Every time I read about or return to Babson College I am more impressed by the caliber of students, faculty, administration, and staff. Yesterday I wrote about a handful of programs Babson has designed that work to “breed” entrepreneurs. Today I am spotlighting how Babson also breeds a network of adopters and supporters of startups at their early and, arguably, most critical stage.
Faculty/Administration/Staff: Making Me Ask, ‘How Can I Give Back?’
Just about every faculty, administrator and staff interaction I had while at Babson was a positive one. These Babson leaders take students under their wings and care deeply about their development, success and happiness throughout their four years. As a student, professors always made themselves available to talk with me one-on-one, be it relating to a class, organizations, future career or something more personal.
I’ve learned more recently that this care and support continues well after you graduate. I’ve been impressed and humbled at how professors and administrators like Elaine Allen and Richard Mandel have taken the time to engage with me about Pinyadda. They’ve asked one simple question: “How can I help?” (Wow.)
Thank you Babson faculty and staff for your support while at Babson, and for continuing that support post-graduation. It’s what makes me ask myself “how can I give back” and take every opportunity to do so.
Students & Alumni: Incredibly Valuable Early Adopters
While Babson has developed unmatched curriculum, programs and faculty to support successful entrepreneurs, they also breed a tightly knit community of proud students and graduates. This is a community that carries the #1 ranking for entrepreneurship on their shoulders (regardless if starting their own company or not), always eager to support fellow Babson community startups. It is their involvement and support that enhances a startup’s early-stage development, decreasing the probability that a Babson student or alum’s startup will fail and directly influencing later-stage success.
The atmosphere and excitement around entrepreneurship at Babson actually creates a truly unique base of early adopters. This is a community that many startups (particularly consumer facing startups) need and benefit from. Babson students and alums have the business-savvy and strategy prowess to understand opportunities and how to build a startup that capitalizes on these opportunities. Moreover, the industries these business mavens span post-graduation are extremely diverse: from banking to retail to CPG to non-profit. It’s this range of experience layered on a strong business foundation that makes us such a valuable community of early adopters.
Pinyadda is a beneficiary of Babson student and alumni early adopters, and we consider ourselves very lucky. This community has not only been willing, but has had a keen desire, to do their part in helping us build our platform. They have helped us with challenges, believing in where we will take the product down the road, by offering constructive and valuable feedback. Their activity and support has been instrumental in helping our product and user base develop.
Below is a list of Babson community members who have been early adopters on Pinyadda. Some we have invited personally, and others have heard by word of mouth and jumped on the platform without a second thought. Many have been inviting their friends and colleagues to the platform outside of the Babson community. Thank you all for doing this; you’ve been crucial to Pinyadda’s early-stage success. And you should appreciate that you’re just as instrumental as the curriculum, faculty, and entrepreneurs themselves in keeping Babson’s #1 in entrepreneurship rating.
Many below are following one another on Pinyadda to discuss the news and blog posts they’re reading – if I missed you, many apologies, and let me know so I can add you to the list.
If you’re looking to follow any of the brilliant business minds below, simply click their name to view their profile and click “Follow.”
Tags: Babson, customer, customer development, entrepreneurship