The original source of this video is ecorner.stanford.edu. The Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) Entrepreneurship Corner is a free online archive of entrepreneurship resources for teaching and learning. But I first heard about it from Oscar Del Ben.
If you had five dollars and two hours, what would you do to make as much money as possible?
In this inspiring lecture, Tina Seelig, Executive Director for the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, recalls a classroom exercise in entrepreneurship and creative thinking that posed this quandary to student teams.
Podcast: Listen to the entire talk (MP3, 52 min)
CLASSROOM EXPERIMENT IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP (6min 11)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Tina gave students (every team) an envelope, and in that envelope was seed funding. They didn’t know how much money was inside it.
- They had four or five days to plan as long as they wanted, but as soon as they opened the envelope they had two hours to make as much money as possible.
- Money inside the envelope => 5 dollars.
THE CLUE
The teams that made the most money didn’t use the $5 at all. They realized that the $5 was actually a limitation. They realized that the $5 framed the problem way too tightly. If they looked at the skills they had and the opportunities around them that was worth a lot more. All they had to do is look around and see the opportunities in their midst.
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO LEARN FROM THIS STORY
- People are incredibly appreciative. So, if we’re going to ask people money for a product or service and they can get it free or almost free, maybe we should ask for a donation instead.
- Go “outside” and experiment. Experimenting and trying things out along the way you can learn many things you will never learn from a book or in classroom.
- To succeed all we need to do is open our eyes and minds. We don’t need a million dollars to create a successful business. We have resources that are much larger and more valuable than we even imagined. Our own skills that we have and the opportunities around us are bigger than we think. We have enough potential as individuals to create an amazing business just with our entrepreneurial spirit.
My message: You can overcome any challenge just with your creative and innovative power.
FREE your imagination and try to find the solution to your problems and challenges examining them from all possible angles. Seeking out answers, you will boost your creativity and create outstanding ideas and unique solutions.
“Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities.” – Terry Josephson
Tina Seelig’s Book on entrepreneurship:
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What about you? What would you do to make as much money as possible with just 5 dollars in your pocket and 2 hours? What would you do if you were given this challenge? What other things have you learned from this story? Think about it and share your answer to this quandary leaving a comment.
And remember, share your thoughts & ideas and enjoy what others share with you 🙂
My Twitter: @DavidCantone
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