LAST WEEK, ELEMENTAL CO-FOUNDER, LEEANN MONK-OZGUL HEADED STATESIDE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WAY TO SCALE, A NEW CEO TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME THAT WAS CONCEIVED BY CATALYST, WITH SUPPORT FROM BELFAST CITY COUNCIL AND INVEST NI.
The programme involved attending world-class workshop at MIT’s prestigious Sloan School. Leveraging MIT’s culture of high-tech entrepreneurship, the workshop explored the entire venture creation process, from generating ideas to building viable global businesses, with a special emphasis on the nurturing roles of corporations, universities, governments, and foundations.
BECOMING A DISCIPLINED ENTREPRENEUR
100 participants from across 26 different countries also attended lectures by senior MIT staff, visits to local startup companies, and live case studies with successful entrepreneurs which provided hands-on training and practical experience.
Led by CEO and serial entrepreneur Bill Aulet, the Entrepreneur Development Programme outlined the 24 steps required for becoming a disciplined entrepreneur.
Leeann said “If you had asked me before taking part in this programme if you could teach entrepreneurship, I would have said a straight up no! However, I have now completely changed my mind and would say yes you can and the 24 steps process from Bill Aulet teaches you how to think of the process in a very logical and easy to understand way.”
She added “Despite the very long days, the programme was worth the hard work and an amazing experience. It really reaffirmed the importance of company culture and having the right team with a shared vision, which for Elemental is to make a significant contribution in reducing health inequalities.”
CREATING A CULTURE CODE
Hosting a lecture on company culture was no other than Dharmesh Shah, CEO and co-founder of Hubspot, a marketing and sales platform founded by MIT students which now has 44,500 customers, 2,200 employees and more than $375 million in annual revenue.
Dharmesh discussed Hubspot’s Culture Code and their shared beliefs, practices and values which power the company. As he says “People have dramatically changed how they live and work but too many organisations operate as if they are frozen in time. Culture happens whether planned or not so why not create a culture we love?”.
MIT SLOAN CERTIFICATE
On completion of the week-long workshop, Leeann received an MIT Sloan Certificate in from the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and next month, Leeann will be Boston bound once again as the Way to Scale programme will culminate in a bespoke, week residential at MassChallenge HQ. We look forward to hearing her update in March!
