Swiss Dairy

Last night was fantastic. The entrepreneurs behind my spring startup project, deskNet, took my group out for a celebration dinner. This was something we intended to do back in May when the project finished, but final exams, Kenya, and vacation interfered. It was nice to take a break, though, as this way they could update us on their progress. It seems that we really added some value as they are now running an operation much more focused on a specific strategy.

They picked us up at IMD and drove us about an hour up into the mountains. When it became clear that the only signs of life for miles around were evergreen trees and cattle, we came upon a dairy farm that doubled as an out-of-the-way restaurant, La Bréguette. Apparently others were in on the secret as the rows of tables inside the farm house were packed. We settled down to a delicious meal of escargots, cold meats, fondue, and incredible desserts. Cream, cheese, and chocolate were made there at the dairy so were prominently featured throughout the menu. Add a little (OK, a lot) Swiss white wine and great conversation and we found ourselves back at IMD after midnight. The crisp night air and bright stars up in the mountains were really refreshing; Switzerland is not a bad place to live. I wish the deskNET team all the best and I look forward to following their success.

Today has been a great day for USA volleyball. Misty May and Kerri Walsh won their second consecutive Olympic gold in beach volleyball (their 108th consecutive match win) while the indoor women's team advanced to the gold medal match. Tomorrow it's time for the men to show that they can keep up!

Carmen

Yesterday we made our final presentation for our startup project. After four months of working to add value to our client company, we are enthusiastic about its prospects so had no trouble presenting it positively to our jury of VCs and entrepreneurs. They asked tough questions which made for a challenging, valuable experience.

To celebrate, one of my startup group members, Mathias (French), and I attended a performance of Bizet's Carmen last night. Perhaps we should have been working on our papers or studying for exams, but relaxing with a wonderful performance and some wine (My first in three weeks!!!) was just what the doctor ordered.

We have this morning free too, as the final startup groups make their presentations. Martin (Czech), Martin's wife (Czech), and Tomas (Slovakian), and I are seizing the opportunity to play some beach volleyball. Again, maybe we should be working but the weather is beautiful and I can't pass up the opportunity to get in touch with my Eastern European side.

Living the Startup Dream

A major component of our IMD entrepreneurship education is the Startup Project. 18 startup companies have come to IMD asking for "help." "Help" means anything from business strategy to market research to marketing to manufacturing and production optimization to HR to . . . any other aspect of business. Frequently they need help with several of these issues in order to secure loans, raise money, or even just get "unstuck". In January students selected from the 18 client opportunities and began work immediately. We are expected to deliver demonstrable value--not just a high-level, hand waving consultant report. We are expected to provide recommendations and then help implement them--essentially to work IN the startup.

My startup group (myself and four others: Turkish, Russian, South Korean, and French) is working on a company called DeskNet, which produces Sobees. They came to us without any investors, strategy, business model, clients, completed product, or many of the other things you would expect in a successful startup. Ah yes, living the startup dream! :-P But hey, they have a cool idea and we know we can help them commercialize it. We're really into the thick of it now, so I will keep you all posted about our progress over the next few weeks. I may even ask for some feedback on our ideas and options as we move forward.