Written by Davidson College student, Victoria Ochieng ‘27
Embracing Entrepreneurship for All
What do entrepreneurs look like? How do they dress? How do they make decisions? And most importantly, who exactly are entrepreneurs? Could you be one? By the end of this post, you may realize the answer is “yes”—even if you’ve never considered it before.
There’s a special pride in building things and solving problems. But the sweetest satisfaction comes from building something that no one else has thought of—something big, bold, and attention-grabbing. At least that’s what I thought entrepreneurship was all about when I first started the Building a Lean Startup course in the Fall of 2024. But as the weeks passed, I came to learn otherwise. Real entrepreneurship is about solving genuine problems, and at times the solutions to these problems could be as simple. It’s about listening and learning from your customers, even if it means going back to square one.
So why did I take this course? Because I wanted to build something meaningful in under eight weeks. I was excited, ready, and armed with ideas. What I needed were the tools and guidance to turn my ideas into something real, something that would make an impact. Then, on the first day of class, our instructor Rebecca Weeks Watson shared this quote from Paul Graham, the founder of Y Combinator:
“You can either build something a large number of people want a small amount, or something a small number of people want a large amount. Choose the latter.”
That quote made me pause. Did the people I wanted to reach see the problem the same way I did? And that’s where my journey in the Lean Startup course truly began.
The Lean Startup Methodology
The Lean Startup approach is about testing your ideas with real people and gaining validated learning from their feedback. Instead of planning endlessly, you create a small version of your idea (a Minimum Viable Product or MVP), get it out there, and see how people react. Through this process you are learning to love your customers problems—understanding what they need and want, then building for them.
One of the key tools we used is the Build-Measure-Learn (BML) feedback loop. This approach helps you stay flexible: build a product, measure the results, and learn from that data. Sometimes you might even learn first, measure second, and build last. It’s all up to you!
Tailored Learning for Every Entrepreneur
The Lean Startup course is designed to meet everyone where they are. It covers everything from identifying real problems to finding and understanding your target audience. You’ll learn how to design a strong value proposition, build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and use customer feedback to improve or pivot your idea. Each session is packed with hands-on exercises, allowing you to turn your ideas into actionable steps and grow as an entrepreneur.
By the end of the course, everyone was at a different stage of their journey. Some had launched products, others chose to pivot, and others, like me, were still conducting research and gathering insights. Regardless of where we ended, each of us made tangible progress and took actionable steps toward our goals.
Learning from Inspiring Entrepreneurs
We also had guest speakers from all kinds of industries, and their insights were invaluable. Take Andre Powell, who shared his journey from restaurant franchise owner to founder of a luxury rideshare company, Goldsainte. He highlighted the importance of branding and the need to always be thinking about your exit strategy. Or Derek Bullard, founder of Already Autism Health, who shared his path to creating a healthcare service for people with autism and the amount of risks and sacrifices his journey came with. And then there was William Ward, who noticed a gap in the gig economy and launched Flexie, a platform connecting young people with flexible job opportunities.
Who is an Entrepreneur?
So, who exactly is an entrepreneur? And what is a startup?
An entrepreneur is anyone who steps up to make that happen. They don’t need a business degree or to work in a specific field. Entrepreneurs are in big companies looking for new markets, in nonprofits addressing social challenges, and even college students dreaming up ways to make laundry easier for their peers. They’re problem-solvers—people who observe, question, experiment, and connect and build networks.
A startup is simply a human institution created to develop new products or services under conditions of uncertainty.
Ready to Take Your Next Step?
So, are you an entrepreneur? Do you see a problem that could benefit from a creative solution? If you have even a spark of an idea, I encourage you to take the Building a Lean Startup course this February 2025. Whether you’re a student, faculty member, staff, or community member with startup ideas, or an “intrapreneur” looking to innovate inside a larger organization, this course is a place to make some validated growth. It’s an open, supportive environment for anyone ready to learn, grow, and build something that matters to their customers.
