Spring entrepreneurship speaker series offers insights about building skills and innovation career paths

person speaking at a techstars event
Kelsey Davis ’19 G’20 speaking at a LaunchPad network event

The LaunchPad Speaker Series is a new virtual Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars network offering. Featuring leaders from LaunchPad partner organizations and campus networks, the Spring College Entrepreneurs Speaker Series will highlight successful and diverse entrepreneurs, executives, investors, and other influential stakeholders in the innovation economy. These individuals will share stories, skills, insights, inspiration, and critical lessons learned around entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship in an interactive online format. The LaunchPad Speaker Series is open to all 900,000+ students and staff in the LaunchPad global network.

The series will focus on skill development critical for entrepreneurship and careers in the 21st century. These capabilities include leadership, problem-solving, communication, effective use of social capital, and technical business acumen, among others. Insights will be provided from knowledgeable experts in working with students and entrepreneurs and will cover areas including startup pipeline and hiring, internships, and entrepreneurship as a side hustle.

The dates are:  March 12, March 31, April 9, April 21 and April 30.  Descriptions are below.

  • Session 1: How can an entrepreneurial mindset prepare you for a successful career? How can you develop skills innovation employers want to see? Find out from Cam Houser, Founder of @Actionworksco, in this @BXLaunchPad Speaker Series session on Fri 3/12. Registration Link
  • Session 2: Join @BXLaunchPad alumni including Kyra Durko, of @TwoSigmaVC, Zach Little of @CheckUp_App and @IncrementumAU, Kelsey Davis (Syracuse University LaunchPad alum) of @cllctve in this Wed 3/31 LaunchPad Speaker Series panel on the ways in which to leverage your entrepreneurial college experience to build a successful career. Registration Link
  • Session 3:Wondering what hiring executives at places like @Blackstone, @Techstars, and @Hubspot look for? This is your chance to get the inside track and their perspectives on how to communicate your entrepreneurial inclination and experience on resumes and interviews. Fri 4/9 Registration Link
  • Session 4:Think you have to be pursuing your startup idea full-time to benefit from it? Think again. @pjmcginnis, author of The 10% Entrepreneur and Fear of Missing Out will share his thoughts in this Wed 4/21 @BXLaunchPad Speaker Series session on side-hustle entrepreneurship and stories of successful founders who engage in entrepreneurship outside of their day jobs. Registration Link
  • Session 5: There are far more internship opportunities out there than just those listed on your university’s career center website. Justin Lokitz, Innovation Mentor & Co-founder at Accelab will speak about inventing your own college internship, creating your dream position, making the most of a summer job, and working in a startup environment in this @BXLaunchPad Speaker Series session. Fri 4/30 Registration Link

For more information, please visit www.blackstonelaunchpad.org.