On Monday night I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel with John Friess of Journey Gym and Ryan Buchanan of eROI, to a group of students from the entrepreneurship program at University of Portland, Willamette University, and Portland State University. The subject was what it is like to work at a startup; what is the environment like, how to get noticed and hired by entrepreneurs, and what to expect from the positions.

I consider Ryan and John to be a bit more proven than myself at getting to exit-potential status, so it was great to be sitting with them. I do bring quite a bit of startup employee experience to the table, being one of the first few employees hired at local startups lucy activewear, EducatorZapp, and RYZ. So hopefully I was able to convey some of my experience with those organizations to the students, along side my experiences actually running SwellPath.

Justin Albano, who works with OEN on their academic membership initiatives led the discussion with some pre-planned questions. These gave each of us on the panel a chance to describe our businesses and some of our basic hiring practices for interns and entry level employees. Students and faculty from U of P asked questions when they wanted more information, or more specific details.

Based on the feedback that came out of the event, I think the students got a great realistic perspective of what life is like for startup employees, and especially for entrepreneurs themselves. Hopefully no one was discouraged by the acknowledgement that being successful (and even a failure sometimes) takes long hours, and that entreprenuership is metaphorically "like a disease" for most entrepreneurs. All of the students I spoke with were engaging and passionate about their personal business ideas, and/or getting involved with a startup early in their careers.

The event concluded with a walk over to Seven Planet, and a tour by partner/operator DJ Widmer, an alumni of the UofP program. I enjoyed seeing the store for the first time and learning more about the business, which is very interesting.

It was great to be part of this event, and to see how OEN is reaching out to the local academic community and helping connect students with potential future employers. I think this is one aspect of OEN that not all members are fully aware of, and the long-term benefits it has on the entrepreneur, business, and academic community in Oregon.

The next event OEN has planned in this area involves connecting students interested in intenrning with startups, with managers and entrepreneurs who may have limited experience hiring interns. There will be workshops for both parties individually, then a chance for both groups to connect in a job fair type fashion. SwellPath will definitely be there. If you're interested, reach out to OEN and let them know.