Smith talks about how a series of experiences prepare an entrepreneur to found a new venture. Entrepreneurship is about solving a problem in a better way and finding a way to make it happen, despite everyone telling you it cannot be done, she says. People did not believe Teach for America would work, but Smith and founder Wendy Kopp realized people weren't becoming teachers because they weren't being recruited and the process to get certified was too bureaucratic. They created a model in Teach for America that solved these problems, and were successful, she adds.

1. Hybrids: Entrepreneurs Must Lead People from Radically Different Sectors
2. Founding of Teach for America: Entrepreneurs Envision What Others Say is Impossible
3. A Theory of Change = Business Model + Strategy
4. Focus
5. Hybrid Leaders
6. Education: Shift From Culture of Compliance to Culture of Performance
7. Venture Philanthropy
8. New School Venture Fund History and Operations
9. New School Portfolio
10. Strategic Investment Analysis Via a Hybrid Partner Group
11. Leadership, Communication, and Facilitation Skills
12. Taking Risks
13. Achieving Profits Through Customer Focus

Kim Smith lectures on Entrepreneurship for Stanford University students, October 19, 2003. Kim Smith is co-founder and CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund, which she established in 1998 to transform public education by supporting education entrepreneurs. In NewSchools, Kim created a new "hybrid" approach to investing in social entrepreneurs. NewSchools uses grants, loans and equity investments to support a portfolio that includes nonprofit and for-profit entrepreneurs who are building sustainable, scalable education ventures. In this Stanford lecture, she talks about venture philanthropy, fixing problems in K-12 education and how entrepreneurs must lead people from radically different sectors.



Course Details:

- Entrepreneurial Thought Leader Speaker Series

- Stanford University's Entrepreneurship Corner (ecorner)



Original Course Name: Entrepreneurial Thought Leader Speaker Series