Waverly Deutsch

So either profitability or fundability in the nonprofit world, it's a process, right? It's a process of evaluating opportunities. It's a process of testing solutions. It's a process. So with undergrads, what you're really doing is you're giving them the process by which they can learn to add the logic, the data, the research to their passions.

So either profitability or fundability in the nonprofit world, it's a process, right? It's a process of evaluating opportunities. It's a process of testing solutions. It's a process. So with undergrads, what you're really doing is you're giving them the process by which they can learn to add the logic, the data, the research to their passions.

It's almost exactly the opposite with, say, the executive MBAs. The ideas often... Lack innovation and lack creativity are incremental to the way things are being done because they are so aware of the barriers to innovation, the challenges of getting new things through. But then you say, why does the world need a company?

It's almost exactly the opposite with, say, the executive MBAs. The ideas often... Lack innovation and lack creativity are incremental to the way things are being done because they are so aware of the barriers to innovation, the challenges of getting new things through. But then you say, why does the world need a company?

a tiny bit incrementally better than the way you've seen things done in the past, right? So it's really hard to break through brand loyalty, comfort without having something that's really innovative, right? How do you overcome the liability of newness? So you're right that a balance

a tiny bit incrementally better than the way you've seen things done in the past, right? So it's really hard to break through brand loyalty, comfort without having something that's really innovative, right? How do you overcome the liability of newness? So you're right that a balance

that you have to use between managing a person's tendency to go with their heart versus their tendency to go with their head to help them bring those two things together in the set of complimentary qualities that an entrepreneur has to have. which is both the vision and the execution, right?

that you have to use between managing a person's tendency to go with their heart versus their tendency to go with their head to help them bring those two things together in the set of complimentary qualities that an entrepreneur has to have. which is both the vision and the execution, right?

You have to see the potential for the future, but also be able to figure out the tiny step-by-step that's going to allow you to build the foundation of a company that can reach that vision. It is different across different cohorts, different people, whether they're in school or they're entrepreneurs in the world, but certainly at Booth,

You have to see the potential for the future, but also be able to figure out the tiny step-by-step that's going to allow you to build the foundation of a company that can reach that vision. It is different across different cohorts, different people, whether they're in school or they're entrepreneurs in the world, but certainly at Booth,

dealing with a range of students from, I taught high school students through boots for a while, all the way to very senior, seasoned executives, it is your job as a teacher, as a coach, as a mentor, to figure out where the strengths and weaknesses are and bring techniques, tools, and advice that balances the strengths and weaknesses for that particular individual.

dealing with a range of students from, I taught high school students through boots for a while, all the way to very senior, seasoned executives, it is your job as a teacher, as a coach, as a mentor, to figure out where the strengths and weaknesses are and bring techniques, tools, and advice that balances the strengths and weaknesses for that particular individual.

Let me start with some examples from the executive level MBA program. Very often, because they've been in the corporate world, they don't want to present anything that isn't absolutely doable, low risk. And so they say, if you give us $5 million to build out this software, we can generate $7 million in five years.

Let me start with some examples from the executive level MBA program. Very often, because they've been in the corporate world, they don't want to present anything that isn't absolutely doable, low risk. And so they say, if you give us $5 million to build out this software, we can generate $7 million in five years.

I feel pretty comfortable that if you built out this software, you could get to $7 million in five years. By the way, most companies never get to a million dollars in revenues. That's a pretty interesting company. But it doesn't create a return on investment for a $5 million investment.

I feel pretty comfortable that if you built out this software, you could get to $7 million in five years. By the way, most companies never get to a million dollars in revenues. That's a pretty interesting company. But it doesn't create a return on investment for a $5 million investment.

So it's a mismatch of the resources you'll need to get there and the outcome that you're telling the investors you're going to be able to create for them. So that's a very common story with the executive MPAs. We don't want to say that we can be a $50 million company because we don't know if we can be a $50 million company.

So it's a mismatch of the resources you'll need to get there and the outcome that you're telling the investors you're going to be able to create for them. So that's a very common story with the executive MPAs. We don't want to say that we can be a $50 million company because we don't know if we can be a $50 million company.

If you, the entrepreneur, don't believe that you can be a $50 million company, if you, the entrepreneur, don't believe that this is a powerful, disruptive, high-value add to your customers in such a way that if you're given this kind of capital, $5 million plus, that you can't bring it to market in a way that in five years gets you to $50 million, what's the investor going to think about the business?

If you, the entrepreneur, don't believe that you can be a $50 million company, if you, the entrepreneur, don't believe that this is a powerful, disruptive, high-value add to your customers in such a way that if you're given this kind of capital, $5 million plus, that you can't bring it to market in a way that in five years gets you to $50 million, what's the investor going to think about the business?