General Interactive presents The Entrepreneurship Lab At E-Lab practice takes precedence over theory The Entrepreneurship Lab (henceforth referred to as E-Lab) is an initiative by General Interactive to help budding entrepreneurs in their most difficult stage of their start-up – the “ideation” stage. Idea is a commodity, transforming it into a valuable business proposition is a skill that very few people have. It is this skill that differentiates a successful entrepreneur from the lot. Fortunately, this skill can be learnt; and providing this skill set to potential entrepreneurs is the mission of E-Lab.
General Interactive Inc. has an ecosystem for taking ideas to businesses. GII has a proven sustainable concept of putting together innovative ideas, smart business men, investors funds and all necessary resources to transform startups in profitable businesses in record time.
Established in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, GII has meticulously structured itself into one of the most progressive and networked business incubators. The founders come from Ivey League institutes such as MIT and have high qualifications (MBAs, Ph.D.s) and proven management/entrepreneurial track record. They have established a highly valuable network comprised of individuals from institutes of high repute (such as MIT, Harvard, Babson College, and Northeastern University), respected investors, and established entrepreneurs.
General Interactive believes that risk and uncertainty in establishing a new venture can be reduced (if not removed completely) by following a discipline. Taking a utilitarian approach, GII has decided to establish Entrepreneurship Lab. The primary idea of establishing E-Lab is to develop and conduct workshops for those who wish to be entrepreneurs. E-Lab workshops are innovatively designed to introduce entrepreneurs to the basic concepts of starting and managing a business. Short and effective courses will be delivered by the world’s finest and most reputed professors. Complementing them will be a set of successful entrepreneurs who will share their experiences on a particular aspect of the business (such as developing a prototype, getting their first customer, raising funds, negotiating a deal, managing growth).
The E-Lab approach is very unique and is perhaps the first in the world. It combines the best of theory and practice. Unlike, business schools that emphasize on theorizing and building business plans that consume a lot of time, E-Labs’ approach is more hands-on. The entrepreneur comes with an ill-defined idea and leaves with a “business implementation roadmap”. – E-Lab does not believe in developing a business plan without understanding the business. Here the emphasis is to understand the potential of the idea, transform it into a viable business proposition by testing them in front of potential customers (and not simply VCs and peer group), and then develop a “business implementation roadmap”
During their 60–days tenure in E-Lab, prospective entrepreneurs will have chance to work on their respective idea and refine it by taking help of GI team, visiting professors and guest entrepreneurs. At the end of their tenure, an entrepreneur will have a clear understanding on the course of action. They would have finalized their new venture’s value proposition, website, logo and branding. They would also have clearer understanding on who to approach and how to approach to develop and refine their technology/prototype. They would have also tested their idea by pitching it to potential customers’ right at the beginning. GII team will in fact help them in the process of finding potential partners for prototype development and identifying prospective customers.
The E-Lab approach makes a prospective entrepreneur more confident about his/her idea. By the time he/she leaves E-Lab, the idea is already matured to a real business concept. Potential investors also feel confident about the idea because it has followed a “disciplined” process and the value of it is readily visible (and not ambiguously hidden in a business plan). In addition to this, these prospective entrepreneurs trained at E-Lab will have a life-long valuable network that they can look to for advice at any given point of time in their career.
E-Lab Workshop is comprised of four intensive modules, each of one week duration:
- Transforming Ideas to Business Opportunities (Thinking Strategically)
- Understanding the value of the Business Opportunity (Some Financial Planning)
- Capturing the value of the Business Opportunity (Creative Branding and Good Selling)
- Managing Growth (Hiring right people and developing organizational processes)
At E-Lab, a prospective entrepreneur will typically spend 25% time on course modules, 25% time interacting with successful entrepreneurs, and 50% time developing his/her idea.
The E-Lab team is fanatic about excellence and standards in their delivery. It is for this very reason E-Lab will select no more than 20 potential entrepreneurs for each session. This allows individual attention to each and every candidate and the very best of service that they deserve. Once total seats are filled, no more candidates will be admitted to that particular workshop. E-Lab thus advises prospective entrepreneurs to apply much in advance to reserve their seats. We take applications all the year.
The E-Lab 60-day workshop will cost $75000 per candidate. This does not include lodging and boarding costs. Candidates are requested to make their own arrangements. However, E-Lab can help candidates find suitable lodging and boarding, if requested.
The workshop will take place at the E-Lab in Massachusetts. The E-Lab facility is conveniently located in Boston and is only a few minutes drive from Harvard and MIT. The facility is designed to meet the needs of the start-ups and provides all infrastructure needed (like web-designers, system developers, product designers, marketing and sales specialists). Plans are also underway to upgrade the facility into auto-sustainable building that will use cutting-edge solutions in green energy and hydroponic roof to reduce completely the footprint of its businesses.
Business Schools worldwide give prospective entrepreneurs an MBA degree in 1-2 years time;
E-Lab, in 60 days, gives prospective entrepreneurs a business that is ready to take-off!
