Yesterday I got confirmation that I got accepted to the Branson Centre, naturally I shared the good news with friends on Twitter and Facebook. One person asked some important questions which I answered. I’ll republish both question and answer here just in case some people have similar questions
This is great news for you, but what does it mean really? I read the brief background above and I checked a video on youtube about it. But it all sounds more like just plain advertising. What does it mean really?Is it like the Technology Innovation Center they over at UTech but…on steroids?And what does it take to enter and be accepted?
The amazing thing about the Branson Centre is that they don’t take a cookie cutter approach to anything, it’s also an approach I’m taking with EduFocal. So understandably it’s going to pose a challenge to really articulate what the Branson Centre is. They’re non-profit, but that doesn’t make them a charity–that’s the first distinction that I think needs to be made. They’re also not a bank. Entrepreneurs have very similar challenges, but they also have very different challenges so the one solution to fix all problems will not work ( This is the premise behind taking only 20 entrepreneurs into the centre, they only have so much resources) Now all 20 of us have very similar and at the same time very different needs.
Some require more capital, some need guidance, some want to network etc. The Branson centre facilitates all these needs and then some, on an individual basis, and the operative word is facilitate, because that’s what they do, so yes, you could say it’s like the TIC in some ways, but also very different from it. My business will not live at the Branson Centre. Now I’ve only been to the Branson Centre once for assessment day and it was amazing. Just being in the company of so many other entrepreneurs helps so much. Also, being in regular company of one of the world’s richest men isn’t so shabby either.
My expectation from the Branson Centre is to network, grow as an entrepreneur, and get good advice that will help me to take my company in the right direction. At the end of it, I want to be in a position to be able to do the same thing for other aspiring entrepreneurs.
You asked me what it takes to get accepted, also a good question. Nobody really knows. I imagine first you have to have a solid business ( or business idea), a great personality and the drive to leave the world in a better place than you found it because it really is about much more than money.
Originally published on gordonswaby.com on 2012-03-03 (recovered from the Internet Archive).