What I Learned From Being a Judge at the Bertolon School of Business Pitch Competition
By Dino Di Palma, Managing Partner
Last Wednesday evening I was one of three judges at a local business school competition, Salem State University. The Dean of the Bertolon Business school was enthusiastic for their students to present the plans for their start-up businesses. Many of the students at Salem State need to work full-time jobs as they earn their degrees. As a newly accredited business school, Salem State is providing the necessary tools to ensure student success. It was impressive that all finalists were so well prepared; the presentation, the business case, it was all first-rate. The one quality that stood out the most, however, was their passion!
The students were all passionate about their start-ups. The ideas ranged from an app for mental healthcare that was focused on peer groups (Alleviate Peer to Peer), clothing lines for the LBGTQ community (Transcendant Clothing) to a scheduling platform for restaurants and construction that leveraged AI technology (Communication Platform). One of the judges was also a great local success story - a Salem State University grad and the Founder of the best cookie place on the North Shore (Goodnight Fatty). Make sure you try one if you are in Salem, MA! It is evident that one of the key traits to becoming a successful entrepreneur is passion. The winners of the event were Alleviate Peer to Peer, Jersey Express Apparels, and Local Spot with their impressive business pitches. We, at True North Advisory, were also sponsors of the event.
That being said we all know this is also not enough to make it! Passion alone can only get you so far. In fact, the Small Business Administration defines a “small” business as one with 500 employees or less. In 2019, the failure rate of startups was around 90%. Research concludes that 21% of start-ups fail in the first year, 30% in the second year and 50% in the 5th year and 70% in the 10th year. We are all searching for the magic sauce. At True North we are also in search of what, other than passion, increases one’s odds of success. How can we tip the scale ever so slightly in favor of success?
This is where our new podcast “ A View in Focus” sponsored by True North Advisory, comes in. We will interview the leaders and entrepreneurs that have had both success and failures and ask questions like:
What is something you wish you knew earlier in your career?
How do you build your founding team?
Talk to me about fundraising. - What are some of the keys to success?
What would tell someone who is getting started? You have seen the movie a few times - what are some lessons learned?
The goal is to see if we can find common threads and themes. We know we do not have all the answers in True North, but hopefully, our guests can shed some light on how to improve the odds.
