accounting Firms, and I really don't have an affinity towards anything math based, so I stayed away from them. Unfortunately those I talked to seemed more interested in my suit, my locs, or the piercing in my eyebrow. I guess I must have been the only Black lesbian they saw on this particular day.

  Needless to say, Senior Reception was a bust, but I did get to look sexy in my suit. This experience helped to affirm why I want to be an entrepreneur. When I hire people, I want to find anyone who's capable of doing the job. No one needs to fit a cookie cutter mold of anything. Anti-Corporate culture. Maybe I should focus a career in the arts....hmm...I'll tell more of my art inspired ideas at a later time. And I'll edit this post to show off some pictures of myself lol.

Until my return...check out this video from this group my little sister showed me. It's hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYB2Mqs24ss Metronomy - A thing for me

*edit* Okay so here are so of those pictures I promised. After going to senior reception, I hosted a program at my residence hall (I'm a Resident Assistant), and we went to eat out this fancy restaurant named Max Brenner's.

Caught Crackin' Up

Group Photo!

Photo in between choices

The food was sooo good!

So the my whole day wasn't a total waste, but it was great to just hang out with my girls later on. They really cheered me up/ :)

Ok real quick before I head to bed for the night.

Tomorrow is a big day. I'll meet with some of the biggest corporations in the nation and battle it out with the other Fox School of Business seniors to determine why I am the best candidate for the job. This event is called Senior Reception. I haven't prepared as well as I should have...however...I feel that I am best when I'm being totally candid. There are 75+ employers, but I only want to see 7. The positions that they are offering deal with HR, Customer Service, Recruiting...aka...Jobs that focus on people!

Do I hope to be recruited for the spring? Well....yeah. I need a job to start paying back loans, building capital & gaining experience, so that I can take my eventual expertise and run my own organization. We'll see what happens. My hopes aren't too high though. I've had a couple jobs and my performance in those capacities have ranged from average to amazing. Yet others in the Fox Business School have created their own businesses...had great jobs & internships....meanwhile I don't have an outstanding resume or anything like that. I feel mediocre in comparison. We'll see how I fare, because even with my inadequacies, I have something that they don't....personality.

The New Fox School of Business Building....Alter Hall

A good business is fueled by passion for your product and/or service. My problem is that I haven't yet discovered what my passion is. I only know things that I'm interested in, but I don't know if that necessarily translates into a passion. Here's how I want my future business venture to be for me: I want to love my work so much that it feels like play, and that I'd do it even if I wasn't being compensated.

    I'm a senior at Temple University and I'm studying within the entrepreneurship major. Although there are some high points of TU's program, I really feel that the only way I'll get the knowledge and experience I need is to have a mentor & obtain internships, and the application of heuristics. Here are the list of classes I'm taking now: Special Topics in Economics, Cost Accounting, Finance III, Marketing Research, Managing Small Businesses, and Management Information Systems (MIS). Yes I know, it's a lot but with a bit of time management skills, it's not that difficult.

   Throughout my career here at Temple, I feel like have taken the same classes over and over again, especially within this major. At this current point, I have taken 3 accounting classes, 3 finance classes, and 3 economics classes. All the material has been the same, with the exception of my last economics class which is really interesting (it uses psychology and neuroeconomics to explain how and why people make decisions). My teachers throughout the last four years have ranged from excellent to horrible. Right now my accounting teacher is the worst. I haven't learned anything and we're finishing out the 3rd week of the semester, so I'll need tutoring...great. What purpose does this curriculum serve for me?

   Most of the great business owners simply had a clear vision and determination. Only a small group of people had a formal college education. Most entrepreneurs have self-studied their industries and interests, networked, had a bit of luck, and the drive to pursue their dreams. Meanwhile here I am, getting a formal education, feeling that I am not a step closer to building any type of business or discovering what it is that I truly want to do. The best thing that Temple has had to offer me is their diverse student body, and the Entrepreneurial Student Association (ESA). Although I have just become a member this year, I can tell that I will learn a lot from this group and I look forward to a host of great experiences. Aside from the parties, friends, and clubs...the learning experience on a scale of 1 - 10 has been a 6. It enrages me because I feel that I pay too much to feel so unsatisfied. Maybe what needs to be created is a college that truly runs on the feedback provided by its students, instead of the politics of knowledge, what others think you should know. Or in the case of entrepreneurship students, maybe our whole business education should come from mentor-ship programs. Actually observing and participating in the day to day functions of a business, with a real business owner to guide you.

What makes me laugh is when people ask me am I going to do graduate school. #HellNo. I'll let life be the next teacher, and then whatever I learn, I'll share that information with the next up and coming set of entrepreneurs.

"I never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain.
Maybe I need to take the hint Mark.

I could give a long rant on who I am, but I'd rather show you than tell you...

I'm Tez & I'm Awesome

This is my Everything: My beautiful girlfriend :)

This is where I go to school: Temple University

I was born and raised in Philly! Home to Cheesesteaks, The LOVE statue, The Fresh Prince and a really beautiful diverse and artsy culture. I have a deep connection to this city because my family has gone through generations here, my girlfriend studies here with me, and I believe this city has greatly shaped my character.