A wrap up of the first meeting of the class of 2009: Sept 12, 2008

The 3^rd year of the Startup Leadership Program (SLP)kicked off on September 12, 2008 at the law offices our sponsor, Edwards Angel Palmer and Dodge (EAPD) at 111, Huntington Avenue, Boston.

There are 21 Fellows in the Class of 2009 from diverse backgrounds ranging from Biotech, Devices, Design and Microfinance to Marketing, Internet and Journalism. The group comprises very qualified individuals with entrepreneurial ambitions (some have already started off on that path.)

The first class was an introduction; to the program, the program managers, the participants and more.

About SLP and TiE 
The evening started off with an address by Anupendra Sharma, founder and chair of the Startup Leadership Program. Vanita Shastri, Executive Director of TiE Boston introduced TiE and its many programs and encouraged the class to participate and volunteer. This was followed by a brief introduction by EAPD, where we are holding classes for the 2^nd year.

Fellow Experiences

Three Fellows – Hooman, Rama and Pat talked about their experiences. The bottom-line. You get from this program what you put into it. It is our program, and its future success depends on what we make of it. The Fellows had great advice and answered questions. What worked, what didn’t. What they got out of it. What advice they had for the class.

Cohorts & Networking

We started off the interactive section by being assigned to four Cohorts (A, B, C & D) with 5-6 members each. This is our group for the first three months of the program. We spent 20 minutes learning about each other and picked a spokesperson who will represent the group for the first month. TLP has a CEO structure. The CEO is a Fellow chosen each month to lead the class based on performance and leadership potential. The group spokespersons report to the CEO. After the first 20 minutes, we joined new groups. This way we managed to meet at least half the class that evening. The second set of groups seemed to be more background-defined.  

Assignments

Time for work! This program belongs to the Fellows. We lead it, develop the content. Cohorts were assigned responsibilities – Hard Skills Workshop, Soft Skills Workshop, Venture Capital Competition and Field Trips.

Lots of assignments. We need to create “marketing pieces” about ourselves – our bios, for the prospectus and send them to Ryan Scott Bardsley. We also need to have each Fellows cellphone number, so that communications are seamless. So please send in your vCards with photographs (before Friday this week.) The notes section will also have our bios (what a good idea!)

Right after the first class there was a LOT of email activity. Everyone in the program is rearing to go and those who signed up for specific responsibilities have already started working on those.

I look forward to working with each and every one of you, and hope that you will all blog... prolifically. If you've never blogged before, and want to start, this is a great place to and you can always talk to either Parul or me (or even Anupendra) if you get stuck.