Kevin Koym

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Entrepreneur: your light, and your responsibility

May 17, 2010 by kevin Leave a Comment

Entrepreneurs…. this is a call as a reminder… there’s no small game to play with regard to being an entrepreneur.  I’ve often been told of the following quote from Marianne Williamson (often attributed to Nelson Mandela) where Marianne tells us flat out to stop playing a small game.  In the words of a spiritual butt-kicking, here’s her quote.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Now there’s another side to this… and anyone that’s been a successful, reflective entrepreneur knows that this is true.  There’s no place to hide when it comes to not playing small.  Whether or not you get the spiritual side to this quote above, there’s the cold hard facts, in a business context, that if its to be, its up to you, the entrepreneur.

Building a business, or a socially focused non-profit, or whatever your venture might be… there’s no place to hide whether or not you get there.  I’ve often thought that this could be a perceived downside to the quote above.  Marianne is calling us to a higher level… yet, if an entrepreneur doesn’t make it to his / her goals, there’s a litany of reasons that they did not make it… but the buck stops with the entrepreneur.

Listen to Marianne. Reach for the skies.  Pull out all of the stops.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  And realize that if you make it, or not, is your responsibility.  Show your light. Don’t hide it. Be willing to risk not making it.  Be willing to be responsible for whatever happens, good, bad, or ugly.  Once you’ve felt the power of the stretch feeling of going for it, then and only then will you understand as well the power of being responsible for making things happen. And once you’ve felt this feeling, you’ll be drawn to turn your light on even brighter.

Filed Under: inspiration, risk Tagged With: entrepreneurship, inspiration, risk

Venture Forth! And some resources to make your way easier

October 7, 2009 by kevin Leave a Comment

Over the last few months, we at the Tech Ranch Austin have been supporting entrepreneurs in launching their ventures.  With the following announcement, we’re taking it to a whole new level.  See details below about the Venture Forth program.  Its time to start the venture that you’ve been thinking about.

Do you have an idea for the next insanely great product or service? Are you having a hard time figuring out how you can step away from your current gig to launch your venture? Have you launched your venture and are now trying to scale it? Are you looking for the right team to make your venture pop? Do you need up to $100,000 in pro-bono services and expertise? If so, read on.  Tech Ranch Austin is excited to announce our next program for emerging technology entrepreneurs: Tech Ranch Venture Forth. The Venture Forth Program is all about accelerating venture success with a goal of getting your idea to the market as quickly as possible – testing and correcting along the way.

This program is the next generation of our successful Employee to Entrepreneur seminars.  But this time, we have kicked it up with up to $100k in free services and access to experts for each startup in the program.  The next Venture Forth program starts in late October and your venture could be generating revenue before the end of 2009!  We’d love for you to join us or share this information with someone who is itching to get their startup accelerated.

You can read the details, watch a video from Kevin and Jonas, and sign up for one of the 15 available slots here: http://techranchaustin.com/ventureforth

If you have questions, comments or ideas, please respond directly to us directly either through the comments or via email at info@techranchaustin.com

Best of luck in your venture!

Filed Under: entrepreneurship Tagged With: entrepreneurship

Insight from Chile: Web 2.0 is not about technology

August 22, 2008 by kevin Leave a Comment

As you might know- I spent a good portion of 2003 in Chile, collaborating and learning with some of the best design experts in the world. When I speak of “design” I specifically am meaning “ontological design“- in a few words, that is to say what are the fundamental building blocks, or perhaps even dispositions of how we might look at an issue.

A simple demonstration of this insight can be found in my friend Felipe Contreras Haye’s statement:

Hemos venido a hacer una invitación a varios establecimientos educacionales a sumarse junto a nosotros a un proyecto de Innovación Educativa basada en los principios (NO EN LAS HERRAMIENTAS) de la Web 2.0. (emphasis added by Kevin)

For my friends that don’t read Spanish, I will translate, adding my understanding and interpretation to his statement- “We are sending invitations to various educational establishments around a innovative education based on the principles of Web 2.0, not the tools of Web 2.0. ”

This is a profound insight… why ? Many times the focus of entrepreneurs that I work with in the US, especially because of our technological prowess- we sometimes are drawn to think that technology is driving the dynamic growth of the Internet. Hardly. The social disposition of Internet users drives the net… and education should be directed at the social underpinnings and changing users perceptions of the net- not just training individuals on tools. Tools will change, within 6 months. The ability to “see” opportunities and how to respond to them in the world will stand, no matter what changes in the domain of technology. This need to “see” opportunities and not be blinded by shinny-object technology is essential for all entrepreneurs.

Filed Under: entrepreneurship, innovation Tagged With: entrepreneurship, innovation

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