Diane Mollenkopf, who is an Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at UC, also visited before our break. Her advice to our students was:
- Supply chains can be complex, and part of the role of an entrepreneur is to understand your supply chain, and identifying where they can add the most value.
- Visualisation is powerful - so draw out your supply or value chain!
- It’s easier to imagine supply chains with physical things, but service/digital product ventures also need to consider theirs (which are often much more complex!).
Anthony Rohan visited during the first week back to give an accountant’s perspective on basic business finances. The most important messages from his talk were:
- Have records of everything. Use separate bank accounts for personal & business transactions and hold onto receipts/invoices for 7 years. It ensures you’re paying the right amount of tax and keeps IRD happy.
- Get professional financial advice straight away. It will save you from headaches in the future if you get it right from day 1.
- You need to understand the “why” in your business – what makes it valuable and better than the competition. Owning a business can be risky and so you need to believe that your business should thrive
Leadership and personal development will be the focus of the programme next week. The students are also starting to work on their pitches for the end of the summer, with the goal of being selected as one of the top 10 ventures, who will present at our Summer Startup Showcase on February the 4th (which you can register for now!).
The UCE Summer Startup Programme is a chance for students to work on fast-tracking the development of their ideas into realistic business ventures for 10 weeks over the summer. To find out more about the UCE Summer Startup Programme, click here.
For further information please contact:
UC Centre for Entrepreneurship (UCE) by emailing uce@canterbury.ac.nz
