Griffith University students with an entrepreneurial mind have completed a 72-hour intensive program in April called 3 Day Startup,designed to prepare them for the ever-changing new world of business.
Groups from the university’s four academic groups came together for the recurring program that provides aspiring entrepreneurs with a dynamic, cross-disciplinary and hands-on way to develop their worldview, knowledge and skill set.
The program was open to students of all years, majors and experience levels who were interested in learning how to developing their own startup.
3 Day Startup Director of Operations Shayna Dunitz, said that the skills instilled by the program would remain valuable to participants in all they try their hand at, regardless of the ways in which the working world continues to change in future.
“Even students coming into university four years ago, things look different for them now as they’re graduating and getting ready to go into a career,” Ms Dunitz said.
“Having an entrepreneurial mindset and being able to adapt to change really well, be flexible and innovative and creative when it comes to problem solving, being a good communicator, understanding how to work in different types of teams … those are the things that aren’t going to change, and we’ll always need to know how to do those things.
“Regardless of whether the job they go into goes away or shifts into something new, if they can still be a creative problem solver, can still work in a team and communicate their ideas to different types of people and stakeholders, they’re going to be OK,” she said.
Resilience was a key component of the program, due to the fact that around 90% of new businesses are more likely to fail, according to 3 Day Startup cofounder and host Cam Houser.
“Resilience is an interesting idea because some people think entrepreneurs are hardened and they’re at 100% all the time, they never have moments of weakness, never break, they’re never vulnerable.
“So we try to talk a lot about, ‘how do you stay resilient, and how do you understand that failure is part of the process?’ But we really find that, if most ventures fail, and we’re helping people understand how to cope with failure better, they’re going to be strong, so that when they have successes, they’ll be better at coping with those as well,” he said.
The program immersed students in an experiential environment, allowing them to participate in activities such as pitching and developing ideas, engaging with customers and brainstorming through mentorship. It also highlighted entrepreneurship’s relevance beyond those who are studying business-related degrees.
Master of Education student Sharifah Hussien, for example, was a 3 Day Startup participant and despite being a teacher by trade, sought out the program in order to discover how entrepreneurship could benefit the educational journey.
“At Griffith, we recognise the importance of preparing students to be part of a rapidly changing workforce, either as an employee, or as entrepreneur ready to establish a new venture or business,” Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor Debra Henly said.
“In either case, an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset is a valuable building block to enable students to achieve their career goals.”
The next 3 Day Startup is scheduled for July 3-5 at Griffith’s South Bank campus.
