Entrepreneur panel offers advice to students and tackles tough questions

Business Week's Wednesday night entrepreneurship panel offered students the opportunity to pose questions to five entrepreneurs. The event preceded a networking reception.

Casey Golden, founder of Small Act, a company that helps nonprofit organizations use social media in campaigns, advised student entrepreneurs not to assume to know what their customers want and encouraged them to "find what's different" in their business plans.

Former Smith student Jonathan Dugan warned the audience that a business is "not going to be sexy when you first start." Dugan owns Goozex, North America's leading online video game and movie trading network. He was a second-place recipient at Pitch Dingman and was told that his business sucked, but he maintained a thick skin throughout his conquest to pitch to top investors. His biggest piece of advice to students was to "get your name out there as much as possible," but always stay grounded and remain mindful of the sacrifices that must be made, particularly regarding personal relationships.

Dingman Center Entrepreneur-in-Residence Harry Gellar also shared a vital part of his experience with failure. In the event of a business model fallout, Gellar posits that it is "better to fail fast and fail cheap" than to try to resuscitate the business.

Former Smith student Yonas Beshawred founded Harambe Endeavor, which aims to promote entrepreneurship efforts in Africa. He challenged student entrepreneurs to create a "sustainable" business and stressed the importance of a "good team," because "you can't do much on your own."

Scott Phillips of Clarksville Mortgage Corporation explained the benefits of using Internet marketing instead of print ads, especially when trying to minimize startup costs and preserve capital.

The event ended with the panel members encouraging students to stay focused, take risks, and leave the "safe-salaried positions" behind them.