On February 27, I had the opportunity to visit the Creative Destruction Lab at the Rotman School of Management. I could hardly wait when I was told that I would be able to attend CDL’s Session 3!
I was able to spend an entire day with so many investors and successful entrepreneurs, all of who are changing the world. Being able to talk to, and see the interactions between ventures and CDL fellows/associates, I gained so much insight into new innovative tech and how to launch a successful tech-based startup.
The amazing mentor I got the opportunity to shadow for the day was Elizabeth Caley who I was matched with prior to the conference. I had seen her speak during the Machine Learning and Market for Intelligence Conference in 2017, and so it was great to be able to actually have her as my mentor! Elizabeth Caley, an extremely inspiring woman in the tech field, co-leads Meta which was acquired by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. With more than 4000 scientific papers published a day, Meta is a tool that allows scientists and researchers to more efficiently see how their field is evolving.
To begin my day, I was able to meet the other high school girls selected to attend the session. I was so grateful to be able to meet other girls, who like me aspire to leverage emerging technology and become successful, innovative women in tech. Throughout the day, it was amazing to get to know them and their similar passion for technology-based entrepreneurship.
Schedule:
Small-Group Meetings:
After a brief introduction to my mentor, EC, we began “small group meetings.” This was an opportunity for startups to obtain business advice from successful entrepreneurs/investors and also to agree on three clear objectives that could be achieved before the next session. We met with 6 different ventures, and by observing the feedback and objectives given, I was able to gain so much insight into what investors look for and what entrepreneurs need to be doing. I was also able to meet a variety of different startups, each with novel ideas! Some of the ventures I found particularly interesting included Tiny Brain Robotics, a company that offers autonomous delivery, and also Alexsei, a platform that delivers answers to legal questions in memo format.
Large-Room Discussions:
The rest of the day was mainly spent doing large room discussions with my mentor and other fellows/associates. During these discussions, all the ventures in the AI stream had about 10 minutes each to discuss their agreed-upon objectives with a room full of entrepreneurs and investors. I found this part of the session super valuable, as I could see the common issues with new ventures. Opportunities like this are also extremely beneficial for startups as they are able to obtain feedback from a large room full of successful entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
CDL Max:
CDL Max was also a part of our day, showcasing four companies from different tech streams. These companies included Alexsei, PhaseShift, Lunie, and Multiverse Computing. They received feedback from all the entrepreneurs together and were looking for funding/connections through investors.
Key Takeaways!
I was able to get the opportunity to talk to Micah Siegal, a venture capital investor. Along with recommending to read “The Selfish Gene,” he explained the 3 main startup risks:
Product/technology risk, Market Risk and Team Risk
When developing your business, it is crucial to make sure that only one risk is a concern for you — if not, you’re startup is likely to fail.
Take opportunities to practice hardwork
Sonia Sennik, the Executive Director at CDL was our guest speaker in the morning, starting our day off with super valuable life lessons! Throughout the day, the advice I had repeatedly gotten, was to take opportunities — and as many as I possibly could. Not just people, but organizations grow, capitalizing on opportunities to do so. Not only do you obtain experience, but life-long learners are also valued and appreciated by others.
Fail.
No, failure doesn’t feel good and is pretty exhausting. But no one can really avoid setbacks, and so learning to come back from a low point is important. Sonia told us about one of their turning points — when they tore their ACL playing rugby. Instead, of letting this setback bring them down, it made Sonia question what they wanted, and opened up different opportunities for them to pursue.
This also relates to another important point Sonia discussed which was to not confine yourself to the specialty you choose, and still doing other things on the side that fulfill you!
Skills + Focus = Higher quality
After taking different opportunities, it is important to then find a focus and then put in the effort. By determining your focus, it allows you to explore it on a different level, and gain so much more knowledge. Entrepreneurship depends on specialization as experience is what streamlines processes and increases sales.
Overall, the CDL highschool girls program has been a life-changing opportunity for me. I was able to learn from the most successful entrepreneurs and meet other girls who share the same passion as me, heading to success! I also would like to thank Garima Ghale for allowing me to be part of such an amazing opportunity that was so valuable, and I can’t wait to hopefully get the chance to go back and learn even more.