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At the same time, the form of the pledge
-- a share of the value of a new venture the member is founding -- aligns the interests
of MIT and the other members towards helping make that venture a success.
Thus, the members feel that the concrete benefits of becoming a member of the MIT
Entrepreneurship Society are:
- Access to a network of experienced entrepreneurs
committed to serving as mentors, advisors, and deal brokers
- Opportunities to serve as a mentor, and
possible investor, to budding MIT entrepreneurs and their ventures
- Supporting the future success of MIT startups
by ensuring that MIT remains at the cutting-edge of entrepreneurship education
- Providing the most effective way to give
back to MIT, the institution that made our success possible
- Contributing in a manner that maximizes
both the gift to MIT and the tax benefits for the donor
- IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO!
The Entrepreneurship community at MIT appreciates fully the risk involved in starting
a new venture. Thus, as an additional benefit, Members of the Entrepreneurship Society
are also granted a "Get Out of Jail Free" card. This card enables them
to call upon the resources of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center, at any time in the
course of their career, to provide assistance in recovering from a failed venture,
or extracting themselves from an frightening situation, or, simply put, a dull job.
Click here to Join
the Entrepreneurship Society!
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How Jack McCullough "Got
out of Jail"
I have the dubious distinction of being "The first entrepreneurial casualty
of the class of '97. I joined a startup as the Chief Financial Officer after graduating
from Sloan in February, 1997. The situation at the company became somewhat difficult,
and, after a prolonged dispute with the President, I resigned on November 21st.
I met with Ken Morse that afternoon, in his office at MIT. Before leaving the office,
I had interviews schedule with two other startups (both in the E-Lab -- one was Color
Kinetics, and I kind of forget the other), and a short-term consulting engagement
to boot.
I received three job offers by the end of the year. Keep in mind, this was during
the Thanksgiving / Chanukah / Christmas Holiday season, when employers are not available
to interview. I accepted a position with an organization, BlazeNet, which is another
E-Lab participant. I am in the process of helping the company close $10.0 Mill from
a syndicate of Venture Capitalists.
During my six weeks between jobs, I worked with Ken, Matt Utterback and Will Clurman
(Sloan '97) in generating momentum for the E-Society. It was a chance to get back
in touch with the school, hookup with former classmates and other alums, and recruit
new members for the E-Society.
I could mention that the second person I called was my wife. She said that I should
call Ken, and then I told her that in fact Ken was the first person I called.
Jack McCullough |
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For further information on the Entrepreneurship
Society, contact:
Jack McCullough: jackmcc@alum.mit.edu,
or Will N. Clurman: wnc@alum.mit.edu
MIT Entrepreneurship Center, 70
Memorial Drive, Room E51-355, Cambridge, MA 02138
Telephone: 617-253-8653, Fax: 617-253-8633, Email: ecenter@mit.edu |
