Blog

MIT hosts EdTech Showcase, 4/26 at Trust Center for Entrepreneurship... get inspired, get educational!

2012-04-26T04:28:53Z

This is an exciting weekend if you're involved with education and startups in Boston. There are two major events happening: the first Boston StartupWeekendEdu, where teams will build an education startup over 54 hours, as well as the more informal (but also fun) EdCamp unconference happening over at the NERD Center. EdCamp sold out over a week ago, but I believe StartupWeekend tickets might still be out there.

We are also hosting an EdTech Startup Showcase at the Trust Center on Thursday night to kick off the weekend, and some of your favorite local startups will be in attendance: Testive, Coursehound, and five others.

We also have a special guest talk by MIT professor Erik Brynjolfsson whose research focuses on digitization, technology and the economics of information. And of course, refreshments will be served.

Come support your friendly neighborhood early stage edtecg startups! For more details (and to RSVP) please see here: http://edtechmit.eventbrite.com/

Many thanks,

Parul

Present Perfect: tips for entrepreneurs on embracing the imperfect

2011-11-10T14:25:59Z

One of the first lessons I’ve had to learn as a new entrepreneur is that perfectionism radically slows you down.

Let me clarify. Perfectionism slows you to an abysmal crawl where you hardly get anything done. Perfectionism chews away at your ability to advance on your ever-growing, omni-present to do list.

I’m learning to embrace imperfection.

This never would have happened in the past.

Without offering any excuses for my previous behavior, suffice it to say that I usually beat myself up a job not well done, in leaving loose ends not neatly tied up, checklists not properly checked off, paper and email copy arduously wordsmithed, presentation layouts pixelly perfect... the list goes on. I am creative, but I strive for order.

Of course, there is never enough time to properly do those things. Sleep, exercise and house cleaning are normally the first things to suffer (sadly, I will admit that this occurs in the reverse order.)

Now there is even less time. And I am beginning to suspect that the trend will intensify. Oh my.

So I’m rapidly embracing IM-perfection. Yesterday’s lost battles are today’s triumphs. It used to be that I aspired to "Inbox Zero." Now, any day I get to inbox 50 is a banner day. If I can eat something green every day, then I no longer care if I cooked that food myself.

So here are my five favorite "streamlines", imperfect solutions that help me get more done and stay (sort-of) sane:

Embrace salad bar meals: on average, I'm using my stove about twice a semester during the school year
Have a place for everything: in your house, in your files, in your notes. Speedy retrieval (and putting away) is everything.
Do annoying errands in batches: bills, laundry... ahem, dishes. (I don't recommend the latter. I have recycleable paper plates for the really bad weeks.)
Regularly prune commitments: I used to be an "over-joiner" - some of you will know what I mean. I've drastically cut back and am loving it.
Never cut back on friends or (completely) eliminate exercise: huge wins for sanity!

If you are looking for additional reading on this, my favorite blog on this subject is Zen Habits. It would be great if there were a "zen habits for entrepreneurs", but in a way, Leo is an entrepreneur, so I think his posts are amazingly relevant and always leave me feeling more, well - zen. Definitely check it out if you haven't.

What about you? What imperfections and shortcuts have you embraced to get more stuff done? Any top tips for streamlining your entrepreneurial life? Please share in the comments. Thanks for visiting and reading my first post!

Hello world!

2011-09-30T02:07:45Z

I love the rush - there's no other way to describe it - of creating something which didn't exist before, whether it's a company, an experience, a collaboration, or even better - something I haven't thought of yet.

After many (at times extreme!) twists and turns, I've figured out that the best way to do this - and get to repeat it a bunch of times - is to be an entrepreneur. This blog is about what's a first-time journey for me, in order to document it and to help me keep up the momentum to continue. Currently, I am studying at MIT, helping out at an early stage venture capital firm called Founder Collective in Cambridge, MA. Formerly, I am all of these things: aspiring novelist, interface developer, product manager, street hockey player, and triathlete (I could add 'mathlete', but that would be giving too much away, and we just met). I love technology, writing, and reading certain favorite blogs - I have always wanted to blog but have never done it seriously. A friend and I made a pact to keep a weekly blog, so here goes.

Since I've started working on this project, my learning curve has gone into overdrive. I'm a goal oriented person and the process of starting a company, if nothing else, forces you to learn to embrace and enjoy the ride. To further that enjoyment, this blog is going to document our experiments, lessons, mistakes and wild successes on that journey, which others have described as a roller coaster. This blog is going to help me take a step back and take a deep breath and to be perfectly honest, I don't know exactly what it will be about yet.... However, it may include some or any of the following: advice, useful tips, and resources on entrepreneurship (for example do you know the top university based incubator programs for startups?), tidbits that we learn along the way, and stories of people, projects and companies that I hugely admire.

As an added bonus, you will have the opportunity to meet a wide-ranging cast of characters, including (but not limited to), my brilliant co-founder, kooky classmates, cheerleaders, naysayers and the entire peanut gallery. Our company seeks to improve educational outcomes using technology enabled learning and disrupt a few industries, while we're at it. Of course at this stage, we don't know how it will turn out - so I can't give the ending away yet. I hope this will become a two-way conversation.... follow me on twitter or post a comment. I'm looking forward to sharing this journey with you... buckle up and hold on tight - I know I am.