While entrepreneurship and higher education are sometimes thought to run counterintuitive, Colgate University invited five of Silicon Valley's biggest rock stars to speak to its students this weekend -- as well as to host a Shark Tank of sorts, in which three young founders walked away with $5,000 in funding.
Panelists included Ashton Kutcher, Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky, eBay CEO John Donahoe, former Yahoo COO Daniel Rosensweig and former Microsoft business development head Tony Bates.
As founder of venture capital fund A-Grade, Kutcher said that each of the 50-some investments his company has made have hinged upon a person rather than an idea.
Typically, if it’s a good idea, he said, there are at least five other people trying to do the same thing. What sets a leader apart, he said, is “grit.”
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While entrepreneurship and higher education are sometimes thought to run counterintuitive, Colgate University invited five of Silicon Valley's biggest rock stars to speak to its students this weekend -- as well as to host a Shark Tank of sorts, in which three young founders walked away with $5,000 in funding.
Panelists included Ashton Kutcher, Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky, eBay CEO John Donahoe, former Yahoo COO Daniel Rosensweig and former Microsoft business development head Tony Bates.
As founder of venture capital fund A-Grade, Kutcher said that each of the 50-some investments his company has made have hinged upon a person rather than an idea.
Typically, if it’s a good idea, he said, there are at least five other people trying to do the same thing. What sets a leader apart, he said, is “grit.”