Assistant Professor and Managing Director of the Entrepreneurship Department, Robert McNamee, led the workshop, Assessing Ideas: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, yesterday evening (1/29) in Temple’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute Lab.

Professor McNamee had a great deal of advice for Temple students throughout the workshop. He advised students to, “Focus first on understanding a problem or need, and NOT on building a solution!” He also made an emphasis on developing a deep understanding of customers and explained how important ideas truly are. More specifically, he shared that every 3,000 ideas can result in one commercial success. This exemplifies how ideas matter and to always think BIG.

Lastly, he ended the workshop session with a business plan tip. He explained, “In your executive summary, focus on what makes your business plan awesome. Make sure it has that WOW factor to stand out amongst others.” This tip is especially important if students are competing in Fox’s annual Be Your Own Boss Bowl (BYOBB) competition.

For more information about innovation and entrepreneurship courses that may help kick start your business, click here.