In 2018, my investment strategy was geared mostly towards angel and seed investments, as my true passion is mentoring entrepreneurs. And to extend on that, I became a teacher for the first time in my life. The University of Washington asked me to co-teach an MBA course on “CEO and Board Leadership.”
I’m looking forward to teaching the class again in 2019 with a new co-teacher, Eileen Odum. Mentorship can really be a two-way street. In fact, I think I learn more from the students than they learn from me.
To make things even more exciting this year, I will be working with the University of Washington Foster School of Business on the Dempsey Startup Competition which has empowered nearly 5000 Students Entrepreneurs over the past 21 years with expert mentorship and seed funding. For more information or to apply, visit foster.uw.edu/dempsey-startup.
I’m honored to be invited back to teach at the UW and look forward to meeting this year’s exceptional MBA students. I’m also excited about the Dempsey Startup Competition and the opportunities it will bring to student entrepreneurs across the Northwest region of the country.
Beyond mentoring students, I’m expanding my start-up mentorship. Last year, I became involved in the Saskatoon, Canada start-up community and an incubator called Co.Labs. I plan to continue my work with Canadian start-ups in other cities. I’m also looking forward to exploring opportunities with start-ups and scale-ups in the Netherlands. I’ve just spent a week touring the Netherlands, and I will report on that trip next week.
Mentorship is one of my favorite parts of the job, and I look forward to stepping up how I work with students and start-ups in 2019.