Lessons learned from my journey as a software engineer, entrepreneur, and executive

During this session, Chuck Vallurupalli, MBA ’05, an entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR) at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, will share a few tips and lessons learned that can help aspiring entrepreneurs during their journey from ideation to scaleup. Chuck will use a combination of real world examples and frameworks to illustrate: 

• Different ways to generate ideas 
• Approaches to assess if those ideas can lead to gainful opportunities 
• Why business models matter and simple ways to validate them 
• Elements of a good minimum viable product 
• Metrics that need to be optimized to achieve product market fit 
• Resources (product, marketing, finance, talent) that are appropriate to advance through these stages 

If you are considering applying to the Entrepreneurial Internship Program, the Polsky Accelerator, or just trying to figure out how to get started with your venture idea, then this session is for you. We look forward to seeing you! 

This is an EIR program workshop. The EIR program provides mentorship and coaching to University of Chicago students. Successful Chicago-based entrepreneurs are available to meet throughout the academic year, and have provided key insight and mentorship to dozens of companies. We also host regular small group sessions and workshops with the EIRs over breakfast and lunch.