On June 8, DifferenceMaker held it’s first (virtual) Summer Boot Camp session! The 2020 DifferenceMaker Idea Challenge winning teams will complete four Boot Camp sessions throughout the summer.
The goals of this Boot Camp are to increase the teams’ understanding of their customer segments, the value their ideas will provide, increase understanding of their business model, and more! This is done through various homework assignments, customer discovery interviews, research, videos, books, and individualized team sessions.
The first session started off with an introduction of what to expect for the summer. This included all ten teams, Holly Butler, Director, Ha Pho, Manager, and two guest speakers from Foley & Lardner, Chris McKenna, Partner and IP Lawyer and Alumni, Francis College of Engineering, and David Kantaros, Partner and business lawyer.
However, the following sessions will be individualized team meetings with DifferenceMaker staff and mentors, where feedback and advice on each project will be specific to each team.
Holly Butler, Entrepreneurial Initiatives Project Director.
Ha Pho, Entrepreneurial Initiatives Project Manager.
Chris McKenna, Foley & Lardner.
David Kantaros, Foley & Lardner.
Ha led the first half of the session where she spoke about startups vs. companies, the business model canvas, customer discovery, and more. She also provided examples from previous DifferenceMaker teams such as the C.A.T. Mat, Invisawear, and Nonspec.
The second half of the session was led by guest speakers Dave Kantaros and Chris McKenna, attorneys at Foley & Lardner. They spoke about company formation, types of entities, equity, and more. They also are providing teams with $15,000 of in-kind legal service prizes!
A huge thank you to David Kantaros and Chris McKenna for being guest speakers at this session’s Boot Camp and for sponsoring $15,000 in prizes.
Congratulations to all teams, and good luck with the rest of the summer Boot Camp!