Kaitlin Fritz - Leadership in Entrepreneurship

Below you can find Kaitlin Fritz's slides for her talk 'The Leadership Experience of an Entrepreneur', presented at the UCL Laidlaw Scholars Conference on October 12th 2019. Please also refer to Kaitlin's supporting notes, which she kindly typed up for you, under the presentation!
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Kaitlin Fritz: Laidlaw Scholarship Talk Snapshot

Leadership Experiences as an Entrepreneur

  • Kaitlin Fritz, Musemio COO and Cofounder. Kaitlin@musemio.com
  • Musemio is a VR edtech platform that brings culture to life. With the simplicity of a cardboard headset and mobile smartphone, any child can explore cultural artifacts in a gamified format. Think Indiana Jones meets Education!
  • Our journey has been long and full of failures and successes. It has been a constant state of learning as someone who is a nontraditional entrepreneur.

Foundations of Leadership

  • Leaders need to be curious, courageous, humble, and confident; however this is often time a balancing act.
  • Overt leaders, like football captains, are the on-the-field leaders who spearhead change. They are outward pillars of inspiration and motivation that have loads of confidence and courage to be bold and tackle anything that comes their way.
  • Covert leaders, like an orchestra conductor—who does not actually play an instrument—are the subtle leaders that motivate others through inspiration and action. They are curious, link others as Harvard Business Review says, and they are humble. They build each other up.
  • Comparison, not matter in what form, is the enemy of success in both business and life. You have to focus on your own success and fulfillment.
  • The 4 R’s of entrepreneurial leadership include: Reward and recognition, when you reach success, and also responsibility and reflection. Though one needs to savor the highs of entrepreneurship, as they are well deserved with hard work, more often than not, there will be more failures that require reflection.

What others call challenges, we call “Adventures”

  • Entrepreneurship, much like life, has a great deal of uncertainty involved.  One never knows when the next funding, customer, and tech update will come, but having a mindset that comprehends and understands uncertainty is key.
  • It is important to find your tribe: your network, cofounder, peers, and mentors who will push you to excel. These are people who are part of your community, not your competition. It is important to have a network of mentors who will not only answer sector specific question but who will also stay with you and provide insights during your entire journey.
  • When looking for a team, look for diversity! Teams don’t need another you. They need someone who can be your foil, the opposite and complimentary individual, who can balance your thoughts and actions. When building a team, look for the skill sets you excel at (and the ones you don’t!) and find someone whose strengths match your weaknesses.

Tips

  • Know what you don’t know. Don’t be afraid to ask questions because it is better to “look stupid” than be stupid.
  • Find inspiration, role models and mentors. Do not be afraid to reach out on linked in or through your greater university network. Most people will be willing to give back, you just need to ask.
  • Open your mind—this is a journey not a destination. You should enjoy the process of this lifelong learning. Keep reading, listening to podcasts, going to talks. These will keep the spark alive.
  • Be kind to yourself. This means emotionally, physically, and mentally. You will fail, but we all will. You have to remember to treat yourself like you would your best friend in that scenario.

Entrepreneurship is mindset

  • Remember to employ growth mindset strategies when tackling problems. Entrepreneurship is problem solving with creativity.
  • Think about checking in with yourself throughout your leadership journey. You have to know yourself before you can lead others.
  • Within the matrix I designed, start with the upper left corner.
  • Think about what you do best- these are the skills that come easily and with joy
  • Then think about what you love- your passions. These can be people, places, things, or ideas that you want to make an impact for.
  • Next, in the lower left, think about your priorities. What do you want on your path? Financial stability, travel, flexibility. Etc. These priorities can change as the seasons of our lives change.
  • Lastly, use the other three like an equation to come up with a variety of career or professional opportunities. These can range from Phd research to entrepreneurs and everything in between.
  • Wherever your path leads you, remember that others have started to pave the way. It is important to be grateful and show those who may follow your footsteps.
  • Just remember that you were put here on for a purpose, and it is your mission to live it.

 

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