Here is an interesting article about talking about failure, particularly with respect to entrepreneurship. What struck me about the article was its comparisons between cultures about their views on talking about failure. (See Article). For example, the author notes that while in Silicon Valley, “[f]ailure has become almost a badge of pride — an experience recast as a lesson learned, a skin thickened, an entrepreneur seasoned and more fully prepared to succeed,” id., in other, developing, countries, failure “still carries a heavy stigma,” and “doesn’t make you stronger; failure makes you a failure.” Id. I had never considered this point of view before. Overall, a worthwhile read to give us some perspective on cross-cultural discussions around entrepreneurship.

Here’s an interesting article advocating for change in how we talk about entrepreneurship. The author criticizes the current state of “storytelling” about entrepreneurship, stating: “We’re selling a dream with real and damaging effects on our institutions and on people’s lives. It’s time for smart people to stop mortgaging their futures in pursuit of fantasies of super-success. I know it seems odd to say that stories of success can do harm, that an obsession with what seems to be the entrepreneurial dream could possibly be a negative thing. But it is, and in all sorts of ways.” Instead of analyzing entrepreneurship through rose-colored glasses, the author encourages entrepreneurs to be more honest, and to be open about the negatives of owning and operating one’s own company, such as negative effects on health as well as decrease in the amount of time spent with family.

While the article seems pessimistic at first, it ends on a high note, encouraging entrepreneurs to write their own narratives and “control their own businesses.”

A quick blog for those who will want to get their “law and entrepreneur” fix once this class winds down. If you’re interested in podcasts, here’s a list of “The 12 Best Podcasts for Entrepreneurs” to tune into! There’s a range of topics – some discuss the trend in the decline in personal health of entrepreneurs (something a few blog posts have touched on) and others discuss a particular industry (like tech).

 

Professor Hollis discussed in class how smaller organizations are often the first to “disrupt” the market, as they are more open to change than larger, more traditional institutions. This article echoes her sentiment.

The article states: “There are 1,281,432 attorneys in the United States, of which 470,926 of those attorneys are entrepreneurs.” Many of these “entrepreneurial attorneys” own their own firms as solo practitioners.

The article states that “[w]ith such a large and growing fraction of the legal sector launching their own firm, one must ask whether law schools are doing enough to prepare law students for entrepreneurship.” Interestingly, it’s not the T-14 schools that are trailblazing the path for entrepreneurial classes at law school. The article hones in on University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and Marquette School of Law as trailblazers in entrepreneurial law classes.

Interesting read, and it’s certainly curious to think about the trend in law school classes: 10 years from now, will 1Ls still be enrolled in a traditional core curriculum? Will there be more entrepreneurial elective courses (or maybe even required courses)?

Although we did not focus on this topic in class, I read it and thought it was important to bring up. It is interesting to think about the difference between fixing corporate diversity for the the sake of diversity and embracing corporate diversity fully.

A company can’t “train” its way out of a diversity problem. Employers can’t “new hire” their way out of it. But when diversity is done right, it means a real boost to the bottom line, and a real benefit to corporate decision making.

Check it out!

http://abovethelaw.com/2017/04/why-diversity-really-matters/?rf=1

This article goes along with our conversations about difficulties entrepreneurs are facing, especially those college graduations. I found this to be remarkable considering that most people view a startup company as consisting of recent college graduates.

What do you think about this?

This article focuses on the free tuition being offered by state universities in New York. Part of the program is a guarantee that the college student will remain in state for as many years as they received the free tuition or be forced to pay back the loan.

I wonder how many people will take advantage of the opportunity and accept being locked into the state for 4+ years. I know that many students are going to be thankful for this opportunity, but what about private colleges?

Is this the end of private education?

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/04/10/new-york-state-reaches-deal-provide-free-tuition-suny-and-cuny-students

Great article. This article is generally a good read, touching on several of our topic this semester. The startups helping startups model has been a focus for me during our project, but the connection to passion and change in the community is powerful.

Here is an interesting article on some different techniques to manage stress. Both entrepreneurs and lawyers have a lot of stress in their lives. It is important for both to ensure that we manage our stress. I thought this article was particularly helpful, because it talks about things from a perspective that we can understand. For example, it talks about how stressful having hundreds of emails in your inbox can be. (Article). Overall, this seems like a worthwhile read, and a good topic to keep in mind as we head into finals season.

Here is an interesting article compiling some Twitter tips for small business owners. The author lists ten different tips, styling them as “Costly Mistakes Business Leaders Make on Twitter.” (Article). The tips seem to be pretty generalizable across businesses, such as “Not Using Twitter,” “Only Sharing,” and “Retweeting Without Reading.” Id. I think that these are good tips for businesses, but I also think that we can use tips like these for ourselves. We should be mindful of our presence on the internet and social media, and frequently curate it to ensure that it remains professional.