E/M 267: Entrepreneurship I: Co-Initiate: Getting Situated

Who needs what you are proposing to create? Why do they need it? What are their current obstacles to getting it?

Who is interested or could be interested in seeing this problem solved? Any groups on campus? Students? Faculty? The Gustavus administration? Off-campus groups: Elected officials? Clergy? Community leaders? Local nonprofit groups? Volunteer groups? National associations?

Make a list of potential categories of people who would be involved in the conversation about your topic. Also note any specific individuals and their contact information, because you may want to contact them directly as part of your research.

What kinds of market research can you do to learn more about the audience/consumers that your project will serve? Consider some of the options discussed on the Co-Sense page.

Build off your brainstorming from above. See if other parallel projects have been created at other institutions. Find out what community organizations or professional associations deal with the problem. What currently exists and what gaps can your enterprise fill?

• You can use Google Calendar and Google Meets to schedule meetings. Tip: Send an invite to each member of the team and schedule a reminder to be sent at least a day in advance.
• Figure out what tasks you want to complete in your first couple meetings and decide who will serve as the Convener and the Scribe for the first meeting (see next box), and in what order you'll rotate.

Sample Shared Folder

Sample Meeting Agenda

Sample Meeting Minutes

The Convener and the Scribe can be a rotating position (depending on how the team is structured).

The Convener sends out an agenda prior to each meeting and asks the team member to add "items" to it. The Convener then leads the meeting and ensured each "item" on the agenda is addressed. The agenda lists the date of the meeting, who was the Convenor, who was the Scribe, and who else attended.

The scribe makes a bulleted list of each topic discussed during the meeting and what was said about it. They may also include a list of action items, tasks that the group agrees should be worked on before the next meeting, along with the person who agrees to take it on. The scribe then sends the minutes out within one day after the meeting.

In a rotating meeting structure, the person who serves as Scribe is responsible for serving as Convenor at the next meeting.

• Meet regularly, and with a specific agenda in mind. End each meeting with tasks for each team member to accomplish before the next meeting.
• Divide the work relatively equally; if you have concerns about the ability to get something done by yourself, propose partnering with another member of the group on the task.
• Be ready to defer to others who want to take on a task, or be willing to take on tasks no one else volunteers for.
• Work hard, and ensure you are making progress on what the group needs you to.
• It's better to start working on a task sooner (so you can get help if you have difficulty), than to put it off to later.
• During a group meeting, however, it is better to slow down to ensure everyone in the group understands what the group is doing, and seek consensus when possible. Remember: collegiality means going out of your way to ensure every team member is kept in the loop.
• Ultimately, teams operate by the will of the majority (or, if this were a private company, according to the final say of the manager or team leader.) Allow everyone to speak their mind before taking majority votes; however, once a decision has been made by the whole group, accept it and carry it out (even if you disagree.)
• Use a calendar (like Google Calendar) to schedule meetings, send reminders a day or two in advance, and keep the group coordinated.
• Use a shared Google Drive folder to ensure everyone in the group has access to all materials.