Words of Wisdom from Jason Fiefer

Leaving this CLP…

I found this CLP very insightful. From being able to watch the actual making of the Class E podcast as well as the three cameras at various angles from the stage (as pictured to the right), to getting Jason’s bits of advice, I left that CLP with lots to think about. I enjoyed that he gave his personal testimonies to the world of entrepreneurship, as well as problems he has noticed and potential solutions to these.

Bits of Advice

Throughout this discussion, Jason left the audience with many suggestions and tips towards success. Some include:

• “Always go to people, seek people out, do not wait for them to come to you.”

• “You don’t know your audience as well as you think you do, but you have to try.”

• “Look to the past because you can always see how things turned out.”

• “Go at every idea with a childlike mind.”

• “Never be afraid of asking a dumb question”

• “Never tie your identity to your work.”

• “Be the opportunity.”

Jason, in giving us these pieces of advice, was saving us a lot of time trying to figure these things out for ourselves. Some of these things may seem like a given, but are things we need to be reminded of. I often find myself afraid to ask a question that either professor or other students will find “dumb,” but in reality it is highly likely that someone else has the same question.

Networking

Networking is another point that Jason often touched on. Something he mentioned that really stuck with me is the fact that the business world really needs more people in general, minorities, and women. In general, people bring their networks, so these groups may support each other well, there needs to be a way to bring all types of business together and a way to find some type of equal support. Jason also threw in the fact that traditional investment communities' number of women went down significantly in the last year, showing that while things are better than they were a century ago, there is still a lot of work to do.

The Takeaways

Overall, after listening to the taping of this podcast, I really admired not only Jason and the advice he had, but the way the podcast was taped. The questions never sounded forced, and it was interesting to see how the conversation developed from beginning to end. After listening to Jason’s advice on business, I feel much more confident asking questions, reaching out to people first, following up even after a meeting to show interest, and more equipped to be a productive member of the business world. I plan to read the book that was provided, because if an hour of his time produced that much information, I cannot even imagine how much I will learn from his book, Build for Tomorrow.