Notes on Stanford's entrepreneurial ecosystem

"Guide to Stanford's entrepreneurial ecosystem" by Jonathan Ling.

I still need to read the first part of this article, but it is a really nice look at the entrepreneurial landscape for prospective students. This really makes me want to go to Stanford, mainly because of the absolutely stellar culture there that fosters innovation and awesomeness. The prevalence of mailing lists is really nice. The core of these programs is a model based on mentorship and the ability to have someone to mentor you when you are starting your startup/entrepreneurial journey.

Her industry mentor was a board member at several startups in Silicon Valley, and whose advice she found “extremely valuable … detailed and concrete.”

The fact that this exists in such an official capacity is incredible, and I wonder what difference having such a strong entrepreneurial base would make for my startup. I can't help but feel a little scared because as of right now, I don't have a whole ton of startup ideas. Sure, I am working on a web design agency, but to be honest, I know that it doesn't scale very well, so I will have to learn some more. Back to the article. I am also impressed by the acceptance rates of these groups. "The application process has two rounds: a written application and a group discussion, with the latter stage having about a 40% acceptance rate. For the written application, since it’s an entrepreneurial leadership fellowship, it’s important to show them that you’ve got an entrepreneurial spirit and/or experience building your own impactful solutions to the world’s problems." This really is a program for the best of the best. I hope to build something incredible sometime in my life, and I really think it is possible. I just have to keep my ego/ambition in check, or else I won't get anything done.