Startup week 2022 highlights

Last week on campus was dedicated to startups and innovation. Startup founders and innovators from our network and incubation programme shared their entrepreneurial journeys and talked about the successes and challenges they faced during different stages, from idea to startup incorporation and beyond.

Here are some takeaways from these conversations:

1. Find something you are genuinely passionate about. It will be crucial to keep your motivation up and help you get through difficult times on your startup journey
2. Ideas are not born in a vacuum, so get out there, talk to people, expand your network and meet other startup founders
3. Talk to your potential customers early on to validate your assumptions, do not focus only on your product or technology
4. Start with small and simple steps. You do not need a big budget to start testing your ideas
5. Team up with like-minded individuals who are passionate about the project and share your values
6. Do not overpromise and set realistic milestones
7. Fail fast, fail smart – if your project fails, it does not mean you are a failure as an entrepreneur. Learn from your mistakes so that you can do things differently next time
8. Be transparent with your team, partners and investors. Cultivate your relationships, it is an asset that stays with you even if the startup does not succeed
9. Be open to feedback but do not allow external judgement to cloud your own
10. Be aware of the risks involved and plan ahead