Quick background: My team (formed during this program) NoFloe, developed and pitched our product idea: an ice and snow removal tool.<\/p>\n
Now, if there is anything I remember from my entire college experience, it will be this 3-course, 2-semester program. In the duration of these courses, I have acquired a skill-set that is absolutely invaluable.<\/p>\n
I have learned so much about so many different things and have developed a hunger to learn more. Because of the nature of the program\u2014it is overwhelming to describe everything I took away. So, I have broken it down into three (nearly) all-encompassing categories.<\/p>\n
Through the Feliciano Center, I have learned:<\/p>\n
1. The Power of Education<\/h2>\n
I have always been aware of the importance of education, and I always did well in school. But I lacked the desire to learn more. I am now motivated to learn and understand on my own. The Feliciano Center runs a MeetUp group, Montclair Entrepreneurs<\/a>, and hosts multiple events at the school. I began to take advantage and I attended several of them\u2014by myself\u2014willingly.<\/p>\n This was a step out of my comfort zone; here I was, a student, often in a room full of already-successful entrepreneurs. This is when another tool came in handy.<\/p>\n In the duration of the program, you step in front of your peers countless times. To pitch ideas, ask questions, give constructive criticism. Well, all of that adds up and soon you\u2019re comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people. You become confident. Our team was dedicated to improvement. We put in, at a minimum, four extra hours a week practicing our pitch aside from the six hours of class time provided (in the last semester of the program). Public speaking is such an asset and only improves with practice.<\/p>\n Another highlight of the program: the Creativity Boot Camp. I never thought of myself as truly creative. And I didn\u2019t think there was much hope because creativity can\u2019t be taught. Oh, but it can be explored. At the beginning of the program, you are put in teams. You participate in weeks of fun, where you are consistently encouraged to think outside of the box. This boot camp helps to break down barriers between you and your peers and really allows your creative juices to flow. The more creatively you\u2019re able to think, the more adaptable you become. The more adaptable you become, the better you are in any situation.<\/p>\n Oh, networking, such an intimidating word. Before this program, I thought of networking as a milieu of awkward, almost-forced events where several professionals gather in a room and connect with others whom they believe could benefit them.<\/p>\n The first class of this program, The Entrepreneurial Mindset changed my inaccurate views. Networking is so much more than an uncomfortable event and LinkedIn ( Connect with me by the way<\/a> \ud83d\ude09 ). Networking is the interaction with other people to exchange information and develop useful contacts, but it is also an excellent opportunity to be educated.<\/p>\n Each week we had the opportunity to network with one of these successful entrepreneurs. Not only were the speakers possible mentors, but they were, and are, dedicated to our success. They want to help. Because I chose to make the most of these connections, one of the speakers is now my mentor, and another my boss.<\/p>\n Professors really try to drill this one home. They think because they tell you networking is necessary, that you\u2019ll take their word for it. Unfortunately, that\u2019s not always the case. But the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship takes it to the next level, they supply endless opportunities for you to build your network. And it\u2019s not just any network, it is a worthwhile network. Think of the location of the school, its proximity to the city, and how many important<\/em> people exist in that distance. They give you access to all that they can. It is up to you to take advantage of it. Which leads me to my next point. You can lead a horse to water, but you can\u2019t make him drink.<\/p>\n The third, and probably the most important, lesson I\u2019ve learned: it is truly persistence that will get you where you\u2019d like to be.<\/p>\n It is not always knowledge, it is drive. As a procrastinator, I sometimes struggle with this.<\/p>\n I learned a lot about action through the prototyping process. When it came time to show everyone what our idea would be like tangibly, it was time to truly put in the work. Aside from identifying someone to help design our product, I had to find someone to help print it. (YES, we 3D-printed our prototype and it was incredibly exciting.)<\/p>\n The end result was pretty amazing and felt great. But, getting there\u2026that was a struggle. You can tell from a tweet I posted during this time. I hit so many walls before I finally succeeded in finding a company who could bring our vision to life. This is when I truly learned the power of persistence.<\/p>\n![\"1\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/files\/2015\/09\/1-1024x204.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n2. The Power of Networking<\/h2>\n
![\"3\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/files\/2015\/09\/31-300x281.png\")
<\/a>Our professors had a speaker come in weekly to talk with us about their personal entrepreneurial ventures, their successes, and their failures. Each of these speakers brought so much value to the program. They were so motivational. Have you ever been to an event, talk, lecture, where a speaker moved you and inspired you to live your life to the fullest? That is exactly what this was, except we had the opportunity to hear one of these amazing talks EVERY SINGLE WEEK. This, by far, was one of my favorite parts of the program\u2026their motivational words kept me running on high the entire semester. I truly looked forward to each and every class.<\/p>\n3. The Power of Action<\/h2>\n
![\"5\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/files\/2015\/09\/5-300x167.png\")
<\/a>Along with action, and persistence, comes the inevitable factor\u2014time. Time is our one asset that we have no control over. Time is passing whether you like it or not, and it\u2019s up to you to make the most of it.<\/p>\n![\"6\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/files\/2015\/09\/6-300x150.jpg\")
\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n![\"8\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.montclair.edu\/entrepreneur\/files\/2015\/09\/8.jpg\")
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